Almost every athlete has a story they tell themselves—a recurring thought (which then connects to an emotion and actions) that keeps resurfacing. “I’m not good enough.” “I always mess up.” “I don’t belong here.” These internal narratives shape their confidence, performance, and well-being. And what I have found is that it is almost impossible for them to outperform their story with any consistency. Essentially it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, parents and coache

The "Inverted-U" model (also known as the Yerkes-Dodson Theory) explains the relationship between pressure and performance, and offers valuable insight for coaches and leaders. This concept highlights how an individual’s performance on a task is influenced by the level of pressure they experience. Key Takeaways from the Inverted-U Model: 1. Low Pressure Zone At very low levels of pressure, individuals lack the incentive to focus energy and attention. This often results in bor

The "arrival fallacy," a concept popularized by psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar, is the false belief that achieving a specific goal will bring lasting happiness or fulfillment. When I’m working with my clients, they usually are hyper focused on achievements such as winning a championship, earning a scholarship, or achieving a personal best will lead to on-going satisfaction. While reaching these milestones can feel incredible in the moment, the sense of fulfillment is often fleet

When dedicated on the improvement of mental performance, distinguishing between thoughts  and thinking  is a fundamental distinction that we help our clients to understand. The difference lies in how they operate in our minds and the role we play in managing them. Thoughts as a Noun Thoughts are like passing clouds in the sky of our mind. They are spontaneous, often uninvited, and can be influenced by external stimuli, past experiences, or even our mood. They just appear. The

As it’s the season of giving I wanted to share a quick thought on the greatest gift that we can give to our youth athletes – the gift of helping to build the mindset within them to compete and play for the simple focus and goal of…the love of playing. If they can fall in love with that all other potential accomplishments become more likely.  As a sport psychologist and the parent of youth athletes I see all too often the ways that we’re (youth sports culture) creating uninten

Youth Athlete Stress – Understanding the Power of Thoughts and Emotion Definition of Thought-Emotion Stress Model: The Thought-Emotion Stress Model is a framework for understanding how we experience and respond to stress. This model emphasizes the interaction between cognitive (thought) processes and affective (emotional) responses in determining how our youth athletes may be experiencing their stress. It consists of four primary stages: 1. Situational Demands : The external

In high-performance environments wins and losses often hang on the finest of threads, so mastering the emotional roller coaster becomes a necessity. When constantly confronted with intense pressures and adversities, we discover that the key to sustained success lies in the art of mastering our reactions to the emotional turmoil triggered in these environments. Specifically, the psychological skill process of allowing emotions to arise, be experienced, and then finally dissolv

Effective leadership – in sport or business - requires the ability to guide discussions that encourage diverse perspectives, critical thinking, and honest dialogue. Two thought biases that can undermine this process are the Halo Effect  and the Bandwagon Effect . Understanding these biases can help leaders create a more balanced and inclusive environment for developing solutions that are smart, creative, and honest.  The Halo Effect The Halo Effect  occurs when a person's ove

The reality is that sports have moments of immense pressure to achieve specific outcomes, whether it’s winning a championship, setting a personal record, or simply meeting external expectations. We are not going to attempt to reject this truth. In fact, accepting it as reality is much more powerful.  What we also know is that this single-minded focus on results can lead to stress, anxiety, and burnout. However, we can absolutely develop mental approaches that offset these neg

The difference between ego and self-esteem lies in our ability to look inward for our value Developing authentic self-esteem is REALLY hard work to reach, but extremely valuable once you do. How do I know it’s REALLY hard? I work with professional athletes and Olympians each week. By all standards they are in the top 1% of all humans on earth in the profession/sport – incredibly competent and successful. But once they reach that level it is easy to get caught comparing all ov

Getting better at anything requires us to “grow”.  Sometimes this can feel challenging, however. Uncertainty, lack of a plan for getting there, or even an idea of what exactly your specific growth area would be can all create barriers to creating that growth and improvement. The mind can often be the greatest barrier to getting better.  Well Performance  uses a specific system that isn’t complicated - which doesn’t mean it’s always easy – in order to move our clients along th

Anyone that works with me knows how much I believe in and utilize mindfulness meditation. But it’s not because I’m some Zen-Master, or that I’m super calm all the time, or that I think that the world should always “just be peaceful”.  No, it’s simply because I know that it works, and I know the science behind why it works. So, during this 2024 Olympics while so many of the world’s greatest athletes are using it to help themselves perform to their best, I thought I’d explain i

Society glorifies success and winning, so it's easy to internalize the notion that victory is a necessity. The majority of my...

In the heat of competition, athletes often find themselves faced with a primal survival instinct: fight, flight, or freeze. While the...

As not only a sport psychologist, but as a sport parent and coach of a Generation Z child and her team, I know first-hand the unique...

Performance anxiety is a common challenge that my clients face and must learn to manage. At its core, performance anxiety stems from...

In the pursuit of mastery in any endeavor—be it business, sports, or academics—understanding the journey to consistent high performance...

Have you ever read something from a motivation “expert” that starts with “the greats do this”? If so, you need to understand the...

Many of my clients often experience intense emotions or thoughts and all they want to do is get over or rid of them. However, what they...

Sport psychology often comes down to understanding the complexities of human perception and behavior in seeking ways to optimize athletic...