Mental Toughness vs. Mental Health: The Strength to Push Through and the Wisdom to Seek Help

By: Tommy Brown

Provided by: One Heartbeat

I believe in mental toughness. It's what I do for a living teaching teams, leaders, and individuals how to push through obstacles, develop resilience, and refuse to quit when things get hard.

And let's be honest: people need to be tougher. Myself included. We live in a world where too many give up at the first sign of adversity. Grit matters. Perseverance matters. Without them, no one achieves anything worthwhile.

But here's the problem: you can be mentally tough without being mentally healthy.
Pushing through pain, suffering in silence, and pretending everything is fine that's not toughness. That's denial. And denial doesn't just hurt you; it can cost you everything.

When Grit Becomes Dangerous

Mental toughness has been glorified for years. We celebrate the athlete who plays through injury, the executive who burns the midnight oil, and the coach who never lets emotions show. But what happens when toughness becomes a mask?

I'll never forget one of my toughest basketball players an All-American. When he played for me, he was the last person I would have ever expected to struggle with mental health. He was confident, relentless, and mentally tough in every way. But after his playing days were over, he faced battles that no one saw coming.

The same thing happened to Michael Phelps. The most decorated Olympian of all time the very definition of grit and perseverance struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. He had spent his whole life mastering physical and mental toughness, yet after the 2012 Olympics, he found himself in a dark place, questioning whether life was worth living.

If someone as mentally tough as Michael Phelps can struggle, what does that tell us? It tells us that toughness alone isn't enough.

Mental Toughness and Mental Health Are Not Opposites - They Are Partners

Success isn't about choosing one or the other; it's about knowing when to flip the switch.

1. Grit is essential. It pushes us through the hard days, helps us fight for our dreams, and makes sure we don't quit when things get uncomfortable.
2. But toughness without self-awareness is reckless. The strongest people aren't the ones who pretend everything is fine they're the ones who know when to reach out for help.

Take Grundy, my rescue pitbull. He survived alone in the woods for over a year, enduring starvation, predators, and injury. His grit kept him alive. But when we brought him home, he was still trapped in survival mode. Toughness had helped him endure, but healing required something else trust, care, and support.

We're the same way. Grit can get us through the storm, but we can't thrive if we never let ourselves recover.

Building a Culture of Mental Toughness AND Mental Health

So how do we get this right? How do we create a mindset that values toughness while also recognizing when help is needed?

1. Redefine Strength
   Strength isn't just pushing through it's also knowing when to take a step back and get help. The toughest leaders, athletes, and professionals understand this.
2. Check on Your "Strong" People
   The ones who seem the toughest are often carrying the heaviest loads. Ask. Listen. Let them know they don't have to carry it alone.
3. Encourage Grit But Not at the Expense of Well-Being
   Great teams, families, and businesses thrive when they expect toughness but also create space for honesty and support. High standards and high empathy can coexist.
4. Normalize Seeking Help
   Michael Phelps didn't find healing by ignoring his struggles. He found it by getting help, opening up, and realizing he wasn't alone. That's real strength.

The Real Test of Mental Toughness

Grit matters. I believe that with all my heart. But grit without mental health is a ticking time bomb. We have to stop acting like toughness and vulnerability are enemies. The greatest athletes, leaders, and warriors in history have all known when to fight through and when to seek help.

So ask yourself:

• Where do you need to push harder?
• Where do you need to stop pretending everything is fine and get support?

About the Author

Tommy Brown is a speaker, coach, and the founder of One Heartbeat, where he helps teams, businesses, and athletes develop the mental toughness to perform at the highest level without sacrificing their well-being. A former college basketball coach, Tommy has spent years studying grit, leadership, and team culture, working with championship-winning programs and corporate leaders.

His upcoming book, Sadie and Grundy: Unleashing the Power of Grit and Empathy in Life and Leadership, explores the balance between resilience and compassion through the story of his two dogs Grundy, a rescue pitbull who survived alone in the woods for over a year, and Sadie, a Goldendoodle whose unwavering empathy saved him in return.

Tommy also leads The Be Grundy Foundation, which fosters resilience in individuals particularly female athletes while supporting dog rescue efforts.

For speaking engagements, workshops, or more on mental toughness and leadership, visit OneHeartbeatWarriors.com, or connect with Tommy at tbrown@oneheartbeatwarriors.com.