13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How does Morin’s background as both a grieving person and a licensed therapist influence the credibility and tone of her advice? Does this dual perspective make the book more or less compelling than purely academic or purely experiential approaches?

2. Compare this book’s “don’t do” framework to other self-help books that focus on positive habits to adopt. Which approach feels more actionable to you, and why might eliminating behaviors be easier or harder than adding new ones?

3. What surprised you most about Morin’s definition of mental strength? How does her emphasis on accepting what you cannot control challenge common cultural narratives about willpower and individual achievement?

Encourage readers to reflect on how the book relates to their own life or work and how its lessons could help them.

1. Of the 13 behaviors Morin identifies, which one did you recognize most strongly in yourself? What emotions came up when reading that chapter—defensiveness, relief, motivation, or something else?

2. Morin argues that mentally strong people distinguish between feeling emotions and being controlled by them. Reflect on a recent situation when your emotions drove your behavior in ways that you later regretted.