dis-belief
What old story are you still believing about yourself? {via TED} You are more than your “always” and your “nevers” that were formed from these old stories. This article has a wonderful breakdown of action areas to build awareness around and how to edit those stories.

success begets success
I played my best round of golf this week since I started learning the game a couple of years ago – and after playing my worst round of golf two weeks ago. Growth is oftentimes difficult and non-linear. And let’s face it: learning something new (maybe, especially, something like golf) is hard. This is a reminder to you to celebrate your successes, no matter how small they may seem.

shape shifter
Speaking of growth: Maslow’s Pyramid is a Lie (thanks, Capitalism!) {via Medium, $$}. As a psychology major, I feel betrayed by the professors who taught – and never corrected – the triangle model.

book recommendation
But ever thankful for Scott Barry Kaufman for giving us this straight story about the true nature behind Maslow’s humanistic work. Buy Kaufman’s book Transcend (about the science of self-actualization and human potential) here.

takeaway thought
What themes come up in your self-talk? Are there pieces of your old story or a myth about yourself that lead your internal narrative?

who am I?
A theme coming up in my work the last couple of weeks has been centered around athlete identity. What makes an athlete an athlete? Do you consider yourself an athlete? Do you call yourself an athlete? Do you feel a certain kind of way when others call you an athlete? Change your fitness identity. {via 12-minute Athlete}

what’s your superpower?
Maybe it’s psychological flexibility. {via the weekend university}

where is the mistake?
In sport (and life), making a mistake is normal. We’ve all made them! Return to confidence by focusing on the present and leaving the past in the past. Be confident despite mistakes – be confident IN SPITE OF mistakes. Your Mistake is a Gift. {Roger Crawford, via YouTube}

how are you feeling?
As humans, we are primed to fall into this place of dichotomous thinking, including in regard to our emotions (i.e. happy vs. sad). Do you think this is true – that emotions are opposite one another – or do you think they are more on a continuum? Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotion shows us 8 primary emotions: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation. Beyond that, emotions are complex, and Plutchik’s wheel aims to simplify – and help us understand our own emotions (and subsequent behaviors).

why you mad?
Don’t poke the bear! Keeping on topic with emotions, a little fun in research here about the benefits of being grumpy and bad-tempered. {via BBC; links to research within the article}

pressure is a privilege
How do you view pressure in sport performance? {via Matt Fitzgerald} Like stress, pressure often comes with a negative association – but the truth is it could be good and bad. The way you perceive pressure matters if it’s detrimental to performance or can be a benefit.

research-to-practice
Personal Construct Theory (Kelly, 1955) explains the way we experience the world and interpret and anticipate events. Our experiences are individualistic and different from each other. This information we gather then determines our self beliefs. And how we feel about ourselves (self-esteem, self-concept) and events (self-confidence) can determine achievement (or challenges). So what pressure is to you, will be different to someone else. Similarly, what you feel is a success might not be a success to someone else. In sum, keep your eyes on your own paper… err, experiences and perception of those experiences.

mental break
60 Minutes re-aired its fantastic January interview with Rafael Nadal last weekend, and there are SO many good things about mental training in this segment: Focus, motivation, performance routines, rivalry, emotional control, energy management, and self-belief… You can check out the Nadal interview here – but take time to watch the additional 60 Minutes Overtime videos on the page, too.

book recommendation
I recently completed my thesis study on athlete burnout (*confetti emoji*), and I’m throwing back to this ol’ goodie from the man who started it all (and by “it” I mean the psychologist who brought the word burnout to us): Herbert Freudenberger’s book “Burnout.” Can we just for a second step away from the foundational content and swoon over its vintage cover?!

My edition has the cool 70s era, blockbuster movie-like cover.

mindful moment
When I work with my mindfulness groups, I love sharing the different ways that we can practice being mindful (spoiler alert: it doesn’t have to be a formal meditation practice). And it’s often most people find they’ve already introduced some mindfulness practices into their life without even realizing it’s mindfulness. This excellent mindfulness resource was shared with me this week from TAO and shows some of these examples.

the expert on experts
RIP to Anders Ericsson, founder and researcher of the concept of deliberate practice (see also: what inspired the 10,000 Hour Rule) {via NY Times}

tomato, pomodoro
Brad Stuhlberg pulls Ericsson’s ideas into this article about the art (and success) of interval training as it relates to time management {via Outside}.

research-to-practice
Benefits of 8-week mindful-based stress reduction program (MBSR) on seasonal declines in physical activity {via Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise}

book recommendation
Keeping with Ericsson’s legacy in rememberence, I recommend Peak: Secrets from the new science of expertise – shop indie and black-owned bookstores!

mindful moment
Today’s card was pulled from my Mindfulness Cards deck – a reminder that mindfulness can come through playfulness. “The playful mind is an open mind.” Is playfulness one of your values?