FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT STRESS. If you’re like most people, you probably think that stress is an inevitable part of life. The truth is: it’s not. In a groundbreaking 30-year study, Dr. Derek Roger has discovered that everything we think we know about stress—and how we should “manage” it—is just plain wrong. STRESS IS A CHOICE. It is not a natural response to the pressures of work. It’s a choice that you make, consciously or not, to worry and fret and agonize over the work you need to do—instead of just doing it. WORK DOESN’T HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL FOR YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL. This book offers a radically different approach to stress. It’s about being resilient. Flexible. Mentally awake and in the moment. It’s about changing your mindset to keep things in perspective instead of adding fuel to the fire with negative thoughts. The techniques you’ll find in this book are powerful, practical, and proven to work—without stress.

In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” (People). The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives success: not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. In Grit, she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers—from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. “Duckworth’s ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better” (The New York Times Book Review). Among Grit’s most valuable insights: any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned, regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference. This is “a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success” (The Wall Street Journal).

How do some people bounce back with vigor from daily setbacks, professional crises, or even intense personal trauma? This book reveals the key traits of those who emerge stronger from challenges, helps you train your brain to withstand the stresses of daily life, and presents an approach to an effective career reboot. This volume includes the work of: Daniel Goleman Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld Shawn Achor This collection of articles includes “How Resilience Works,” by Diane Coutu; “Resilience for the Rest of Us,” by Daniel Goleman; “How to Evaluate, Manage, and Strengthen Your Resilience,” by David Kopans; “Find the Coaching in Criticism,” by Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone; “Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters,” by Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld and Andrew J. Ward; and “Resilience Is About How You Recharge, Not How You Endure,” by Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan. How to be human at work. The HBR Emotional Intelligence Series features smart, essential reading on the human side of professional life from the pages of Harvard Business Review. Each book in the series offers proven research showing how our emotions impact our work lives, practical advice for managing difficult people and situations, and inspiring essays on what it means to tend to our emotional well-being at work. Uplifting and practical, these books describe the social skills that are critical for ambitious professionals to master.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From authors of Lean In and Originals: a powerful, inspiring, and practical book about building resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. “I was in ‘the void,’” she writes, “a vast emptiness that fills your heart and lungs and restricts your ability to think or even breathe.” Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build. Option B combines Sheryl’s personal insights with Adam’s eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Beginning with the gut-wrenching moment when she finds her husband, Dave Goldberg, collapsed on a gym floor, Sheryl opens up her heart—and her journal—to describe the acute grief and isolation she felt in the wake of his death. But Option B goes beyond Sheryl’s loss to explore how a broad range of people have overcome hardships including illness, job loss, sexual assault, natural disasters, and the violence of war. Their stories reveal the capacity of the human spirit to persevere . . . and to rediscover joy. Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. Even after the most devastating events, it is possible to grow by finding deeper meaning and gaining greater appreciation in our lives. Option B illuminates how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities, and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to everyday struggles, allowing us to brave whatever lies ahead. Two weeks after losing her husband, Sheryl was preparing for a father-child activity. “I want Dave,” she cried. Her friend replied, “Option A is not available,” and then promised to help her make the most of Option B. We all live some form of Option B. This book will help us all make the most of it.

"The self-improvement industry puts the responsibility for change on us as individuals, producing few if any long-term changes in our health or happiness. Michael Ungar shows that individual growth depends very little on what we think, feel, or behave. He is one of the world's leading experts on thriving through adversity. Delving into the latest research, he demonstrates that we share responsibility for our personal well-being with our family and friends, and even our employers and politicians. In fact, the more the odds are stacked against us, the less motivation, positive thinking and grit are important to resilience and the more we benefit from an environment rich in opportunity. Ungar explores real people's lives and discovers that the answers lie in the people and the support systems around us. The good news is that it is easier to change your environment than it is to change yourself. Indeed, Ungar has solid evidence that we can influence the world around us in ways that will make us more resilient both at home and on the job. "--

Burn-out, excessive hours, office politics, handling complaints, isolated remote working, complex and inefficient processes – this book addresses the full complexities of chronic stress at work. It explains the potential for emotional and physical illness resulting from work, and importantly, presents ways in which occupational health and wellbeing can be enhanced through strengthening chronic stress diagnosis and promoting resilience. The latter is a win-win, for the worker, for the organization, and for society in general. Drawing on 40 years of research in collaboration with some of the best-known occupational stress gurus (including Cary Cooper, Susan Jackson, the late Ron Burke and Arie Shirom), Simon L. Dolan translates abstract concepts of chronic stress into practical guidance for enhancing resilience in a VUCA world. The ILO and many governments recognize stress as a principal cause of emerging physical and mental disease and one of the strongest determinants of high absenteeism, low morale and low productivity. While important advances have been made in the diagnosis of acute stress, the field of chronic stress in the workplace remains less clear. This book seeks to address this by presenting a wealth of diagnostic tools, including "The Stress Map". The text is brought to life for the reader by short vignettes in the form of anecdotes and stories. This book will be of particular interest to HR professionals, consultants, executive coaches, therapists and others who wish to help employees and clients better manage their own and others’ stress and to build resilience that leads to a more productive and healthier workforce.

The Heart of a Leader: Fifty-Two Emotional Intelligence Insights to Advance Your Career uncovers insider secrets on leadership for go-getters who aren’t satisfied with status quo careers. Authored by Kristin Harper, the book is based on more than twenty years of firsthand experience climbing the proverbial corporate ladder. Each chapter in The Heart of a Leader focuses on leadership and emotional intelligence competencies, actionable tools, bite-sized insights, and inspiring quotes to reference throughout your career. Whether you’re an aspiring leader new in your career or a seasoned employee ready for the next level, adopting the time-tested insights in The Heart of a Leader will help accelerate your career.