Tom Brady’s mental toughness? Legendary. It’s what helped make him one of the greats. See more about Tom here.

“During the football season, one of my biggest priorities was making sure I had the right mental toughness and attitude. Mental toughness is centered on doing the best you can in the present while believing you can do even better in the future.”

— Tom Brady

In his book, The TB12 Method, Tom talks about how he needed to be mentally tough to succeed.

“If things go my way, great; and if they don’t, that’s okay, too, since I always have a chance to overcome them in the future.”

“I don’t like to focus on negatives or make excuses. I am never a victim. I gain nothing if I get angry or frustrated. If I threw an interception or had a bad day, by staying in that place, I would just make things worse.”

— Tom Brady

4 Keys to Tom Brady's Mental Toughness

Here are four tips from Tom to toughen up mentally. Try them and see what you can achieve.

1. Start each day with a positive outlook

“The right mindset and attitude give us opportunities to do the best we can and to realize the potential that’s in every one of us.”

— Tom Brady

Build this into your routine by taking action at the beginning of your day. When you wake up, choose a positive outlook for the day ahead. When you believe in yourself, others believe in you, too.

2. Focus on giving your best effort

Tom gives it his all—every day. In his experience, giving maximum effort leaves you feeling accomplished, win or lose.

“For me, it’s less about the outcome than it is about whether I put in the best effort relative to our team’s potential. Some games we may win by a big margin, and in others, we may be outscored, but the ones I remember best are the closely fought games in which, no matter what the scoreboard says, our team put in our best effort.”

— Tom Brady

One of Tom’s favorite quotes comes from legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” Expect the best from your day. Then give your best effort.

3. When something doesn't go your way, choose to stay positive

Some things you can control. Others, you can’t. You may not be able to choose the outcome, but you can control your response.

“You walk onto the field armed with various strategies, ideas, and hypotheses about how the game will play out, based on things you’ve studied. But in the end, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

— Tom Brady

All you can control is your reaction. Choose to remain positive.

4. Learn from losses

Rather than going into a dark place when things don’t work out, learn and grow from the experience.

“Whenever my team lost a game, it was an opportunity to learn something. If we’ve lost but I’ve learned something, the game turns into a positive experiment.”

— Tom Brady

Mental Toughness Over Time

Building these habits can turn mistakes into lessons and failures into victories. It’s how Tom approaches his career and personal life, channeling emotional intensity in a positive direction—even when things don’t go his way.

“I’m not a robot. I’m a very emotional person. But I’ve learned to use losses as ways to be better the next time. Usually, what I learn afterward, through review and self-reflection, is a greater positive than whatever benefits might have come from winning.”

— Tom Brady