As an athlete, achieving your dream depends on more than just you - it also involves factors outside of your control (e.g., a coach may not select you to be part of a particular team). However, "chasing" your dream is 100% on you. As the lyric from a well-known contemporary song states "If you have a dream, chase it, cause the dream won't chase you back." For example, when in a team competition both opponents want to win the competition - this is their dream in the moment. Both opponents can't achieve this particular dream (only one opponent can win the competition), but both opponents can 100% chase the dream (do everything they can do to try and win the competition). The key word is CHASE the dream. Achieving the dream depends on some factors outside of your control, but chasing the dream is all on you. 😀

This quote by noted American sport psychologist, Dr. Jerry Lynch, gets to the heart of why people participate in sport. Dr. Lynch asks the athletes he works with if they like music, if they have favorite songs, and if they sing their favorite songs when the songs come on the radio. The athletes all say yes. Dr. Lynch then makes the point that no one sings their favorite song to get to the end of the song - they sing it because it brings them joy and it is fun to sing. Dr. Lynch asks the athletes if they play their sport like they sing their favorite song - unfortunately many times athletes say no. When athletes get ultra-fixated on outcomes they lose touch with the true essence of sport. Sport has the potential to bring joy to the people who participate in it, and bring joy to the people who watch it. It's essential purpose really doesn't rise above this standard. So, if your sport is not bringing you joy why are you playing it? Why are you defining yourself by competitive outcomes, when you could be defining yourself by whether or not you fully engaged in the sport experience? When you get too outcome-focused you forget the joy of the moment. When you have decided to eat a bowl of ice cream, don't spend each spoonful worrying about outcomes like how many calories you are consuming, or whether or not you should be eating it. Once you have decided to eat the bowl of ice cream - enjoy the ice cream! Once you have decided to play a sport enjoy the sport! If you are not enjoying it, play something else - play it like you are singing your favorite song! 😀

Think of a glass of white milk that you are turning into chocolate milk by adding drops of chocolate syrup. Each drop that you add gradually turns the glass of white milk into a glass of chocolate milk. That is how training impacts playing in the sport experiences of a high-performance athlete. High-performance athletes sometimes struggle with trying to figure out how much of their training mindset they need to bring into their competing mindset. This does not have to be a struggle. Athletes simply need to trust that their training will drip into their playing (just like the drops of chocolate syrup change the glass of white milk into chocolate milk one drop at a time). As a high-performance athlete your training experiences are essential. These are the experiences where you are developing and refining your skills, and where you are expanding your tactical awareness of your sport. These training experiences require you to engage in what is called "deep practice" - a very focused attention to details and deliberate repetition of movement patterns and tactical decision-making that you are seeking to make part of your new normal. However, when a high-performance athlete is in a playing/competing scenario, the goal is not to train, but to compete. In playing/competing scenarios (e.g., when someone is keeping score) it's all about battling and fulling investing ("immersing yourself in the competition"). If an athlete finds themselves feeling a little out-of-sorts or off-kilter they can always return to a key technical cue or tactical cue to remind themselves of what serves them well in their playing experience, but then get back to competing and battling. The late NBA Hall-Of-Famer Kobe Bryant made a statement that captures the difference between a training mindset and a competitive mindset perfectly when he said, "I have never taken a shot in a game, that I did not take 10,000 times in practice." In practice he was working diligently on his shot - in the game he was playing free and just letting the ball fly! His training dripped into his playing. 😀

Outcome thoughts are not bad. In fact, they are an excellent source of athlete motivation (e.g., "I really want to win this game"; "I really want to start for my team"). Outcome thoughts are also necessary to help an athlete learn and grow after a training or competitive experience (e.g., "What did I do well?"; "What do I need to improve?") Outcome thoughts do not serve athletes well when the athletes are actually competing, because in that scenario outcome thoughts generate performance anxiety (which compromises athlete performance). When competing, athletes need to focus on what they have control of - what are called process thoughts. Performance anxiety does not live in the world of process thoughts. Outcome thoughts and process thoughts exist on a continuum which functions like a dimmer switch (athletes flow back and forth between outcome thoughts and process thoughts). When an athlete seeks motivation, and seeks to learn and grow after a training or competitive experience, outcome thoughts can be very helpful. However, when an athlete wants to play free while actually competing, process thoughts serve them best. 😀

This summer I have had the opportunity to connect with numerous former high-level athletes who are "giving back." These are athletes who's sport journeys have taken them to university, professional, and national team levels, and who are dedicating part of their summer to working with young athletes who are just starting out on the journey these older athletes experienced. Research has shown that observational learning has a significant impact on young athletes. When people hear this finding most people assume it is speaking to the benefit young athletes get from observing former high-level athletes execute the skills of the sport. Arguably, a more lasting impact of observational learning on young athletes is the modelling the former high-level athletes provide in terms of how to approach the sport. To all of the young athletes out there. If you are fortunate enough to be able to work with a former high-level athlete who reached the levels in sport you are hoping to reach (e.g., university, professional, national team) certainly pay attention to how they demonstrate the skills of the sport and explain the tactics of the sport. But, more importantly, feel their passion for the sport; feel their determination and grit; feel their calmness and satisfaction that comes from knowing that while they were in the sport they pursued their best self in the sport. As the quote by Toussaint (2023) implies, these former high-level athletes have left many ripples in the pool that young athletes can benefit from - if the young athletes are open to watching, listening, and feeling the drive these former high-level athletes had for their sport. 😀

This statement is consistent with significant research, and with the perspective of inspirational sport leader Alex Toussaint (2023). As an athlete do you view yourself as: A) a process of becoming athlete, or B) a finished product? As an athlete do you view excellence as: A) the best you, or B) you compared to other athletes? As an athlete do you define yourself by A) your pursuit of excellence, or B) your attainment of excellence? As an athlete do you measure your athletic self-worth by A) your full investment in your sporting experiences, or B) the sport outcomes you do or do not achieve? I have worked with numerous athletes who have chosen option A as the answer to all four questions, and have experienced transformational change in their experience of sport - they are set free to focus on thriving and fully investing in their sport experiences. Athletes who insist on choosing option B as their answer to all four questions are forced to focus on surviving their sport experiences, experiences which they now view more as a threat than an opportunity. They frequently experience anxiousness, worry, and stress, and find it hard to connect with the joy of sport. I encourage you to choose option A as your answer to all four questions. It's a choice you have complete control to make between your ears! 😀

Athletes often talk about the importance of "trusting your training." This is helpful advice, but what is even more important is "trusting your heart." When you get away from the public noise and the words of others ask yourself these important questions: "What is most important to me? What is my heart telling me to do?" People sometimes believe they need to be 100% sure before making a decision. This way of thinking can leave you paralyzed to act. Scholars talk about the importance of "leanings." What direction are you leaning? Act on your leaning and figure out the rest as you go. No matter what your goal, getting from here to there won't be a straight line (and it is totally fine for your goal to change along the way). Increased happiness comes when we think about healthy ways we can make a positive difference for ourselves and for our world, and then work to bring those ways to life. Country singer Garth Brooks sings a song about a couple who were apart for many years (for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with their immense love for one another). At the end of the song they are re-united and the final words of the song are "they are finally where their hearts have always been." As an athlete, trust your training, but first trust your heart. Maybe you are thinking about leaving your sport; maybe you are thinking about changing your sport; maybe you are thinking about setting a new goal in your sport. Trust your heart and act on what it tells you - it won't steer you wrong. 😀

This famous movie line speaks to a fundamental psychological truth. Success is not a trophy put in your hand, or a medal placed around your neck. As eloquently stated by 10-time National Championship basketball coach, John Wooden, "Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming." Remember, the pursuit of mastery is what always gives you the best chance to achieve whatever you want to achieve - and it is this pursuit mentality that defines you, not the outcome (whatever it may be). Educational scholar Thomas Sergiovanni asked the question "Where is the power of the dog sled?" Answer - in the dogs. Thomas Sergiovanni asked a second question, "Where does the leader of the dog sled stand - in front of or behind the dogs?" Answer - behind the dogs. Sergiovanni's questions are consistent with the importance of a person being true to their authentic self. Figure out where your dogs are running, and then pursue your best self in that direction. Don't do something just because you think you should. Pursue what you are passionate about and know that that is enough. Success is the pursuit - it is not the gold medal. 😀

How an athlete views their situation has a dramatic effect on how they feel about their situation. Years of psychological research in what is called Attribution Theory has shown that our emotions are influenced by how we explain things, and has also shown that how we explain things influences our expectations for the future. Pursuing your best self in your sport brings with it good days and bad days. You will succeed and you will fail, you will win and you will lose, you will experience skill development and you will experience skill regression (sometimes when refining your skill technique you have to take one step backward to enable you to eventually take two steps forward). Through all of these experiences you are learning and growing. This is what it means to see the glass half full. Recognize that no matter how tough the experience, you can use it to help you learn and grown in your pursuit of your best self. Also, be intentionally grateful for the water that is in the glass. Acknowledge the parts of your life that are positive and affirming. As Dr. Jim Afremow stated, "I encourage you to reflect on the things in your sport and life that provide you with an attitude of gratitude. This can quickly and easily be done with a gratitude journal. Recalling and writing down five good things (big or small) that happened earlier in the day or week can be an effective mood-enhancing exercise." 😀

According to sport psychologist Dr. Jim Afremow "[as an athlete] when things go wrong or you feel the pressure increase, everything usually speeds up - your walking pace, rate of speech, and so on. If your inclination is to rush, remind yourself to slow it down." Rushing compromises skill execution. Slowing things down is "finding your calm." An effective way to do this is to take a deep diaphragmatic breath (from your diaphragm). There are numerous formulas for doing this, but a simple one to remember is breathe out twice as long as in, and hold the out breath an extra second (creates a natural calming effect for the body). It is also helpful to remember in those emotionally intense moments that all that is required of you is your full investment. So, for example, if you are a golfer tell yourself (after a deep breath) "commit to the shot and live with the results 😀." Try and remember that, at its core, sport is a game. To go back to the golf scenario, remind yourself that this is "the game of golf" not "the work of golf" - this will also help you find your calm. 😀

If you have four strong horses, and you hitch them up to a wagon, and they pull in four different directions, they will pull the wagon apart. If you have four strong horses, and you hitch them up to a wagon, and they all pull in the same direction, the probability is great that the wagon will move both quickly and efficiently. The quote on this post, by Japanese Poet Ryūnosuke Satoro, conveys the importance of answering the question "How do you get all of the players on a team to pull in the same direction?" The answer to this question comes in two parts: Part 1 refers to an individual player's perception of the cohesiveness (togetherness) of the team, and Part 2 refers to the level of desire of an individual player to be part of the team. How does a team demonstrate cohesiveness to individual players? Be positive with each other; support each other; see situations through the eyes of your teammates; and be authentic with each other, but in a way that is intended to help, not intended to harm. How does a team be a team that individual players want to be a part of? Be welcoming and inclusive. All teams have a task and a social dimension. The task dimension is the playing of the sport - when that is happening everyone is focused together on the task. The social dimension refers to the times when you are together but not actually playing the sport. In these times it is equally important that you prioritize doing things together (being welcoming and inclusive) and not splintering off into tiny groups or a collection of individuals. Also, always remember that regardless of your role on the team you can be that "one person waiting" for someone on your team, or for multiple teammates (according to writer Henry Nouwen, it is powerful to have at least one person waiting for you as you land at a strange airport in a strange city; one person who wants to help you and who provides you with consistent and genuine support). You can be that source of care and support that can make your teammate's sport experience a positive one. Anyone on the team can do this for anyone else on the team. You want everyone on the team to feel this care and support. 😀

I worked with a middle-of-the-pack university team (won about as many games as they lost) who were preparing to go on the road to play the defending national champions, currently undefeated, and ranked #1 in the country. I asked the team what they thought their percentage chance of winning was. One of the team leaders said 10%, and the rest of the team agreed with him - with body language that suggested a loss was inevitable. I asked the players to imagine having a very close friend who was battling a very serious illness, and no medical treatment plan was working. I asked the players what their advice to their friend would be if a new medically-approved medication was discovered that had a 10% chance of curing their friend's illness. All the players, with passion in their voices, said "take the medication!" I then asked the players why, when they gave advice to their friend, they were embracing the 10% chance of success, but with their upcoming competition they were embracing the 90% chance of failure. The players initially looked at me with puzzled looks - but these looks soon dramatically changed to ones of inspiration and determination. When they embraced the fact that they actually had a chance to achieve their goal their training and in-competition investment elevated dramatically. They actually ended up winning the game! Dr. Steve Maier stated "You've got a lot of places in the brain that respond [problematically] to aversive experiences. Like the amygdala. In fact, there are a whole bunch of limbic areas that respond to stress...Now what happens is these limbic structures are regulated by higher-order brain areas, like the prefrontal cortex. And so, if you have an appraisal, a thought, a belief - whatever you want to call it - that says, 'Wait a minute, I can do something about this!'...then these inhibitory structures in the cortex are activated. They send a message: 'Cool it down there! Don't get so activated. There's something we can do.'" You can, in fact, modify your self-talk, and you can learn to not let it interfere with you moving toward your goals - but instead set you free to move toward your goals! 😀

When I start teaching my university classes this September it will be the start of my 40th year of high school/university teaching. After many years of teaching one thing I can say with certainty is that, at their core, every individual has the capacity to be a good person. This September also marks the start of my 30th year of first teaching psychology and then working as a sport mental training consultant. After all these years I can also say with certainty that, at their core, every individual has the capacity to pursue their best self and fully invest. When I intentionally see the capacity for good in another person - when I encourage, challenge, and support that person, the good person that is at their core emerges. When I see in another person their capacity to pursue their best self and fully invest - when I encourage, challenge, and support that person, their pursuit of their best self and their full investment emerges. Imagine how powerful this effect becomes when the person sees the good inside themselves, and sees within themselves the capacity to pursue their best self and fully invest! These conclusions are not just a product of my professional experiences - they are also consistent with significant research. Dr. Jim Afremow (2012) tells the legend known as the tale of two wolves. A grandparent explains to their grandchild that there are two wolves within each of us: one wolf is positive and beneficial; the other wolf is negative and destructive. These two wolves fight for control over us. The grandchild is curious and asks "Which wolf will win?" The grandparent replies, "The one that you feed." According to Dr. Afremow, "...thoughts determine feelings [and]...feelings influence performance... . Learn to think more positively...monitor what you tell yourself and always feed the good wolf... . This is one of the most important life lessons you can ever learn. Understanding that this choice is yours alone is very empowering and important." If we see good in ourselves and others; if we see in ourselves and others the potential to pursue our best selves and fully invest, these capacities that we all possess come to the surface. 😀

People think champions are the individuals holding the first place trophy when the competition is over. Anson Dorrance, the current head coach of the University of North Carolina women's soccer team, has won 21 championships at the NCAA Division 1 level, and yet the quote you see on this post is his. The vision of a champion is not the trophy someone may be fortunate enough to hold in their hands. The vision of a champion is the massive effort an individual puts into pursuing their best self in their sport (an effort that ultimately gives them the best chance to hold a trophy in their hands). Fully invest! 😀

Seems obvious - but think carefully about this statement. The horse doesn't care about how many races it has or hasn't won before. The horse doesn't care about how many races the other horses have or haven't won before. The horse doesn't think about the background of the other horses or their jockeys. The horse doesn't think about where the race is being run or how many people are watching. The horse just RUNS. As a high-performance athlete the ONLY two boxes you have to check are: 1) pursue your best self in your sport, and 2) fully invest in every training and competitive experience. This enables you to RUN free and actually maximizes the probability of you achieving whatever outcome you want to achieve. Remember, you are NOT defined by the outcome. All you need to do is check the two boxes (something every athlete can do regardless of their athletic ability). 😀

Seven in ten kids drop out of sports by age 13 - primarily because they aren't having fun (Jones, 2023). In fact, most of the world's sport participants participate in sport for some combination of the following reasons: fun, fitness, social benefits, and to scratch the "competitive itch." These reasons are also all embedded in high-performance sport participation, but high-performance sport orbits around two core principles that are not part of the non high-performance sport world: 1) in training the priority is to pursue your best self in your sport (individually and collectively if on a team), and 2) in competition an added priority is to pursue the win. Some people love high-performance sport. They love the challenge, the energy, the drama, and the passion involved in pursuing a goal. For others, high-performance sport is not a good fit. They love the fun, fitness, social, and competitive elements of sport, but they are not interested in pursuing their best self in the sport or making winning a prioritized focal point. Take the time to sort out what realm of sport you want to be a part of. If you prefer high-performance sport and are participating in non high-performance sport you will feel like a bird under water (not desirable). If you prefer non high-performance sport and are participating in high-performance sport you will feel like a fish in the air (also undesirable). The fit makes all the difference! 😀

Scaffolding is essential for athlete development. Psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck recently demonstrated that a growth mindset does little good without scaffolding to support it. Rigorous experiments with over 15,000 students revealed that nurturing a growth mindset among high schoolers boosts their grades only when their teachers recognize their potential and their schools have cultures where students are encouraged, supported, and challenged to pursue their best selves. The scaffolding quote and commentary in this post, by Grant (2023), has direct application to athlete development. Part of my professional world involves helping young athletes sort through difficult decisions around which post-secondary school to attend (these are often athletes who are being recruited by multiple schools). My message to the athletes is always the same: assuming the family, financial, and academic boxes have been checked satisfactorily, select the school where you will be encouraged, supported, and challenged to pursue your best self in your sport. Effective scaffolding makes a massive difference in helping athletes progress toward their athletic ceilings. 😀

This sentiment provided by organizational psychologist Adam Grant has direct relevance to the important role individual athletes play when they are part of a team. When you are on the court, field, ice, etc. as a team sport athlete what can you do to help your team be better? Without question high-performance coaches are interested in the proficiency level of individual athletes. But they are equally interested in the influence those individual athletes have on their teammates. 😀

In high-performance sport good times and tough times come along for the ride. The same mindset that maximizes your probability of experiencing the good times helps you weather the tough times. When you are passionate about something you will feel disappointment when outcomes don't go the way you want them to. Look deeper than the outcomes. Trying to become the best you can be at something is about the TRYING not the outcome. When outcomes go your way you will naturally feel good (and enjoy those moments), but don't lose sight of the fact that you are defined by the TRYING. Moments of hardship are inevitable in a high-performance athlete's pursuit of their best self in their sport. As Grant's (2023) quote implies, attaching your athletic self-worth to the degree to which you are PURSUING your best self in your sport (not the outcomes) enables you to cross those hardship valleys and continue working toward the peak of your potential. 😀

So, you've decided to try and become as good as you can be in your sport - now what? The answer to this question has two parts: Part 1 is on you and Part 2 is on the people who are helping you. First, you need to fully invest in every training and competitive experience in your pursuit of your best self in your sport, AND second, you need to connect with people (e.g., coaches) who are fully investing in helping you pursue your best self in your sport. Who you are coached by makes a significant difference in your ability to reach your athletic ceiling. It's not just the knowledge of the coach - it's the mindset of the coach. Coaches who embrace a growth mindset see the potential in their athletes, and fully invest in the development of their athletes to the same degree the athletes are fully investing in their own development. This isn't just a sport reality. Growth mindset expert, Dr. Carol Dweck, demonstrated through recent research with more than 15,000 high school students that a high school student's growth mindset only elevates their grades if their teacher embraces the student's potential and the school embraces a culture where students are encouraged and supported to take on the challenge of pursuing their best selves. The quote by Carroll (2010) at the start of this post emphasized that discipline and effort must be present for an athlete to maintain their vision. Athletes, this is your responsibility. But, it is also essential that you connect with a coach who, by encouraging you, challenging you, and supporting you, demonstrates they want you to get as good as you can get as passionately as you want you to get as good as you can get. This type of connection is a powerful combination! 😀