As an athlete, you need to find a game day routine that works for you. You want to be mentally prepared so you can reliably and repeatedly achieve peak performance. Unfortunately, many athletes end up mentally burnt out by game time, while others are not prepared enough and start the game off too tense, too casual, or just flat out too slow. The Sweet Spot The goal is to start your game off in the sweet spot - relaxed yet focused. This is best described with Optimal Arousal Theory - which originated in 1908 by psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson (diagram below). If your arousal level is too high - you are too amped up - you end up too tense and under performing. If you overcompensate and play it too cool, you end up lacking focus. Everyone’s sweet spot is unique to them, so don’t copy someone else's. Find out what your sweet spot is, then build your game day routines to help you reliably get there every day. Here are the top 10 do’s and do not’s of game day routines so that you can be mentally prepared to achieve Consistent Elite Performance: 1. Do Not Overthink Too many athletes overthink about the game. By game time they have played the game in their head multiple times and are mentally burnt out. Click here to check out how you can prevent overthinking by thinking differently. 2. Do Not Overuse Social Media Too much time on your phone or on social media can clutter your mind with junk. Take control of your phone and learn how to protect your mind from the mental junk. 3. Do Not Obsess about Results Most athletes get consumed by results. They try to predict the outcomes and engage in unhealthy comparisons with others. This is the number one mental block holding athletes back. Click here to learn about how you can stop obsessing about results by embracing the power of acceptance. 4. Do Not Use Superstitions Rituals and routines are helpful as you will see below. But the problem with superstitions is when you think doing x causes y and then one day you can’t do x - then your whole game gets thrown off. 5. Gradual Build Up Plan the segments of your day so that you are not under or over stimulated. Use the following list of do’s to help build your game day routine. See the diagram at the bottom for the final product. 6. Relax Intentionally unplug and relax. Spend time thinking and doing other things outside of your sport. You can’t spend your whole day obsessing about your sport - you will mentally burn yourself out. Music is also a great way to help relax. You should intentionally choose the music in your pre-game routine to help you gradually build up to your optimal level of arousal. 7. Prepare & Prime Your Body Sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Foremost is sleep - it starts days [...]

Every athlete experiences the negative effects of overthinking - some worse than others. Maybe you overthink trying to decide whether to shoot, pass, or move. Maybe you are a golfer and you have 100 swing thoughts when you stand over the ball, let alone when you have a 6 foot putt to win the round. Regardless, most athletes experience overthinking after mistakes and when the pressure rises. Think More to Think Less There is one overarching reason athletes overthink. It is because you have not thought enough before the competition. By thinking more beforehand, aka mental preparation, you will be able to quiet your mind during the competition. Unfortunately, most athletes are not consistently and effectively training their mind. So they fall victim to the gremlins of perfectionism, fear of failure, and doubt - which manifest in the form of overthinking on the field of play. Here is the 3 step process to stop overthinking: STEP 1: Think More Before When you overthink as an athlete, it means that you are having extra thoughts that are not helpful. Where do these thoughts come from? They come from your subconscious or conscious worries, fears, or frustrations. The best way to deal with these distracting thoughts is to shine a light on them and make them conscious. The time to do this is before you play, not during. Trying to figure this out during a competition won't work out very well. For example, it is best to go through, reflect, and understand the above concepts on how to think differently before a competition. By ingraining a concept in your mind, you will be better able to tap into it during the competition. Plan to Cope This form of mental preparation is also referred to as coping planning. It means you plan to cope with the stressors of an event. It is a type of contingency plan - if x happens, then I do y. This way you are prepared for how you want to think in the competition, instead of your subconscious fears, worries, and frustrations causing you to overthink. This concept can be difficult for athletes because our society glorifies being busy and doesn't value the importance of slowing down. But the “unsung heroes” of success are in the moments of slowing down, reflecting, and being intentional about how you show up. The diligence in preparing for success is what separates the best from the rest. Find Your Ebb and Flow If you think you are too good to slow down, then compare yourself to a race car. They need pit stops to refuel and avoid burning out their tires, and they need to slow down before sharp corners so they can accelerate out and avoid crashing. The ebb and flow of life is everywhere. Learning to create the ebb and flow for your life is a crucial skill for success. By embracing this concept to think more before you are expanding your probabilities to be in [...]

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 hard, but when it was time to perform, I was in my own head, forcing plays, and underachieving. I eventually realized I needed to let go of the results and prioritize my mental game. Symptom vs Root Problem What I didn’t understand, and most athletes don’t understand, is the difference between a symptom and the root problem. The symptom you might be experiencing could be: Overthinking Lack of confidence Performance anxiety Choking under pressure Afraid to make mistakes Worrying about what other people think But the key to resolving the symptom is to clear your mental blocks. Also known as getting to the root of the problem. And based on the thousands of mindset assessments we have conducted, it is unanimous that the most common and biggest root problem is an obsession with results. The Process vs Results Paradox Clearing this mental block, aka The Results Trap, can be challenging for numerous reasons. First of which is the overuse of traditional goal setting that perpetuates this trap. Second, is the Process vs Results Paradox - where by letting go of results and obsessing about the process, you will achieve greater results. This presents a unique problem - if you try to let go of results so you can achieve results, then you have not let go of the results. So you need a different reason to let go of the results, and I’m going to share that with you right now. Here are the 3 steps to stop obsessing about results and start enjoying the journey. STEP 1: Separate Your Goals from Your Why The mistake most people make is they think the main reason they do something is to achieve the goals they have set. Although there is ‘some’ truth to this, it will leave you in the results trap and it is not the full truth. This is best illustrated with the fictional Flowerbed Story… A group of twelve year old kids started playing touch football in this old-ladies backyard. The yard was perfectly set up with a flower bed as the touchdown zones on both sides. The kids absolutely loved playing - especially when they would jump to catch the touchdown pass and land in the nice soft flower beds. The old-lady didn’t like this so much. She would yell at them to [...]

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 praiseImposter Syndrome: Believing they are not worthy and/or don’t belongVictim Mentality: Blaming others and not taking responsibilityNegativity Bias: Constantly beating yourself up and overly focusing on the negativesHowever, you can overcome these limiting beliefs by following these 3 steps to play with confidence: Step 1: Stop Focusing on Confidence Telling yourself that you have a confidence problem is one of the most common reasons athletes continuously struggle with confidence. If you reframe it as a problem with owning your capabilities the solution becomes much more attainable.Instead of relying on external results and praise to give you confidence, make the shift to focusing on what you can control - putting in the work and owning your capabilities. This is the difference between yo-yo confidence and having a stable self-image.True confidence is about owning your capabilities, but the word confidence is tainted. It’s associated with external results and praise. So an easy first step is to just stop using the word and shift your focus to owning your capabilities Step 2: Own Your Capabilities Owning your capabilities can be easier said than done. Often, athletes struggle to do this because they are too hard on themselves. So this step is about making the choice to start owning your greatness and stopdownplaying yourself.If you believe that you are just the type of person that 'always beats yourself up' then STOP that narrative. You may have operated this way for a while, but you don’t have to keep it going. You have the power to change your inner narrative.Healthy comparison can be used with a top teammate or competitor to get an accurate self-image. Compare yourself based on your capabilities when you are playing free, not based on results. The bottom line is if you have put in the work then your job is to own it.Don’t let yourself have any excuses. It might be uncomfortable - that’s because you are not used to it. So try it out for a few days and you will feel the shift in how you carry yourself. Then soon enough owning your capabilities will become your new norm. Step 3: Build Momentum The first two steps are the 1-2 punch you need to play with confidence, but building momentum is the key for consistent confidence. Every game and every shift is the opportunity to build momentum for yourself, for your team, and for your confidence.Unfortunately, most athletes rely on EXTERNAL factors like their teammates, coaches, or luck to give them momentum. Don’t hope you gain momentum, instead choose to be the spark plug and attack each game [...]

Performance anxiety is one of the leading reasons athletes struggle to consistently perform at their capabilities. So 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 important than they are is a sure fire way to feel the burden of the results weigh heavily on your mind. Survive Over Thrive Are you focused on not screwing up, or are you focused on going out there and having an impact? This is the difference between a fear mindset vs attack mindset. Need To, Have To, Should Mindset Creating an unhealthy relationship with your desired results often leads to a decrease in performance. The sport culture perpetuates this language with coaches often saying “this is a must win game” but this narrative often provokes the fear state. The good news is you can overcome these limiting mindsets by following the 3 steps below - as a result you will be able to perform at your best when it matters most. Step 1: Plan to Cope Coping planning is essential to stress management for all areas of life, and it works particularly well for handling high pressure situations. In short - Planning to Cope is simply what it means. You are planning for how you will respond (cope) when a stressor (pressure) is presented. It is like studying for a test - it works way better when you study before the test - not trying to figure it out in the thick of it. We use a trifecta of coping planning concepts that reliably help athletes perform under pressure: Zoom Out This helps athletes that struggle to get perspective of the context. This especially helps the classic "practice player" where you perform free in practice but then tense up and underperform in games or pressure situations. The premise of Zooming Out means to see the bigger picture. This includes: How games and practice are more similar than different - yes the context is different but the game is the same. That it is only one game - yes it might be really important, but it’s still just a game. That we are all just a speck of dust - reminder to REALLY zoom out and not take ourselves too seriously. To be clear this is NOT about caring less. It is about seeing the situation for what it is and not making it bigger than what it is. This is key accepting it. Flip the Risk It’s easy to see the risk from making mistakes. Coach Nicholas came up with the ‘Flip the Risk’ strategy to help overcome the [...]

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 [...]