How to Have a Shooter's Mentality as an Athlete
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam break down why so many athletes misinterpret what it means to be selfish. The episode covers why athletes in slumps need permission to be selfish, the difference between true selflessness and fear, and why every athlete needs a shooter's mentality.
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The Pre-Game Mistakes Every Athlete Makes
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam share where athletes go wrong in their pre-game routine - and it's not because you're not doing enough. The episode covers the difference between superstitions and routines, why forcing positivity before a game is one of the most common mental mistakes athletes make, the fan mentality versus the player mentality, and why the perfect routine is actually an imperfect one.
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Hard Work Is Just The Entry Fee
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Nick and Adam cover why hard work is just the entry cost at the elite level, the five anchors every athlete needs to develop, and what hard work looks like as you rise the ranks might. Nick shares a story about an athlete heading into his third NHL dev camp who only got on the ice four times in two weeks — and why that was exactly right. When you get to a certain level, everybody's working hard. Everybody's in the gym and putting in the reps. Hard work stops being the thing that separates you and starts being the thing that just keeps you in the room....
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Accepting Range of Results, Cognitive Diffusion, & The Unconscious Mind
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam break down how an athlete can tap into their unconscious mind. The episode covers Nick's broken triangle framework, the difference between standards and expectations, and why Rod Brind'Amour disconnecting himself from his own team's win is the perfect example of autonomy-supportive leadership.
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Change is Chaos, Taking Your Shell Off, & Off-Season Phases
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam share what it actually takes to grow and why the most uncomfortable moments of an athlete's career are often the most important ones. The episode covers the lobster analogy and what it really means to shed your shell, the difference between being forced to grow and being stuck, why change is chaos before it's progress, and how themes are more powerful than goals when it comes to off-season focus.
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Playing With a Chip on Your Shoulder, Pseudo Ceilings, & Raising Your Standard
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam break down two of the most misunderstood concepts in sport - the chip on your shoulder and discipline vs motivation. The episode covers why external motivation isn't always the enemy athletes make it out to be, and how there's a difference between principle and supportive motivation. They also chat about what selective disobedience actually means and why doing your best means something completely different when nobody's watching.
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Athlete Stress, Peaking Early, & The Unconscious Chase
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam share why eliminating stress shouldn't be the goal for athletes - and why trying to get rid of stress too quickly leads to burn out. The episode covers the difference between distress and eustress, why the better you get the more challenging the journey becomes, and what it actually means to build versus chase when everything's on the line. Nick previews his upcoming book Now or Never and shares why the athletes who wait until the end of the runway to start their mindset work are already behind.
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Playing on the Edge, Staying Grounded, & Four-Part Growth Framework
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam highlight the difference between taking responsibility and taking the blame. Confusing the two is one of the most common mental mistakes an athlete makes. They also cover the fault vs. responsibility framework, why the better you get the more other people are at fault, and how confidence fits into the three-four mindset. They also dive deep into why the nicest athletes are the easiest to beat - and what it actually means to play on the edge.
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The Childlike Athlete, Unstructured Play, & Creating Your Environment
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam get honest about one of the most overlooked topics in sport - what the love of the game actually means. They break down why it's so hard to define and what happens when it starts to fade. The episode covers the three psychological needs every athlete has to have met to truly love what they do. They cover why unstructured play is disappearing and what it's costing young athletes. Plus - how to build the love of the game into your mental performance tools.
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Perfect Mindset Trap, Fear of Losing Success, & Authoring Your Story
The CEP Mindset Podcast
In this episode of The CEP Mindset Show, Cassidy, Nick, and Adam dive into the Survive Land vs. Thrive Land framework, why fear of losing success hits different than fear of failure, the river you have to cross to get to the next level, and why tending to your lead is more important than protecting it. They also cover why striving for the perfect mindset is actually a trap — and the legendary sports psych who hung up on his All-Star pitcher to prove it.
info_outlineElite performance comes from being fully immersed in process; It’s what we call being in the moment, dialed in, or in the zone.
But the challenge is that the external scoreboards of sport and life can consume our focus and distract our attention from the process.
We all know the cliché, “focus on what you can control,” but the problem is that it is a lot easier said than done.
In fact, the root cause for most mental blocks stems from getting caught up in society’s definition of success – the external scoreboards.
For example:
- Struggle with confidence? Then you probably tie your confidence to results.
- Get nervous & tense? Then you are probably worried about results.
- Struggle with resilience? Then you probably beat yourself up after negative results.
To make matters worse, it’s hard to escape the external scoreboards. There are literally massive signs with bright lights in your face all game.
Follow these 3 steps to develop your own personal scorecard and you will learn to focus on the things within your control, be immersed in the process, and achieve Consistent Elite Performance.
STEP 1: What to Score
They key here is clearly identifying what matters to you. These should be highly within your control and meaningful to your performance.
The two main categories you should include are:
- Mental State
- Process
STEP 2: How to Score It
For mental state, we encourage using a percentage based on a contrast.
For example, 70% attack vs. 30% fear mindset.
The goal should be to hit 95%+. This is not about perfection, but doing your best to be fully committed to the mental state that matters to you.
When measuring your process, you can use percentages as well, but the key here is that that it depends on the standards you set for yourself. We call this EPS: Executing my Process to my Standard.
We recommend using a three tier system to measure your EPS:
- Well: At or above you standard
- Meh: Close but not at your standard
- No: Not even close and was likely a mental mistake
What most people get wrong here is that they start tracking the result, like successful plays made. This is not what we want to track here.
Instead, it’s about how you actually executed your process. You could execute your process well but get an unlucky result, or execute poorly but get a lucky result.
So on your personal scorecard, we want how you executed your process to your standard, not results.
STEP 3: Get the Most Out of It
All of this can be ruined if you don’t stop checking, let alone obsessing over, your stats or results.
What we look at and focus on matters.
That’s the whole point of the personal scorecard. So you can thwart the main purpose of it if you keep going online and filling your mind with external scoreboards and comparisons.
On the flip side, it’s really helpful to add a column for 5 things you did well each day. This helps keep you focused on the little wins and not overly focused on the mistakes.
You can also use your personal scorecard as a type of checklist to ensure you are using some of your other mental tools or keys to performance:
- 10 Sec Reset Routine
- Detailed Imagery Script
- Getting 9+ hours of Quality Sleep
- Nutrition or any other healthy habits
- Connecting to an Intrinsic Why (i.e., the love of the game)
Your personal scorecard is something you will continue to iterate and adjust. Finding someone you trust to give helpful feedback can greatly improve the impact.
The bottom line and the paradox of the whole thing is:
Your personal scorecard is something you will continue to iterate and adjust – finding someone you trust to give helpful feedback can greatly improve the impact.
The bottom line and the paradox of the whole thing is:
If you follow the above steps and consistently use your personal scorecard, then you will see the results on the external scoreboard – although you shouldn’t be looking!
If you have any questions, want 1-on-1 coaching to work on your personal scorecard, or you are interested in mental performance coaching program, contact us today.
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