The parts are late, the customer is complaining, and the pressure is relentless. World Rally driver Penny Mallory explains why independent garages don’t just need more time, they need “Mental Toughness.”

The end of the year in the motor trade is a unique kind of pressure. Between the rush to clear the ramps before Christmas, the battle for parts, and the dark, cold mornings, it is easy to feel like you are just surviving rather than thriving.

Speaking at the IAAF Conference earlier this month, former World Rally Championship driver Penny Mallory addressed this feeling head-on. She didn’t offer fluff. Instead she offered a reality check for an industry under siege.

Penny, the first woman to drive a World Rally Car for Ford, argues that while garage owners cannot control the chaos of the industry, they can upgrade their ability to handle it.

1. The 40% rule

Every technician knows the feeling: it’s 4 PM on a Friday, a job has gone wrong, your knuckles are bleeding, and you just want to go home. You feel done.

Penny suggests you are lying to yourself. Citing a technique used by Navy SEALs, she explained: “When your mind is telling you ‘I’m done, I’m exhausted, I can take no more’, you are actually only 40% done.”

Burnout is real, and rest is vital. But in those critical moments when a job must get done, knowing your tank is deeper than you think can be the difference between giving up and winning. You are more capable than you give yourself credit for.

2. Stop managing groups, build a team

One of Penny’s hardest lessons came when she had to quit her dream of rowing the Atlantic because the dynamic in the boat was toxic.

“You can put four people on a boat, but that’s just a group,” she warned. “A team is something quite different.”

Look around your garage. Do you have a team, or just a group of people working in the same building?

• A Group: Individuals protecting their own patch, hiding mistakes, and doing the bare minimum.
• A Team: People who cover for each other, share knowledge on difficult diagnostics, and are committed to the same goal: a profitable, reputable garage. In 2026, stop settling for a “group.”

3. Flip the script on ‘change’

The aftermarket is scared of change. Whether it’s the death of the diesel or the rise of ADAS, uncertainty causes stress. Penny admits that “most people avoid getting out of their comfort zone at all costs.”

Her advice? Smash the problem.

“Mentally tough people get excited about a challenge,” she said. “Ask yourself: What is great about this problem?”

That complex electrical fault you’ve been avoiding? That’s an opportunity to charge a higher labour rate than the garage down the road who refused to touch it.

The apprentice who asks too many questions? That’s your future master tech.

Stop seeing challenges as threats to your day, and start seeing them as opportunities to separate yourself from the competition.

4. Control the controllable

“We simply cannot control life and what happens to us, but we can always control our effort and our ability to adapt,” Penny said.

In a rally car, you can’t control the weather or the gravel. In a garage, you can’t control when a customer cancels or when a supplier lets you down.

Stressing over things you cannot change wastes energy.

In 2026, focus ruthlessly on what you can control: your customer service, your pricing, and your quality of work. Let the rest go.

Cold shower challenge

Penny didn’t leave the stage without setting homework. If you want to build resilience for the New Year, she suggests starting your day with one minute of cold water in the shower.

It sounds miserable. That’s the point.

“You are practicing tolerating discomfort,” she explained. “Knowing you can step into cold water for one minute means that every single thing you face that day will feel like a walk in the park.”

A final thought on time

Penny ended her talk with a sobering exercise: looking at a tape measure of your life and tearing off the years already lived.

“Life is so flippin’ amazing, so precious. Please don’t waste a single second of it.”

As we head into a new year of MOTs, services, and repairs, remember that this trade is tough, but so are you.

What’s been the biggest test of your “mental toughness” in 2025? Share your comments below…