2 Approaches to Sport and Life
The CEP Mindset Podcast
What if worry, frustration, or feeling down are not the problem? Instead, they are symptoms based on your approach to sport and even life. In our society, the way we talk about emotions is backward. We label ourselves and others as anxious, sad, or frustrated. That is not who we are—it is what we are feeling, and the distinction matters. When you identify with an emotion, you've got a self-perpetuating problem. More importantly, it's not true. Emotions are a feedback tool, specifically about your approach to sport and life. If this resonates with you check out my breakdown of the 2...
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The 3 Phases to Transform Your Mindset
The CEP Mindset Podcast
Do you feel stuck in your own head, or is your mindset holding you back? It's normal and okay to get stuck. We can't avoid challenges, pressures, and distractions in sports or life. But we can learn how to use these events as growing opportunities. Specifically, this post will show you the 3 phases to transform your mindset. I've been using this concept with many of my one-on-one clients because of the simplicity, clarity, and power it gives them. The 3 Phases First - in phase one, things are great. Then, phase two - things get tough. Adversity, pressure, and expectations...
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Winning vs Enjoyment - What Matters More?
The CEP Mindset Podcast
Winning versus enjoyment: what matters more? The tension between the two is one that many high performers struggle with. I got this question recently, and the person said, “it's not just about winning - but it's ultimately all about winning.” This conundrum can create a lot of inner conflict without the mental model to resolve it. You can be left oscillating between an unhealthy win-at-all-costs mentality that leaves you frustrated and consumed with the results. Or on the other end, you lose the competitive fire needed to perform at your best. I share the mental models to resolve this...
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Stop Obsessing Over Results
The CEP Mindset Podcast
For most athletes, traditional goal setting is holding them back. Yes you read that right. Goal setting itself is not the problem. The problem is being obsessed with results. You can want and care about results, but the best athletes in the world are more obsessed with the process than results. This can be easier said than done. I learned how big of a problem this is first hand. As a junior hockey player, I obsessed about points and my spot in the lineup. The more I obsessed about results, the harder it was to achieve my goals. It was infuriating to want something so bad and work so...
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Transform Your Mental Game With an Alter Ego
The CEP Mindset Podcast
If you want a sure fire way to quickly transform your mental game - you need to develop a personalized Alter Ego. This strategy is not about putting fixed labels on who you are as a person. Rather it is about creating a narrative about how you want to show up on the field of play. The Power of Simplicity and Creativity Credit to my coach and mentor Todd Herman for writing the book: and helping bring more simplicity and creativity to the mental game. Unfortunately most sport psychology strategies are: Dry Boring Overcomplicated As an athlete you don’t want to be out on...
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Developing a ‘Me vs Me’ Mentality - Featuring Professional Soccer Player Noah Cavanaugh
The CEP Mindset Podcast
Noah Cavanaugh is a professional soccer player from Seattle, WA, who currently plays for Flower City Union in New York. Over the past year, he's worked with Dr. Cassidy Preston to help give him a mental edge on and off the pitch as he continues to push up the ranks of pro soccer in the US. In this interview Noah discusses how he has personalized his mental game to work for him. He touches on the challenges he has had to overcome as a professional soccer player - some of the key takeaways include: The reciprocal nature of focusing on the process and staying centered Developing a 'me vs me'...
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Block Out the Noise With Your Reset Routine
The CEP Mindset Podcast
The ability to block out the ‘noise’ is key to having a clear mind and playing free. But this is easier said than done - many athletes have trouble blocking out the ‘noise’ and end up: Overthinking Doubting their abilities Worrying about things out of their control When you lack alignment within your thoughts, feelings, and actions, you end up losing the ability to play in the flow state. The best strategy to clear and block out the noise is a Reset Routine. The magic is not in the routine itself, but in what the routine represents. Here are the ABC’s to creating an effective...
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How to Play With Confidence
The CEP Mindset Podcast
Confidence is arguably the most important ingredient in succeeding as an athlete, but athletes often struggle to find and keep this elusive trait. The problem lies in that they have a skewed understanding of what confidence actually is and where it comes from. Here are the 4 main reasons why athletes struggle with self-confidence: Yo-Yo Confidence: Tying their self-image to external results or praise Imposter Syndrome: Believing they are not worthy and/or don’t belong Victim Mentality: Blaming others and not taking responsibility Negativity Bias: Constantly beating...
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A New Way for Athletes to Mentally Prepare
The CEP Mindset Podcast
The outline of my first book is complete - check out the caption below to see the outline! I’ve gained some great insights while starting the writing process - you can find those in the summary below. The working title is - Play with Confidence: A New Way for Athletes to Mentally Prepare The purpose of the book is to challenge the status quo on mental preparation and question the ‘accepted’ ways of thinking about confidence. It will debunk the fluffy clichés, cookie-cutter strategies, and ‘old-school’ beliefs entrenched in the sport culture. If you dare to be different and embrace...
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How To Perform Under Pressure
The CEP Mindset Podcast
Performance anxiety is one the leading reasons athletes struggle to consistently perform at their capabilities. Learning how to channel your nerves is key to performing at your best when it matters most. Unfortunately most athletes focus on the threats of high-pressure situations. Pressure can Provoke a State of Fear As a result the pressure provokes a fear state that leaves the athlete tense, overthinking, and underperforming. Here are 3 other common reasons athletes don’t perform under pressure: Zoomed In on the Context Overly focused on the context and making the results seem more...
info_outlineThe ability to block out the ‘noise’ is key to having a clear mind and playing free.
But this is easier said than done - many athletes have trouble blocking out the ‘noise’ and end up:
Overthinking
Doubting their abilities
Worrying about things out of their control When you lack alignment within your thoughts, feelings, and actions, you end up losing the ability to play in the flow state.
The best strategy to clear and block out the noise is a Reset Routine.
The magic is not in the routine itself, but in what the routine represents.
Here are the ABC’s to creating an effective and personalized Reset Routine:
STEP 1: Accept
Most athletes get caught in the ‘need to, have to, and shoulds’ of performance - this leaves them:
Feeling the burden of expectations
Distracted by the results that are not in their control
Primed to be frustrated if they fall short of their expectations
The key to letting go of this noise is acceptance, but the problem is our society thinks acceptance is a weakness.
However, if properly understood and effectively used it is one of the most powerful tools to getting centered, grounded, and becoming the hero of your own story.
That is why this step is the most important - without it your Reset Routine will not be effective or reliable.
The Pink Elephant and the Bubble
One of the analogies we like to use is the pink elephant and the bubble.
If I say “don’t think of a pink elephant.” What do you think of?
A pink elephant…
This is not an effective strategy, yet that is exactly what most advice is for athletes:
Don’t worry about it
Forget about it
Be positive
These might be the results we want but they do not tell us how to get those results.
Think of your focus and awareness as a bubble, and what we want is to have a clear bubble - where you are dialed into the process.
But the problem is pink elephants show up - aka distracting thoughts and feelings.
The solution is to go to them, to understand them, to embrace them, to accept them.
By doing this the pink elephant is not necessarily gone forever, but it will move outside your mental bubble, and your mind will become clear and free.
Finding Your Pink Elephants
The hardest part of acceptance is knowing what to accept.
There are two common problems:
The pink elephant is in your blind spot: You can feel it but have a hard time seeing it and understanding it - which therefore makes it hard to accept and clear.
A lack of perspective: When you are too zoomed in on the situation, you often have a hard time seeing the bigger picture. It’s like only seeing part of the pink elephant, but you can’t clear it unless you can see and understand the whole thing.
This is a skill that takes a lot of practice. You use it every day so that you can continuously get better at clearing the noise.
STEP 2: Breathe
There are a vast amount of strategies on the importance of using your breath to help you get relaxed, calm and centered.
“An anxious mind cannot exist in a relaxed body.” Dr. Edmund J. Bourne, Clinical Psychologist
Regardless of what strategy you use - breathing is a fundamental strategy for managing your physical and mental state.
STEP 3: Commit
Steps 1 and 2 will help you clear the noise and get centered, but the last piece of the puzzle is to direct your attention back to the task at hand.
If you don’t commit to the process you might end up letting another pink elephant get back into your bubble.
So in this step we often have the athlete close their eyes for a brief moment (if applicable) and imagine how they want to show up in the next play.
It is not just what they want to do, but how they want to feel while they do it.
Setting a clear intention of how you want to move forward helps activate the best version of yourself.
This is also a great time to use a totem.
A totem comes from Todd Herman’s Alter Ego work - which is about creating a personalized narrative that clicks for you.
The totem is then something tangible that you can touch, hold, or wear, and use to help associate that narrative. It’s a really powerful way to finish a Reset Routine.
Now remember the routine and the actions are not what make it work - the ability to accept is the key.
So if your routine is not working well - the solution is often about doing a better job of finding your pink elephants, getting to the root of the noise, and fully embracing it.
Make it a tangible routine that should only take about 10-15 seconds.
You can make variations that are shorter or longer.
The bottom line is you need to personalize it and find what works for you.
I hope you found this helpful. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit.
If you are interested in getting one of our Mental Performance Coaches to help you build your Reset Routine - visit www.cepmindset.com to get started.