Adversity can and has many times, caused athletes to give in or give up. One part of mental toughness is how you react to adversity. When athletes face this situation they need to right away change that way of thinking and continue to work hard, which leads to two positive benefits: (1) better performance and (2) more mental toughness. Mental toughness is the ability to focus forward on your goals, stay positive and find a way to overcome.