The CEP Mindset Podcast

What if worry, frustration, or feeling down are not the problem? Instead, they are symptoms based on your approach to sport and even life. In our society, the way we talk about emotions is backward. We label ourselves and others as anxious, sad, or frustrated. That is not who we are—it is what we are feeling, and the distinction matters. When you identify with an emotion, you've got a self-perpetuating problem. More importantly, it's not true. Emotions are a feedback tool, specifically about your approach to sport and life. If this resonates with you check out my breakdown of the 2 approaches to sport and life. Please note that this is not a catch all framework as there are surely exceptions and other factors to consider. But I encourage you to try it out and see if it works for you. The Outside-In Approach Most people easily get caught up in the "outside-in" approach. This approach means we're allowing the outside world to affect how we feel on the inside, often identified by highs and lows in emotional states. Specifically, they'll have charged emotions, such as worry or anxiety, and then go straight to careless and reckless. Or they may go from deflated and frustrated to elated and thinking they're untouchable. In the "outside-in" approach, we oscillate back and forth because we're focused on the outside world first. The thought process around this approach looks like: What's going on around us? What are the results? What do people think? What's the situation like? And how does that make me feel on the inside? The answers to those questions then dictate how you feel on the side. In other words, your mental state becomes dependent on the external world. This approach is fueled by needing to achieve external results. Of course, the external goal or intent is to achieve the desired results, but it is a fantasy to think sport or life can be all sunshine and rainbows where everything's positive all the time. This approach does not create reliable results and it generally makes sports and life way more stressful. The good news is we can flip our approach. The Inside-Out Approach I want you to strive towards an "inside-out" approach. This approach is about prioritizing who we want to be on the inside first - then we go and tackle the outside world. Someone with this approach focuses on getting grounded, being intentional, and taking control of the things they have control over. The thought process for this approach looks like: Who do I want to be? How do I want to show up? What traits or mindset do I want to step into? Reflecting on these questions helps us slow down so that we can take control of our mindset, attitude, and approach. This approach isn't without emotions and feelings. But the emotions are more grounded and centered - like being in the flow state or having love, gratitude, and enjoyment. There is some oscillation in these emotions, but they aren't as emotionally charged and you will generally stay way more even-keeled. Here are some ways to develop and stick to an "inside-out" approach. Set Your Intentions The first step is to set your intention. This can be something you do every day for the rest of your life. Take as little as one minute to reflect on how you want to show up at the start of each day. It is in that moment that you look within — taking the "inside-out" approach — and get clarity on who you choose to be. This sets you to get grounded and centered before you tackle the day. Reset Routine Right in line with setting your intentions is building a reset routine. This routine is about identifying and rehearsing what areas in life you are susceptible to an "outside-in" approach and resetting to an "inside-out" approach. You can go check out our full video on how to build a reset routine. Stay Adaptable Once you develop your intentions and reset routine, the work isn't over. It's really important that you adopt a growth mindset that focuses on continued learning, adaptations, and constant evolution. As your landscape changes, you need to constantly refine your approach and set your intentions accordingly. Final thoughts are to make sure to apply this to both your sport and your life. Make the "inside-out" approach the default way you operate in life and it will not only optimize how you show up and tackle the external world but, more importantly, you will find a lot more meaning along the way.

Winning versus enjoyment: what matters more? The tension between the two is one that many high performers struggle with. I got this question recently, and the person said, "it's not just about winning - but it's ultimately all about winning." This conundrum can create a lot of inner conflict without the mental model to resolve it. You can be left oscillating between an unhealthy win-at-all-costs mentality that leaves you frustrated and consumed with the results. Or on the other end, you lose the competitive fire needed to perform at your best. I share the mental models to resolve this age-old conundrum in this recent vid. I'll briefly walk you through three concepts below (make sure to watch the video for more details and diagrams): 1) Internal Experience vs External Results Comparing enjoyment versus winning is comparing an internal experience (e.g., enjoyment) versus the external result (e.g., winning, stats, etc.). They are not dependent on each other; the goal is to have both. They are very different, and we want to treat them differently. This is why that question of enjoyment versus winning can inherently just be misleading. Nonetheless, the goal is to help you process and decide your priorities. 2) Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation The mistake athletes and high performers make as they climb the ranks is to confuse their external goals and results for why they play. You can have intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, but the best athletes in the world stay connected to their intrinsic drivers. 3) Choose Your Priority You have to choose what your priority is. What is the number one thing? Most people make the mistake of prioritizing their achievements (e.g., what I want to have, what I want to achieve, the results of the winning) and only focus on who they will be in the experience (e.g., play with confidence) to get those results. The paradox is this makes their mindset worse and less likely to achieve the results. But when you flip the priorities, when you focus first on who you want to be, how you want to show up - aka Mindset First — that's when you get clarity, that's when the actions flow and the results, well, they're not guaranteed, but the probability is now going to go up. And the best part is you're more likely to enjoy the whole experience and the journey. Who Do You Choose To Be? There's an important point to clarify here. When you focus on who you're being (your mindset) and the enjoyment in that, you're not sacrificing competitive fire or killer instinct. You're often heightening it because you intentionally choose to be in attack mode. By playing with more patience and aggressiveness, you will have more poise The Big Trap Most people will focus on their mindset because that will lead to better results. But this is the big trap - you are prioritizing the results again. Instead, I want you to prioritize the process for the sake of itself. This is where enjoyment comes from because enjoyment is not just dependent on results. It is about who you are, the process, the game itself, and the experience. That is what evokes enjoyment. This is a lot easier said than done. The results are everywhere - stats, social media, standings, cultural norms. People are talking and obsessing about results. But when you can prioritize the process over the results - that's what I call the realm of the super-elite. Make sure to watch the full video for more details and diagrams. Please share this with anyone you think would be interested.

If you want a sure fire way to quickly transform your mental game - you need to develop a personalized Alter Ego. This strategy is not about putting fixed labels on who you are as a person. Rather it is about creating a narrative about how you want to show up on the field of play. The Power of Simplicity and Creativity Credit to my coach and mentor Todd Herman for writing the book: The Alter Ego Effect and helping bring more simplicity and creativity to the mental game. Unfortunately most sport psychology strategies are: Dry Boring Overcomplicated As an athlete you don't want to be out on the field of play trying to remember to use positive self talk, thought stopping, breathing exercises and re-framing situations. These strategies won't get you repeatable and reliable results, instead they just give you more things to think about, when what you need to do is think less. You want to keep it simple and just play your game. Therefore, you need practical and personalized strategies that work for you. That's exactly what you get in our 1-2 punch of the Reset Routine and Alter Ego. Here are the 3 steps to creating a personalized Alter Ego: STEP 1: Develop a Contrast Think of the Alter Ego strategy as creating two contrasting narratives. On one side you have your worst self, your shadow self, or your comfortable self. This is the self that holds you back, that plays safe, and that worries about what other people think. On the other side you have your heroic self, your best self, or your courageous self. This is the self that embraces the moment, that is confident in their capabilities, and attacks the game. STEP 2: Be Creative The quickest way to get started is to think of your favorite superhero. If you don't have one, then think of someone that inspires you - it could be a relative, famous athlete, public figure, or tv show character etc. You might even have two or more people you lean on to help create your Alter Ego. The more creative and playful you are in this process - the better. The person or people you pick should represent the traits you identified in step 1. For example a hockey goalie that resonates with Batman could see the overlap as such: Before the game/the battle - he is calm and collected Taking shots against/in the fight - he is agile and trusts himself After adversity/gets knocked down - he gets back up STEP 3: Map It Out The last step in creating your personalized Alter Ego is literally drawing it out on a map. This step is crucial to simplifying your Alter Ego. You want to be able to boil it down so it is easy to understand yet still holds a powerful narrative that clicks for you. Drawing it out on a map helps add another layer of tangibility to the process. You can see clearly how you want to show up in the various key moments of impact on your field of play. You can color code it and use it as a cheat sheet summary of your Alter Ego. The goal here is to keep it simple - it should not be over complicated or have too many words.

The ability to block out the 'noise' is key to having a clear mind and playing free. But this is easier said than done - many athletes have trouble blocking out the 'noise' and end up: Overthinking Doubting their abilities Worrying about things out of their control When you lack alignment within your thoughts, feelings, and actions, you end up losing the ability to play in the flow state. The best strategy to clear and block out the noise is a Reset Routine. The magic is not in the routine itself, but in what the routine represents. Here are the ABC's to creating an effective and personalized Reset Routine: STEP 1: Accept Most athletes get caught in the 'need to, have to, and shoulds' of performance - this leaves them: Feeling the burden of expectations Distracted by the results that are not in their control Primed to be frustrated if they fall short of their expectations The key to letting go of this noise is acceptance, but the problem is our society thinks acceptance is a weakness. However, if properly understood and effectively used it is one of the most powerful tools to getting centered, grounded, and becoming the hero of your own story. That is why this step is the most important - without it your Reset Routine will not be effective or reliable. The Pink Elephant and the Bubble One of the analogies we like to use is the pink elephant and the bubble. If I say "don't think of a pink elephant." What do you think of? A pink elephant… This is not an effective strategy, yet that is exactly what most advice is for athletes: Don't worry about it Forget about it Be positive These might be the results we want but they do not tell us how to get those results. Think of your focus and awareness as a bubble, and what we want is to have a clear bubble - where you are dialed into the process. But the problem is pink elephants show up - aka distracting thoughts and feelings. The solution is to go to them, to understand them, to embrace them, to accept them. By doing this the pink elephant is not necessarily gone forever, but it will move outside your mental bubble, and your mind will become clear and free. Finding Your Pink Elephants The hardest part of acceptance is knowing what to accept. There are two common problems: The pink elephant is in your blind spot: You can feel it but have a hard time seeing it and understanding it - which therefore makes it hard to accept and clear. A lack of perspective: When you are too zoomed in on the situation, you often have a hard time seeing the bigger picture. It's like only seeing part of the pink elephant, but you can't clear it unless you can see and understand the whole thing. This is a skill that takes a lot of practice. You use it every day so that you can continuously get better at clearing the noise. STEP 2: Breathe There are a vast amount of strategies on the importance of using your breath to help you get relaxed, calm and centered. "An anxious mind cannot exist in a relaxed body." Dr. Edmund J. Bourne, Clinical Psychologist Regardless of what strategy you use - breathing is a fundamental strategy for managing your physical and mental state. STEP 3: Commit Steps 1 and 2 will help you clear the noise and get centered, but the last piece of the puzzle is to direct your attention back to the task at hand. If you don't commit to the process you might end up letting another pink elephant get back into your bubble. So in this step we often have the athlete close their eyes for a brief moment (if applicable) and imagine how they want to show up in the next play. It is not just what they want to do, but how they want to feel while they do it. Setting a clear intention of how you want to move forward helps activate the best version of yourself. This is also a great time to use a totem. A totem comes from Todd Herman's Alter Ego work - which is about creating a personalized narrative that clicks for you. The totem is then something tangible that you can touch, hold, or wear, and use to help associate that narrative. It's a really powerful way to finish a Reset Routine. Now remember the routine and the actions are not what make it work - the ability to accept is the key. So if your routine is not working well - the solution is often about doing a better job of finding your pink elephants, getting to the root of the noise, and fully embracing it. Make it a tangible routine that should only take about 10-15 seconds. You can make variations that are shorter or longer. The bottom line is you need to personalize it and find what works for you. I hope you found this helpful. Please share this with anyone you think could benefit. If you are interested in getting one of our Mental Performance Coaches to help you build your Reset Routine - visit www.cepmindset.com to get started.

The outline of my first book is complete - check out the caption below to see the outline! I've gained some great insights while starting the writing process - you can find those in the summary below. The working title is - Play with Confidence: A New Way for Athletes to Mentally Prepare The purpose of the book is to challenge the status quo on mental preparation and question the 'accepted' ways of thinking about confidence. It will debunk the fluffy clichés, cookie-cutter strategies, and 'old-school' beliefs entrenched in the sport culture. If you dare to be different and embrace the new ways of thinking, then you will play with confidence, enjoy the journey and achieve Consistent Elite Performance. Let me know which chapter you are looking forward to the most: 1) Challenge the Status Quo & Dare to Be Different 2) Stop Yo-Yo Confidence 3) Build Momentum & Snowball Confidence 4) Self-Talk: Name It to Tame It 5) Create a Confident Identity - aka an Alter Ego 6) Block out the Noise - Reset Routine 7) Redefine Success & Develop Your Personal Scorecard 8) Game Day Mental Preparation Routines 9) Specific Problems & Solutions 10) Tweak & Refine for Long-Term Success What's funny is that writing a book about high-performance takes being a high-performer - so I've had to personally apply the principles in the book as I've undertaken this new challenge. One main adjustment for me has been that this is not a week-long project - just like being an elite athlete - writing a book is more like a marathon than a sprint. The balance of patience and dedication has been important to overcome the moments of struggle when I question if I will ever get it done. I've also had to battle my own demons about "will this book be any good?" But, trying to predict how many people will read it and find it helpful is not my job. My intent is to have a lot of people read it and for it to have a significant impact - as such, I'll be diligent and strategic in how I write. I will also surround myself with allies to help optimize the book and the subsequent distribution process. Whether I sell 100 or a million copies is not the point. That is a result and my job is to focus on what I can control. If I put my heart into it and give my best effort (which I will) whatever the result will be - I can live with it. It's just a result and form of feedback. What matters most is doing something I believe is meaningful. And because this book is meaningful to me that is the WHY I am putting my heart into it and giving my best effort. Likewise, elite athletes need to stop worrying about results and predicting the outcomes. The paradox of it all is that athletes optimize their results when they focus on what they can control and stay connected to their intrinsic WHY - which is often some form of the love of the game that gives them meaning! That's all for now - again I'd love to hear what chapter you are looking forward to the most.

Getting injured is one of the biggest challenges in sport. So having the mental strategies to overcome this adversity will help you: ● Stay motivated despite not being able to play or train within the sport you love. ● Have the resilience & grit to persevere through the recovery process. ● Remain confident in your abilities and trust yourself as you return to play. ● Focus on being a great teammate and becoming a better leader as you look to contribute to the team in other ways. Strategy 1: Reflect On Your Mindset Daily It is so easy to get caught up on what you can't do and all the things not going your way. So you want to focus on what you can do – mental training, being a leader, rehab, catch up on other areas of life. Then you need to reflect on how well you are focusing on what you can do and making the most out of it versus being negative – blaming, complaining, and focus on what I can't do. This is not about being positive – that won't work. Instead, it is about staying centred or neutral. Step 2: 'Scuba Dive' to Make Progress The hardest part of being injured is watching everyone else continue to train and compete. Playing your sport is like surfing, but when injured, you are not able to surf – so you are just stuck in the ocean taking waves to the face. It sucks and it is overwhelming. So the solution is not to swim away, but actually to put on your scuba gear, stay close by, and keep making progress under the water. Strategy 3: Find New Ways to Contribute – aka Be a Leader If you apply the first two strategies, you are already getting into a better mental state and will be primed to step into being a leader. This strategy has two major benefits: Here are a few key ways you can continue to contribute to the team without being able to play: Provide 1-on-1 Encouragement: Think about which teammates are struggling or could benefit from a helpful reminder to trust their capabilities or that they can get the next play. Be a Beacon of Light: Bring upbeat energy, keep it light and have some fun – although you are not playing you are still affecting the culture of the team with both your body language, what you say, and how you say it. Coach Individuals or the Team: I don't mean to replace the coaching staff but instead focus on how you can give feedback that helps athletes keep learning and growing. I encourage you to share this with anyone that is dealing with an injury – I've experienced the mental struggle myself as an athlete, and we see it daily with the athletes that come work with us at CEP Mindset – so if this video can help a few more athletes out there – then that is a win – so thanks for sharing. If you are injured and/or want some 1-on-1 Mental Performance coaching then click link below to learn more. https://cepmindset.com/

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. Listen to this podcast for our 3 Step System to Win the Mental Game - aka how to build your brick house: 1. Blueprint Breakdown what you are working on and identify your top priorities 2. Personalize Tools Build your brick house with practical tools that are personalized for you 3. Upkeep & Upgrades It's a never-ending process of adapting, refining, and doing the work - there are no quick fixes It is the system that has helped 10,000's of elite athletes and high performers get into the zone and achieve Consistent Elite Performance. If you are interested in building your brick house quickly and effectively, then you may be a good fit for our 1-on-1 coaching programs. The first step is to get on the phone with our admin team. Click the link below to get started: https://cepmindset.com/book-now/

Confidence is a key to high performance. Unfortunately, confidence is often misunderstood and people overlook the most important part - self-worth. Most people struggle with self-confidence because the self-talk in their head is their own worst enemy. Here are 4 other reasons why people struggle with self-confidence: Yo-Yo Confidence: Tying their self-image to external results or praise Imposter Syndrome: Believing they are not worthy and/or don't belong Victim Mentality: Blaming others and not taking responsibility Negativity Bias: Constantly beating yourself up and overly focusing on the negatives However, you can go from being your own worst enemy to being your own best ally by following these 3 steps to strengthen your self-confidence: Step 1: Start with the Roots of the Tree - Self-Worth Step 2: Grow a Well Rounded Tree Step 3: Put in the Work & Own Your Capabilities Listen to this episode for a full explanation of each step. The most important takeaway from this episode is that you are in control of your self-confidence. Start by strengthening your self-worth, then grow a well-rounded tree by developing your self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. Self-confidence is a skill that can be developed if you're willing to put in the work and own your capabilities. Be your own best ally, not your own worst enemy.

We know how frustrating it's being in yet another lockdown in Ontario & having to take a step back from the sports we love. However, we also know this doesn't mean your progress should stop. For those of you that are in another lockdown - this is a mental challenge and it can make you mentally stronger, as long as you lean into it and make the most out of it. In fact, the mantra we adopted since lockdowns have begun is Obstacles Make Us Stronger! To help you lean in and to ensure obstacles make you stronger we made a new CEP Mindset Talk video - here are some key takeaways: 1. Be the Bonfire: A candle is blown out by the wind, but a bonfire requires wind to grow. In this analogy the wind represents challenges and obstacles and the choice you have is whether you are a candle that gets blown out by the wind or you grow to be the bonfire that uses the wind as fuel. 2. Adapt to the Situation: The extra free time from lockdowns gives you the opportunity to spend more time and energy on your mental game. It's not about being positive, it's about neutral thinking and creating structure in your days. 3. Take Action: Mental inputs lead to performance outputs. What are you spending your time watching, listening, and reading? What will you get from it? Three fundamental actions: Meditation, Imagery and Reflection

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