ABSTRACT
Youth work is concerned with a holistic approach to development, which is fundamental to the emotional wellbeing of young people and promoting greater 'resilience' and 'mental toughness', the quality which determines in large part how individuals respond to stress, pressure and challenge such as change, irrespective of prevailing circumstances. Like many positive psychological concepts, the earlier the development the better. But developing mental toughness or one of its apparent variants is arguably worthwhile at any time. In fact perhaps the biggest strength of mental toughness is to provide an overarching concept that links many of the initiatives with young people. The net effect is to see that, in recent years, the concepts of resilience, hardiness, and mental toughness have bubbled to the surface in every walk of life. It may not have been "politically correct" to suggest that working harder was a good thing. Only a growth mindset delivers sustainable success.
