  | Book Details Title: Hardiness: Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals |
Book DescriptionFrom the Inside Flap As life in the digital era becomes more chaotic and fast paced, there is a surplus of books and media that promise to help us reduce our levels of stress. We are told that if we just schedule our time right, focus on the right things, or stand up to the right people, our stress can magically melt away, leaving us with nothing but joy. Enticing as these ideas sometimes are, most of us can see right through them. The truth is, stress is a part of life. We are biologically hardwired to cope with stress—and if we can cope well, stress can become our trusted ally in the quest for a meaningful life. Hardiness looks into the minds of people who respond well to stressful situations. These resilient individuals have the power to achieve their relationship and career goals and to quickly recover from unforeseen setbacks. Over decades of research, authors Steven J. Stein and Paul T. Bartone have identified the three personality features that such people have in common—the "three Cs" of hardiness—commitment, control, and challenge. When we understand and work to develop these traits in ourselves, we unlock our own potential for growth and turn stress into a force for good in our lives. Across occupations and social classes, the hardiness mindset is linked to better health, performance, and success. Hardiness includes numerous, real-world examples from artists, athletes, first responders, soldiers, and others who have demonstrated that the three Cs can propel us toward our goals. This book also reviews a large body of evidence on the connection between resilient responses to stress and physical health—heart disease, diabetes, and cancer tend to shy away from the hardiest individuals. Ultimately, Hardiness is about how we can turn our stressors into success factors. This book shows that, regardless of our life circumstances, we all have the capacity to transform losses and setbacks into lessons and opportunities that will motivate us to keep thriving. Because the uplifting message of this book is based on strong evidence from decades of rigorous psychological research, we would be foolish to ignore its conclusions. Visit hardinessmindset.com to learn more. Read more From the Back Cover PRAISE FOR HARDINESS “Hardiness is the gift that keeps on giving. Steve and Paul have done a masterful job summarizing and integrating almost fifty years of research into one, easy-to-read, simple-to-apply manual on how to construct a life well-lived.” ―SCOTT A. SNOOK, PHD, MBA Class of 1958, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School “I’m rushing out to buy a large stash of this book so I can give it away to everyone important to me―my kids, my friends, and the business leaders I coach. Steve Stein and Paul Bartone have created a gift for anyone who encounters stress in their life.” ―ALLEN MOORE, PHD, Global Lead for Executive Coaching, Korn Ferry “This book is essential reading for executives wanting to improve the resilience of their people and themselves. Hardiness is full of highly practical tips and techniques on how to do just that!” ―PEDRO ANGULO, Head of Leadership Development, AIB Bank (Allied Irish Banks) “Steven Stein and Paul Bartone have brought the topic (of resilience) into focus and provided insights to help leaders understand and promote a culture of resiliency with the goal of improved productivity, health, and the bottom line. It is a must-read!” ―MAJOR GENERAL RANDY MANNER, US Army, Retired, Executive Coach “As a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and now a Team and Leader Development Consultant, Hardiness: Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals was an excellent read. Stein and Bartone do an excellent job using data and research to correlate the hardiness components of commitment, control, and challenge to years of experience, education, and assessments. Hardiness and its components may be the linchpin development specialists have been looking for to obtain a competitive advantage. I look forward to using Hardiness to bring about clarity for my future clients.” ―DR. CHRIS AUGER, LCDR (ret) U.S. Navy SEAL “Stress is an unavoidable part of life, and your health, success, and happiness depend on your ability to manage, not avoid it. With convincing evidence, practical tools, and real-life examples, Dr. Stein and Dr. Bartone show how building a hardier mindset helps overcome the most difficult circumstances and leads to higher performance.” ―MICHAEL KATCHEN, Cofounder and CEO of Wealthsimple, a leading financial services innovator operating in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Read more About the Author STEVEN J. STEIN, PHD, is a clinical psychologist and the Founder and Executive Chair of Multi-Health Systems (MHS), a leading behavior analytics firm. His work on human performance has been featured in top media outlets worldwide. He teaches at the Directors College of Canada. PAUL T. BARTONE, PHD, is a Visiting Research Fellow at the National Defense University’s Institute for National Security Policy. During his U.S. Army career, Colonel Bartone served as the Army’s senior research psychologist and deployed worldwide. He also taught leadership at West Point and at the National Defense University. Bartone has been studying hardiness, health, and performance for nearly forty years. Read more Customers Review: In their Harvard Business Review article, “Pressure Doesn’t Have to Turn into Stress,” Nicholas Petrie asserts, “Pressure is not stress. But the former is converted to the latter when you add one ingredient: rumination, the tendency to keep rethinking past or future events, while attaching negative emotion to those thoughts. Of course, leaders must practice reflection — planning for the future or reviewing past lessons — but this is an analytical, short-term process, with positive fallout. Rumination is ongoing and destructive, diminishing your health, productivity, and well-being. Chronic worriers show increased incidence of coronary problems and suppressed immune functioning. Dwelling on the past or the future also takes us away from the present, rendering us unable to complete the work currently on our plates. If you ask ruminators how they are feeling, none will say ‘happy.’ Most feel miserable.”I was reminded of that passage as I began to work my way through Steven Stein and Paul Bartone’s explanation of “how to make stress work for you.” Despite all manner of “progress” in various fields of research, “with the explosion of knowledge about mental health and the increased availability of technology, we still haven’t been able to take control of our problems. In fact, in many ways, things have gotten worse.” Petrie agrees, as do I and countless others.What to do and how to do it?Stein and Bartone focus on the Hardiness Resilience Gauge (HRG). “It is the years of research using this instrument that has helped inform much of what we have learned about hardiness. Many of the studies we talk about in this book have relied on this business measurement tool.”For many people, the greatest challenge they face is to make a commitment to gaining or regaining control of themselves and their lives. Highly developed hardiness (mental, emotional, and spiritual) enables them to sustain that commitment. In this context, I am again reminded of “The Serenity Prayer,” formulated by Reinhold Niebuhr: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.”After reading and then re-reading this book, I remain convinced that most (not all) problems within a workplace culture create pressure (to varying degree) and unless they are managed effectively, they become become worse…and this stress can eventually result in burnout.Here’s a metaphor to ponder: Tires without pressure are flat and can be repaired. If they continue to be used, they will be shredded. Unlike tires, people can increase their hardiness. They can also help others to increase their hardiness. That’s the WHAT. The WHY is obvious.In their book, Steven Stein and Paul Bartone explain the HOW. They offer examples of dozens of people who have taken full advantage of the principles that serve as a foundation for the Hardiness Resilience Gauge. The fact remains, however, that each reader must take full ownership of the commitment, challenge, and control that their own peak performance requires.Most people have a vision of success. That’s fine but keep in mind what Thomas Edison once observed: ” Vision without execution is hallucination.”
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3 reviews