As an elite athlete, you have put in a ton of hard work to develop your capabilities, but until you develop a rock solid mental game, you won’t perform consistently when it matters most.

You have probably tried the fluffy and cookie-cutter advice perpetuated by sport culture:

  • Be Positive
  • Forget about it
  • Don’t worry about it

It is easy to promote these fluffy and cookie-cutter hacks.

But when you build your mental game by patching together all these quick fixes – it’s like building a house out of straw – it is not sustainable and will fall apart in the face of adversity and pressure.

Instead, you need to build your mental game – like you would a brick house – out of practical & personalized strategies that deliver reliable and repeatable results.

Here is our 3 Step System to Win the Mental Game – aka how to build your brick house.

STEP 1: Blueprint

You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint – and in the same manner you can’t work on your mental game without knowing what to work on.

Our assessment helps you identify the mental skills you want to work on as well as the mental blocks that are holding you back.

All of the mental skills are connected but you want to make sure you build a strong foundation and take care of the performance identity first.

The key here is to clarify your unique priorities so that when you start using the tools and building your mental game, you do so in the most effective way.

Also, it’s important to identify and clear your biggest mental blocks.

This process is about increasing your awareness. You need to be open, honest with yourself, and curious.

Here is the visual of our CEP Mindset Assessment – Aka your Blueprint for your Mental Skills & Mental Blocks:

STEP 2: Personalize Tools

Now that you a have blueprint and clear priorities it’s time to get to work.

Our 4 fundamental tools are the cornerstones to winning the mental game and building your brick house.

You need to embrace the creative process and find what works for you.

We have a full toolbox of tools, but here is the summary of the 4 fundamentals:

Inspired by Todd Herman’s work – this process is about identifying what it means to be in the zone vs in your own head.

Don’t think of it as becoming the ‘better’ version; but rather that this best version of yourself is the real you.

But it’s not just about being positive. It’s important to address the shadow and negative self-talk.

When you do the process effectively you end up with a unique persona that clicks and works for you.

This is one of the most powerful tools – it helps activate the alter ego and clears your mind. The key here is about acceptance for getting alignment in your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Think of it like jumping into the water off a dock. A lack of alignment means you hesitate to jump or dip your toe in. What you want to do is just run and jump in – watch the video here on How to Jump into the Zone.

Breathing techniques are also a part of the reset routine. They help you to get centered and in the moment.

An example of a reset routine might be a goalie in the NHL squirting water in the air and watching it fall.

When you find a personalized process that you consistently use – this 10 second routine can be a game changer.

The external scoreboards in sports (like points, playing time, rankings, etc) are a major distraction for most elite athletes.

Creating your own personal scorecard is essential for staying focus on what you can control – which is your mental state and your process. These each need to be well defined.

Once you personalize this process – it creates an effective reflection habit that continually improves your self-awareness. For more information – check out the full video on Creating Your Personal Scorecard.

This is the most effective way to optimize your mental preparation. It is about setting your intentions for how you want to play (action planning) and how you want to show up and handle stressors (coping planning).

By preparing to cope with pressure, adversity, and success, you will be more likely to respond effectively in those crucial moments.

This process is most effective when personalized. But we do have free generic recordings that hockey players can check out here:

STEP 3: Upkeep & Upgrades

At this point you are starting to solidify your mental game. But don’t get complacent. This is the never-ending step.

Although you can get results quickly if you dive in and do the work, remember there are no quick fixes.

Like how a brick house needs the floors swept everyday – your mental game needs constant work and refinement.

You are constantly evolving as a person.
Your situation shifts over time.
A new season generally means a new landscape.

So constant work, refinement, and upgrades are key to long-term results.

You need to update your priorities as things change. You should upgrade your alter ego and reset routine over time.

You constantly tweak and tinker with your personalized scorecard.

Your imagery scripts and intentions evolve with you over time.

The mental game is a constant process of self-awareness, self-discovery, and growth.

It never ends.

However, we like to use our 5 milestones to make the mental game more tangible for each season. And each season you start over.

The numbers below are generic and would be altered depending on the sport. Note that we use 95% plus in the zone to avoid the trap of perfection.

The 5 Milestones of the Mental Game:

To summarize, the 3 steps to winning the mental game aka building your brick house are:

  1. Blueprint

    Breakdown what you are working on and identify your top priorities
  2. Personalize Tools

    Build your brick house with practical tools that are personalized for you
  3. Upkeep & Upgrades

    It’s a never-ending process of adapting, refining, and doing the work – there are no quick fixes

It is the system that has helped 10,000’s of elite athletes and high performers get into the zone and achieve Consistent Elite Performance.

If you are interested in building your brick house quickly and effectively, then you may be a good fit for our 1-on-1 coaching programs.

The first step is to get on the phone with our admin team.

Get Started Now