The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness

by Rob Bell

Every door has a hinge. If it doesn’t, it’s a wall.

Dan Jansen, Olympic Gold medalist stated "The key to mental toughness is knowing that it only takes one. Dr. Bell takes that fact a step further in The Hinge."

Have you ever noticed how the outcome of a close competition depends upon one play or moment? If we look closer, every season and career also possesses these crucial, pivotal moments. It only takes one. The Hinge is the one moment, event, or person that makes all the difference. It connects who we are with who we become. This is the importance of having Mental Toughness, will you be ready?

In this cutting edge book, you’ll • How a plane crash changed the music landscape forever in America. • How a blade of grass caused the dominance of Korean golf. • What Hall of Famers really believe. • The most important mental skills and how to apply them. • Why we should listen to our gut. • To understand that “it only takes one.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports

122 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2013

About the author

• Dr. Rob Bell is a noted sport psychology coach, author, and speaker. He has spoken to the NFL, PGA, Marriott, and Walgreens, and has written 8 books on Mental Toughness.


• Rob has worked with 3 different winners on the PGA Tour and has served as the mental coach for University of Notre Dame, Indy Eleven, an Indy 500 champion, an Olympic Silver medalist, a grand slam tennis champion, and the USTA National Champion.

• Dr. Bell has caddied over 20+ events on the PGA & LPGA Tours. He’s an ironman, completed several ultra marathons and a 100-mile trail run.

• He hosts the Mental Toughness Podcast With Dr. Rob Bell and interviews experts on mental heath, mental toughness, and their Hinge moments.

• A fomer university professor Dr. Bell has published over a dozen journal articles and has been featured on ESPN, The Golf Channel, Runner’s World, NY Times and Stack Magazine.

• He is a graduate from of University of Tennessee, Temple University, & Shepherd University. Join on instagram @drrobbell or drrobbell.com

Reviews

[AJourneyWithoutMap · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness by Dr. Rob Bell is about mental toughness and offers a new perspective on the subject. The book takes a look at what it takes to perform at the highest level and enjoy what you do.

The five maxims of The Hinge are truly inspiring:
-It only takes one
-Things happen for a reason
-Trust your gut
-Tragedies are not immediate
-What-if never happened

The Hinge by Rob Bell is a short and enjoyable book, truly inspiring, and one that touches the heart having the power to spur the reader to act on the lessons learned. You’ll go through exciting chapters like Moving a 25-ton Door, Confidence, Faith, Motivation, Focus, Re-Focus, and The Rusty Hinges. The Serenity Prayer included at the end is a great way to round off the book.

Success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan – Anonymous.

[Lance Kuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good principles in here, for sure. That's why I gave it three stars. But it is not very coherent and the editing is mediocre. It was kind of like trying to figure out the principles myself from the interwoven examples. I guess that is part of the problem I had - the examples or quotes were more of the book than the analysis. Anyway, a useful reference for good principles for training and life, but not a great read.

[Gordie Theisen · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were put here with others for specific reasons.

[Louise Giblin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth a read. Not just a sport psychology book, great for all goals and interesting life comparisons.

[Kristopher Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

This book takes what we already know about ourselves, and allows us to understand the actions we take. We have all talked about how “if it’s meant to be, it will be” or “trust your gut.” However, a lot of times we go against these claims, and it is not until we put everything in perspective that we really don’t understand how the “What Ifs” cannot be proven. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to further understand how life has a purpose, and needs to understand how life can push us to extremes.

[Dawn Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hinge The Importance of Mental Toughness by Dr Rob Bell

9780989918404

122 Pages
Publisher: DRB Press, Independent Book Publishers Association
Release Date: November 15, 2013

Nonfiction, Health, Mind, Body, Sports

I learned a lot of sports related events in this book. The “Tuck” rule with Tom Brady and the “Immaculate Reception” with Terry Bradshaw are just a couple examples. I enjoyed the author’s writing style. If you are interested in sports, you may like this book.

[Jordan Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometime it takes a second read for a book to truly take root. Maybe it is only then you can realize the Hinge moments in your life for what they really were. Shout out to Dr. Rob Bell, my good friend and the author of The Hinge.

Reading this book has actually had more of an impact on me than anyone will ever know.
#acceptingthehinge #thingshappenforareason #whatifmomentsneverhappened

[Adrian · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 20 pages in.

First the book is poorly made. I flipped a page, page fell out. Almost every other page was like this.

There was a lot I didn't like about this book to the way the pages were laid out.
In the introduction the author failed to mention his argument for mental toughness and his opinion of mental Toughness.
Felt the author wasn't trying to impress rather than have a conversation.

[Timothy p. Tighe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good thought provoking book.

This was a good thought provoking book that helped me really think about other aspects of the world around me. So often we only think of the moment at hand and not the last of the future.

[Dan Hiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Creates for some good personal reflection and offers great stories!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring

This book is a great reminder of me of many things I believe and I came across it right when I needed some reminding! It’s packed with many great stories!

[mark cervantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changer

Excellent read, if you ever wanted to understand the "why" in life read this book. Kept me up all night.

[Bob Ruscitto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encouraging

A collection of stories about the realities of life. Rated a three because it only provided a medium amount of motivation.

[Alit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a collection of stories around a theme. Nothing new to learn.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terribly impressed

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This positive-thinking book states that we need to be mentally tough and savvy enough at listening to gut feelings, in order to take advantage of opportunities in life. THE HINGE is what makes an obstacle a door instead of a wall, and our actions form the handle.

Fine in prospect, but every chapter is illustrated with sporting stories, and all but a few are intricate tales of American-specific sports about which non-Americans know nothing. "In Orel Hershisher's book 'Between the Lines' he tells a story about how he threw a two-hit shutout at Wrigley Stadium in cold, windy conditions." I don't know what sport this relates to, I'm not told, and after a book filled with much the same in the way of illustrations, I'm not going to look it up.

A lady golfer is presented, Se Ri Pak, who determinedly stood knee deep in a water feature to take a shot, but females are few. Roger Bannister, first to break the four-minute mile, is used to demonstrate confidence in oneself to do the impossible. There are some tales relating to musicians. Quotes are also given from leaders like Gandhi, as well as a few nice stories about ordinary life and unexpected job offers.

Dr Rob Bell tells us his five maxims, which include that things happen for a reason, and to trust our gut feelings. The biggest turning points are those we don't see coming, like a tragedy, or losing a position. Relationships get deeper or they die, adds the author (reinforcing it with a tale about a sports coach) and at times we must be the hinge for others; to support them and help them make the right decision for their lives.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 2 out of 5]

According to the author, there are five maxims of the hinge:

* It only takes one
* Things happen for a reason
* Trust your gut
* Tragedies are immediate
* What-if never happened

There are also chapters on confidence, faith, motivation, focus and re-focus along with "rusty hinges".

When I read the description of this book, it sounded interesting ... I like books that make me a better person. This book was okay, not great ... it didn't excite me. I liked that there were stories to show the instances of the hinge but they were mostly sports stories which I wasn't really into ... it would have been nice to have a broader range of examples.

If you are a sports fan, you might enjoy this book more than I did.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2013/12...

[Maggie Hesseling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if destiny can be substituted for the hinge, but if it is the case it's a nice idea. I don't believe in it. However, this book is so well written that it seduces you into the idea of it. It's easy to see trend in hindsight, but is it really trend or mostly related (or unrelated events) that you subconsciously work for so that you're in the position you want to be? Maybe it's a bit of both. But regardless of your point-of-view on the matter, this book gives lots of food for thought. You'll keep re-evaluating yourself and your life. And what sort of book is better than the one that can achieve that? But I promise that you'll take something away- whether it's learning how to face certain types of adversity or the desire to work harder for what you want. This text will explain not only how others do it, but give insight for yourself.

[Roch King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This highly readable book has something for everyone and a lot more for most people. The running metaphors of walls, hinges, and doors make the important lessons about obstacles, turning-points, and opportunities memorable. Personally, I found the Dr. Bell's approach to confidence and focus and how those relate to being ready for when that one Hinge moment comes, as the most powerful. Other readers may find other sections as the most pertinent. If you are looking to improve your own performance, be more "in the moment," this is a must read. If you work with athletes, or other performance based artists, this is a book you need to have in your library and close at hand.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of incredible trivia- especially from sports- so this book appealed to me. Dr. Bell unfolds aspects of a person who has mental toughness. They are great reminders. He not only reviews the components of mental capacity that enable a person to take advantage of opportunities, but he uncovers some of the rusty hinges that keep us from opening the door of possibility in our lives. This was an enjoyable read. I borrowed this book, but I'd love to have my own copy just to review it from time to time. Since I met the author one day while leaving the gym, I read it with even more interest.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I finished this because I wanted to hit 80 books for the year and had already invested time in it. This book is mostly a series of quotes and incredibly short anecdotes strung together loosely in a very forced way. I was excited about the premise, but the information was entirely too shallow.

[David Rennard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely helpful for adopting a mindset. Not on-par with more fully-developed and challenging concepts and stories, like "How Proust Can Change Your Life", "Well-being", "Fear and Trembling", "Either/Or", etc.

[Charlie Areddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for people who like to make accurate assessments of themselves and those who find the importance in real life situations.