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_outlineIf 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: The Alter Ego Effect 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 the field of play trying to remember to use positive self talk, thought stopping, breathing exercises and re-framing situations.
These strategies won’t get you repeatable and reliable results, instead they just give you more things to think about, when what you need to do is think less.
You want to keep it simple and just play your game.
Therefore, you need practical and personalized strategies that work for you.
That’s exactly what you get in our 1-2 punch of the Reset Routine and Alter Ego.
Here are the 3 steps to creating a personalized Alter Ego:
STEP 1: Develop a Contrast
Think of the Alter Ego strategy as creating two contrasting narratives.
On one side you have your worst self, your shadow self, or your comfortable self. This is the self that holds you back, that plays safe, and that worries about what other people think.
On the other side you have your heroic self, your best self, or your courageous self. This is the self that embraces the moment, that is confident in their capabilities, and attacks the game.
STEP 2: Be Creative
The quickest way to get started is to think of your favorite superhero. If you don’t have one, then think of someone that inspires you - it could be a relative, famous athlete, public figure, or tv show character etc.
You might even have two or more people you lean on to help create your Alter Ego. The more creative and playful you are in this process - the better.
The person or people you pick should represent the traits you identified in step 1.
For example a hockey goalie that resonates with Batman could see the overlap as such:
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Before the game/the battle - he is calm and collected
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Taking shots against/in the fight - he is agile and trusts himself
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After adversity/gets knocked down - he gets back up
STEP 3: Map It Out
The last step in creating your personalized Alter Ego is literally drawing it out on a map.
This step is crucial to simplifying your Alter Ego. You want to be able to boil it down so it is easy to understand yet still holds a powerful narrative that clicks for you.
Drawing it out on a map helps add another layer of tangibility to the process.
You can see clearly how you want to show up in the various key moments of impact on your field of play. You can color code it and use it as a cheat sheet summary of your Alter Ego.
The goal here is to keep it simple - it should not be over complicated or have too many words.