Should athletes meditate? In short the answer is yes, but when and how can vary from one athlete to the next. There are various ways to meditate, some of which will surprise you - more on this below, but the end goal is to find a mindfulness practice that works for you. It might not be worth pushing a more classic meditation practice on an athlete under 13. But comparatively it should be a no brain to add it as a daily habit for athletes 18 and older. Regardless, it is not something you need to do, but choosing to build a mindfulness practice that works for you will have a massive impact in all areas of your life. This is not something I’m just making up, it is supported by a robust amount of research. The Big 4 The most researched and proven ways to improve performance, physical health, and mental well-being are what Dan Harris calls the big 4: Sleep Nutrition Exercise Meditation I think this is a great frame of reference for understanding the impact of meditation. If you don’t sleep well you will lose your ability to concentrate, regulate your emotions, and a handful of other physical and mental drawbacks. Athletes need to learn to win the sleep game. If you don’t eat well the physical drawbacks are obvious but how and when you eat has also been well documented to impact your mental health and performance. If you don’t exercise well there are also physical and mental health drawbacks, but as an elite athlete you should have this one well covered. Sleep, nutrition and exercise should come as pretty obvious ways to optimize your performance and health. But meditation is also proven to significantly impact your performance, physical health, and mental well-being. Yet it is by far the most under-utilized by society and specifically athletes. What is Meditation? One of the biggest barriers holding people back from developing a consistent meditation practice is they struggle to understand what it is and how it works. This is because you are not really doing anything. Instead you are slowing down, being mindful, and being present. When you exercise, you get stronger. When you go to sleep, you wake up rested. When you eat well, you have fueled your body. But when you meditate it is hard to notice any instant results. Meditation is the practice of being mindful of our thoughts and feelings. In a world where we are constantly doing things, being entertained, and going from one thing to the next, we don’t slow down to be with and regulate our thoughts and feelings. Yet emotional regulation and the ability to mindfully process our thoughts is an incredibly valuable skill. But the only way to improve those skills is to practice them - just like any other skill. Slow Down to Speed Up I love the race car analogy of slowing down to speed up. F1 race cars have to take pit stops in order [...]

One of the greatest benefits of sport is that it can help people become better leaders. Unfortunately, too many athletes are missing the boat. There are multiple reasons at play, but a key one is the lack of leadership being demonstrated by the coaches. This article breaks down the nuances of what it takes to be an effective leader in the new era of sport - whether you are an athlete, a coach or just want to show up as a better leader in any area of life. Self-Leadership Before leading others you must first learn to lead yourself. This is what the mental game is all about - self-leadership. It’s about taking responsibility for your own mindset, attitude, and behaviors. There are two beneficial outcomes from mastering your mindset. First, it directly affects those around you as you will be leading by example. Not just in your effort and focus, but in your composure, resilience, and confidence. How you respond to pressure and adversity can be contagious and positively affect those around you. Second, when you are in a centered state you are primed to effectively lead others through empathy and encouragement. When you are not centered, you will struggle to listen with an open ear and communicate calmly and effectively. Interacting with Others Self-leadership is always step 1, but learning how to effectively interact with others is a set of skills in and of themselves. There are 3 core communication skills that if you master, you will be a great leader. But before we dive in, there is one important thing to address. Why do you want to be a leader? If the answer is for your own self-gain, rewards, or recognition - then the strategies below will not work as well. There is only one good reason to be a leader - it is to serve the team. Doing this will often come back to personally benefit you - but that should not be the primary reason you want to be a better leader. As a leader, serving the team should be your primary motive. From there, the following strategies will help you effectively impact the team. Strategy #1: Praise No matter how common sense this strategy seems, it is shockingly underutilized. The culture of a team is highly dependent on what gets measured and praised. This doesn’t mean you need to become a hype-person or be super positive all the time. Being fake doesn't work, and being positive all the time is not sustainable. Instead, it is about catching others doing things well and acknowledging the little things out loud in front of the whole team. The benefit is not just in the person receiving the praise, but in the ripple effect on everyone around it. Praise is the number one strategy to help your team build momentum. Think of two teams where the start of the game is back and forth - evenly matched. Team A sits there quietly with small amounts of [...]

If you are only getting 8 hours of sleep, then you are losing the sleep game.8 hours is okay for average adults. But if you are an elite athlete doing vigorous activity most days of the week and, especially if you are under 25 years old, I challenge you to win the sleep game by getting 9+ hours of sleep per night including naps.If you think 9 hours is a lot, check out Neuroscientist, Matthew Walker. He has worked with professional athletes like Roger Feder and Lebron James to help them both get upwards of 12 hours of sleep per day. Sleep, just like strength, speed, skills, and mindset - can give you a competitive edge. In fact, sleep is one of the most important factors to your physical, mental and emotional well-being.From a performance standpoint, here is why you need to be getting 9+ hours of sleep per night:Increase your ability to concentrate and be mentally sharpIncrease your ability to regulate your emotions and respond effectively to stressful situationsOptimize your physical, technical and cognitive developmentJust imagine getting only 4 hours of sleep for a whole week then go play a big game - you will struggle to be composed, confident, resilient, and focused. Although that is an extreme example, it is the same effect when you only get 7 hours of sleep per night all week. After night one you are short by 2 hours. After night two it doubles to 4 hours short. Then 6, 8, and by the end of the week you are over 10 hours short. This compounds week after week - this is sleep deprivation and it is a real problem most athletes don’t realize they have. You might get used to it, but your body is still suffering and craves the regular 9 plus hours per night. Every night you don’t hit 9 hours you are depriving your body of the sleep it needs, and you are losing the sleep game. Sleeping on Weekends is NOT the Solution Does getting 11 hours on Saturday make up for it? …. NOPE!!! Sleep consistency can be more important than sleep duration.Take for example: Even though person B got more hours of sleep, person A has the advantage. One of the main benefits will be improved sleep quality. Your body gets in a routine and the quality of sleep improves. It is generally difficult to have the exact same sleep and wake times every night, but this is one of the most important components of quality sleep. The variable schedules in sports can make it hard to always win the sleep game. But it’s your responsibility to make the most out of your situation. Find Solutions Not Excuses The best way to start getting more sleep is to start tracking your sleep. You can’t hide from the data. By measuring it and seeing the hard numbers you will naturally find ways to start winning the sleep game. The [...]

What if the secret to high performance lies not in achieving more but in shifting your mindset and narratives? I recently had the privilege to join Todd Herman on The Upcoach Podcast, where Todd and I explored unique approaches that centers on empathy and understanding, and how to challenge your thought process and belief systems effectively. You will also hear about the power of the alter ego strategy and how it can be instrumental in sports and personal life. We dove deep into focusing on narrative work and shifting the language around confidence, shedding light on the significance of understanding people’s definitions of confidence and the power of focusing on who you want to be rather than what you want to achieve. Check out the audio of our episode above and I encourage you to consume Todd's other episodes on your preferred streaming platform.

I want to challenge you to think differently about the youth sporting structure. Specifically, I want to share one unique insight from Serena and Venus Williams’ rise to dominance in the Tennis world. If you haven’t seen the movie King Richard - this is a slight spoiler on the movie. The insight I want you to reflect on is how their dad pulled Venus out of junior competitions at 12 years old after going 63-0 in junior tournaments. For the next 3 years Venus and Serena focused on training and having a more ‘normal’ childhood focused on school, family, and being a kid. Their father, Richard, felt that all the tournaments they were going to were not helpful to their character development and the ‘pressure’ was unnecessary at such a young age. This unconventional decision obviously worked out pretty good for them. It is a great example of thinking differently about the youth sport structure. He decided to not just go with the status quo. To me this is inspiring and revolutionary - it was a mindset first decision. I’d be curious to see a 12 year old hockey player give up formal games and tournaments for 3 years - just focus on development (and save all the money and time traveling to games). They could still scrimmage, play small area games, and learn fundamental team concepts. But the priority would be getting their touches in and optimizing their development. I wonder what the impact on the players' mental well-being and character development would be? There is a ridiculous amount of pressure to perform and win on most AAA minor hockey teams and youth sports in general. I’m not saying this is an obvious or easy decision. Instead, I’m using the contrast to encourage players, parents, coaches, and leaders throughout the game to be mindful of the structure and environment of youth sports. I challenge you to think differently - don’t just accept the status quo.

I have been dancing since I was 2.5 years old, and even though I had short stints with other sports like baseball & volleyball, dance has always been my number one passion. I was never the most flexible or had the best technique, my superpower was my ability to perform. When I got on stage, I was always smiling from ear to ear. I was in my element. After competing with my local dance studio all the way through high school, I went to George Brown College and studied acting, singing and dancing - training to be a triple threat. My Passion Became My Career Within 3 months of graduating, I had officially turned my passion into a career - I was hired by a major cruise line to dance in their production shows.Although I was doing what I loved as a career, it was not all sunshine and rainbows.I was surrounded by hundreds of cultures & languages which was simultaneously amazing, overwhelming, and eye opening.Being only 20 years old at the time, it was the first time I had been away from home and my family for more than 5 days. The rehearsals were relentless, lasting anywhere from 9 to 12 hours a day.I was excited, yet homesick all at the same time. The Dark Side of Being a Professional Dancer I felt such pride in myself for making it as a Professional Dancer, but with pride came new levels of pressure and expectations.I felt the pressure to be flawless not only on stage, but off stage as well. Even during my off-time, hair & makeup always needed to be done.I felt insecure during weekly weigh-ins. I would line up with my cast as the supervisor would write down our weight to be sent to head office, knowing if my weight fluctuated too much, I would get a weight warning & be removed from shows.I became very aware of when and what I was eating leading into shows. I started making unhealthy choices on food & workouts, punishing my body & blaming it on being the reason I didn’t get the feature roles in shows.I started heavily comparing myself to my cast mates, sometimes even resenting them when they would get roles in the shows I wanted.I started feeling a sense of entitlement, that I was “owed” ships I requested or parts in shows because I had been around for 5 years.I started blaming my supervisors and felt they gave roles to other cast members because they liked them better than me.I started doubting who I was as a performer and what I had to offer.I was blaming everything & everyone else, not taking responsibility for my part in making the necessary consistent effort needed to be at my best.Eventually, I got so in my head and down on myself that I walked away.I gave up on my passion. Hitting Rock Bottom I was 25 years old, back home, unsure of my [...]

If you know your mental game matters and you are actively training your mind to be confident, resilient, and dialed in, then don’t forget that you also need to be filtering out the mental junk. I see this all the time where someone is doing all the right things to train their mind, but they are not protecting their mind from all the negative factors. It is like being on a workout program and eating healthy food, but then having 3 donuts everyday. Your input dictates the output. A big part of the problem is you probably can’t avoid all of these negative inputs. So you need to learn how to filter them. Here is how to protect your mind from the 3 worst forms of mental junk: 1. Stats, Rankings, or Any Other Result This one is commonly the most destructive. I recently did a whole post on how to stop obsessing about results and why traditional goal setting is often holding athletes back. Stats are not inherently bad. They are just a form of feedback. The problem becomes when you obsess over them. It's okay to set goals and have intentions about stats, rankings, or any other results. The mistake is when you start to confuse why you play the sport with your goals and intentions. When you look at your stats, rankings, or any other results too frequently, you are telling yourself that the results are your top priority. The solution is not to completely avoid results. Instead, the solution is to create habits and filters to help you detach from the results and stay immersed in the process. Here are some of the more common strategies I have my athletes follow: Limit Looking at Stats Check stats online once a month at the most (some athletes do so as little as once every 3 months). Manage Your Inner Circle Tell close friends and family to stop discussing stats. Deflect Discussion about Results When other people bring up stats to you, either: a) shrug it off and switch topics or b) use it as a reminder to double down on what matters most to you - your process. Create Your Personal Scorecard Give yourself something else to obsess about that is more within your control instead of results. Personalize Your Pre-Game Routine Be intentional about what you do on game day. Replace any predictions with the acceptance of a range of results - cue your Reset Routine. 2. Social Media Social media perpetuates the results trap and creates a whole other set of problems, distractions, and mental junk. I’d like to say just remove all social media but I’m pretty sure no one will follow that advice. So instead, think of social media as a form of entertainment. Entertainment is not inherently bad. But how much entertainment matters. Let’s tie it back to the diet and donut analogy - a donut here and there isn’t so bad. But when you have 3 donuts a day everyday, now [...]

Nathan MacKinnon was the first overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft.In his first year with the Colorado Avalanche he: Put up 63 points in 82 regular season games - rounding out to 0.77 points per game. Went over a point a game in the postseason as he racked up an additional 10 points in 7 playoff games. Capped off his first season by winning the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year He was on the big stage and everything was looking up.Heck, he was getting mentored by and training with Sidney Crosby - one of the best players in the game.So, he had all these things going for him and he was getting ready for year two, where he was expected to move into superstar status.But what happened? The Burden of Expectations In his second season in the NHL, MacKinnon dropped to 38 points in 64 games - a disappointing result relative to the high expectations and hype surrounding him.Reflecting after the season, he stated that he might have been too confident going in - he was still riding the high from the previous year.This is a classic example where the expectations and ‘shoulds’ create noise and tension in a player’s mind, which ultimately decreases their performance.So with something to prove going into his third NHL season, he ended up getting his production back up to 52 points in 72 games - about the same points per game as his first season.But he was still not where he wanted to be. The Compound Effect of Negative Results At this point, he had not achieved his desired results in back to back seasons. This created a compound effect which, for most athletes, fuels their inner critic and erodes their self-confidence.Things didn't get any better for MacKinnon in his fourth season. His results decreased again - this time he only put up 53 points in 82 games - 10 points less than his first season in the NHL.After four seasons in the NHL he was beyond frustrated.He had mentally hit rock bottom in his professional career - on the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast he revealed how he was comparing himself to Austin Matthews, Connor McDavid, and Nikita Kucherov.Not only did comparing his results to Connor McDavid’s 100 point season eat him up inside as a hockey player, but it also made him question his whole identity as a person.In a way, he was experiencing imposter syndrome. He was questioning his ability as a player and if he would ever amount to all the hype.So what did he do? The Turning Point Finally, MacKinnon made the decision to start working on the one area of his game he had not given his full attention - the mental game.He made it a priority and found a Sport Psychologist. He learned how to manage his emotions so he could deal with all the pressure and expectations. He developed strategies to help block out the [...]

Do you find yourself worrying about what other people think of you? Are you always seeking approval from others? If so, you're not alone. Many athletes and people struggle with this. As humans, we are naturally concerned with fitting in and being accepted by our peers. This is a survival mechanism that has served us well as a species.However, in our current reality, this constant need for external validation often holds athletes back from achieving Consistent Elite Performance.Here are 7 tips, or what I refer to as mental shifts, to help you stop worrying about what others think: 1. External ➜ Internal Confidence ​The first tip or mental shift is to stop relying on external sources of confidence and start focusing on internal sources of confidence - where you own your greatness.The constant worrying about what others think often stems from a lack of confidence.If you don't believe in yourself, then you will seek external results and praise. This means you end up excessively worrying about what others think because your confidence is dependent on it.In case you didn’t realize - external results and praise will never give you the sustainable confidence you are looking for.Instead, most athletes suffer from yo-yo confidence where their self-belief goes up and down with their results.The solution is to learn to Play with Confidence by focusing on owning your capabilities. Click here for the full write up and video on how to play with confidence.Learning how to consistently own your capabilities helps you stop worrying about what others think. You won’t NEED their praise because you will finally be owning your greatness - regardless of what other people think.This is true confidence. 2. Seeking Approval ➜ Enjoying the Game This mental shift is about learning how to stop seeking the approval of others so you can get back to fully enjoying the game.These first two shifts are a nice 1-2 punch that often go well together.We commonly see athletes struggle with both yo-yo confidence and need for approval, so we want to flip that to owning your capabilities and enjoying the game.The need for approval is often based on the belief that we can be liked by everyone all the time. That is clearly a fantasy - no one is liked by everyone all the time.This can be hard to accept because we are biologically wired to want the approval of others. (check out the full article and video on the Reset Routine where we cover the practice of acceptance).But coming to terms with reality enables us to stop letting the opinions of other people constantly weigh on our mind.A second reason athletes seek the approval of others is because they confuse their goals with why they play the sport in the first place.When you were younger you didn’t start playing to get others approval and achieve all these results.You played because it was fun! But as you rise the ranks and the stakes get bigger and bigger [...]

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' mentality and the use of his personal scorecard Taking a playful approach to the mental game and staying adaptable throughout a season Staying even keel through the ups and downs by letting go of the fantasies and nightmares Enjoying the game for the sake of itself and improving his mood after games regardless of his performance Make sure to listen to the whole interview as there are a lot of other great takeaways and insights on how he has been able to win the mental game. Along with his soccer career, he runs a YouTube channel where he shares his experience as a pro, tactical and technical tips, and boot reviews - check out those links here: YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/noahcavanaugh Website: www.noahcavanaugh.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noah.cavanaugh/?hl=en