How to Build Elite Mental Toughness | Ken Rideout & Dr. Andy Galpin
In a Nutshell
Elite performance comes down to consistent, maximal effort—trying harder is the one factor that reliably translates across all levels when skill, diet, and other variables fall short. Mental toughness is developed by repeatedly choosing discomfort: showing up and competing even when scared, exhausted, or unmotivated, rather than avoiding hard situations. This habit of pushing limits shapes identity, earns trust from others, and makes coping with real adversity (like a family health crisis) more effective than retreating into victimhood.
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One of the most common questions received when coaching the world's most decorated athletes across sports like baseball and football is what makes them different. The consistent factor across all elite performers is that toughness translates. While skill practice, diet, and other factors work for most people, they don't always translate at the highest levels. What always translates is trying harder.
"Even the best in the world try harder. Like that is your quickest, most consistent path to getting better."
More effort tends to win. There are exceptions when someone is overtraining and needs to back off, but the starting point should be figuring out what hard really is.
Through years of training, there has never been a feeling of having done too much in a given week. There have been feelings of exhaustion and being destroyed, but never a sense that more could not be extracted. After the Mongolia race, a couple of weeks were needed to feel normal again due to being run down, but that involved a week of extreme racing every single day.
The message conveyed to children is that it doesn't matter if someone is good, bad, or indifferent—what matters is who is trying the best. At any sporting event, spectators can identify which kid is the savage, who is trying the hardest, even if they are not the most skilled. That level of effort is free and available to everyone.
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