662: Mastering the ART of Emotions, Dr. Kerry Guest, Mental Health Specialist for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Release Date: 01/30/2025
687: Lead Your Emotions, Don’t Let Them Lead You
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
In this episode of the High Performance Mindset, we dive into the power of emotional agility—the skill of being present with your emotions without letting them take the wheel. Backed by cutting-edge research, we explore how processing and labeling emotions can reduce distress, enhance performance, and improve your ability to lead and live with purpose. You’ll learn: Why emotional agility is a key to resilience, leadership, and well-being. The three essential steps to becoming emotionally agile: noticing, labeling, and choosing action aligned with your values. How to shift from “I am...
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686: How High Performers See Challenges Differently
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
In this episode, we explore one of the most powerful mindset tools high performers use: reframing. You’ll hear the inspiring story of Spanx founder Sara Blakely and how her father helped her see failure as a sign of courage and growth. We break down how reframing allows you to reinterpret challenges with strength and optimism—turning setbacks into comebacks and adversity into fuel. You’ll learn: What reframing really is and why it’s essential to high performance. Practical questions and tools to help you shift your perspective in real-time. Everyday...
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685: Coaches Are Performers Too: Building High-Performance Cultures with Dr. Richard Thelwell
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
In this powerful episode, Dr. Cindra Kamphoff sits down with internationally respected sport psychologist Dr. Richard Thelwell to explore the psychology behind high-performance coaching. Drawing on decades of research and applied practice, Dr. Thelwell shares why coaches must see themselves as performers and how their emotional intelligence, communication, and self-awareness directly shape athlete performance and team culture. Richard is a Professor of Applied Sport Psychology and currently serves as the Executive Dean at the University of Portsmouth. He’s a Chartered Psychologist with the...
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684: Why Hard Goals Create Real Growth
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
In this episode of the High Performance Mindset Podcast, Dr. Cindra explore the impact of setting stretch goals - ambitious, meaningful targets that push us out of our comfort zones and closer to our potential. Backed by research from Harvard Business School, they explain how high-effort goals can fuel innovation, focus, and sustained performance when they're supported by belief and purpose. You’ll also learn why writing down your goals matters, how to break the habit of playing small, and how to shift your thinking when self-doubt shows up. Power Phrase of the Week: “I pursue bold goals...
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683: Build Mentally Strong Athletes by Coaching Confidence First with Melissa Hager and Brock Thompson
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
Today’s episode features a powerful conversation with two standout leaders in sport and performance—Melissa Hager and Brock Thompson. Melissa is one of the only women in Minnesota coaching boys high school basketball and brings a wealth of insight on leadership, resilience, and building trust with athletes. Brock is the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at South Dakota State University and a seasoned leader with over 25 years in college athletics. Both are certified Mentally Strong Coaches and bring real-world perspective on what it takes to develop confident athletes and teams. Together, we...
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682: How to Level Up Your Belief In Yourself
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
In this episode of the High Performance Mindset podcast, Dr. Cindra shares how the way we talk to ourselves can shape our confidence, performance, and leadership. Drawing from Serena Williams’ affirmation practice before winning Wimbledon in 2015, we explore how powerful self-talk can override doubt and pressure—especially when things aren’t going perfectly. You’ll learn how thought patterns are formed early in life to protect us, and how those same patterns can now limit us unless we choose to rewire them through consistent mental conditioning. This episode covers four tools you can...
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681: Leadership Starts with a First Impression: Owning Your Presence with Sylvie di Giusto, Keynote Speaker and Personal Branding Expert
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
I’m incredibly excited about today’s guest—Sylvie di Giusto—who is a globally recognized expert in personal branding, leadership presence, and first impressions. Sylvie helps professionals and organizations explore how people make decisions about them—and what they can do to influence those decisions effectively. With a background in corporate training and a multicultural career across Europe and the United States, she brings a unique and powerful perspective to leadership development. She is the author of The Image of Leadership and Fair Advantage, and she’s worked with some of...
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680: How to Live More and Worry Less
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
In this episode of High Performance Mindset, Dr. Cindra dives into the science of worry—and how to take back control of your mind and energy. Drawing on research from Dr. Robert Leahy, she shares that 85% of what we worry about never actually happens. Even more powerful: when our fears do come true, we tend to handle them better than expected. Cindra unpacks why our brains are wired to worry—usually about the people and priorities we care most about—and how unchecked worry can steal our joy, drain our energy, and keep us stuck in the future. She then shares three...
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679: Dancing through the Discomfort, Change, and the Messy Middle with Anne Bonney, Keynote Speaker and Change Expert
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
I’m thrilled to bring you a high-energy, insight-packed conversation with the dynamic and fearless Anne Bonney. After moving 27 times, attending 13 different schools, living on four continents, and navigating six distinct careers, Anne has turned change into her comfort zone. She’s a keynote speaker, leadership trainer, and emotional intelligence expert who helps individuals and organizations embrace discomfort, lead courageously, and ignite positive momentum in their teams. In this episode, Anne shares her personal journey of mastering change, along with actionable strategies to...
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678: Break Free from Overthinking
High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset
This week when you notice yourself overthinking or believing a thought that doesn’t serve you, use The Truth Meter. Your mind tends to lie to you to keep you safe and small. Instead, take control of your mind and choose a different thought that would serve you right now. Your mind does not control you, you can control your mind! Quote of the Week: "You don’t have to believe every thought you think." — Byron Katie Power Phrase of the Week: “I choose my thoughts. I create my reality."
info_outlineWelcome to High Performance Mindset, the podcast where we dive into mental strategies to help you be your best more often.
Today, we have a truly special guest—someone who plays a pivotal role in helping elite athletes navigate the mental side of the game. Joining us is Kerry Guest, the Mental Health Specialist for the Arizona Diamondbacks, a leader in the field of sport psychology and mental well-being.
Kerry’s work is all about helping athletes understand and master their emotions so they can perform at their best—both on and off the field. In a high-pressure sport like baseball, mental resilience can be the difference between good and great. And that’s where Kerry comes in, guiding players through the ART of emotions—a model built around Acknowledging, Regulating, and Tolerating emotions.
In this conversation, we’ll dive deep into:
✅ Where emotions come from and why they matter
✅ The power of emotional awareness in high performance
✅ How athletes and leaders can buy into the process of understanding their emotions
✅ Practical strategies like “Say, See, and Do” to develop emotional mastery
And of course, we’ll wrap up with Kerry’s best advice for all of you—high performers looking to level up your mindset.
This is going to be a fascinating and insightful discussion, so let’s jump in!
HIGH PERFORMANCE MINDSET SHOWNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE
REQUEST A FREE MENTAL BREAKTHROUGH CALL WITH DR. CINDRA AND/OR HER TEAM
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MENTALLY STRONG INSTITUTE
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