The way we communicate with those we lead matters.  I was reminded of this a few days ago, when my youngest son, who is three and a half, had his first ever t-ball practice earlier this week.  Given my line of work, I have become supremely aware of how impactful my words can be on my children’s growth and development (which is both a blessing and a curse). When the session finished and we were walking back to our car, the ‘old’ me would have said something like this:  “Awesome job buddy! You hit the ball so far, and when you were playing catch, you caught the ball  five ti ..read more

All moms can relate to the pressure to get things done. Many of us had moms who modeled “doing” over “being” so we get caught up in the same habits and not necessarily being able to see that we have another choice. That was certainly true for me. I lacked key mindset mom skills, especially in the years when my kids were young. I was overwhelmed by expectations for what things should look like, my role in creating that and doing all I could to make it happen. I didn’t know how to shift my mindset to make higher quality choices so I could enjoy being over doing. I couldn’t just let things go. It ..read more

I’m sure that a lot of you have heard the saying, “pressure is a privilege” I know I have…many times. I remember talking to my parents about being really nervous before games because I felt all this pressure to do well. They never said that ‘pressure was a privilege’ outright, but they used to tell me all the time that it was OK to be nervous, that nerves were normal, it wasn’t a bad thing to want to do well, that being nervous didn’t change my ability. But it definitely impacted me on the ice.    For a few years, late in high school and early in college, my nerves got the best of me ..read more

Goals are important to have. They create purpose, provide a destination, and inspire us to achieve.   But the end game isn’t everything. It’s supported by a journey that requires intention, focus, discipline and care. Small wins are one element of the journey that, when sufficiently nurtured, can fuel an individual or team toward the finish line.   “Small wins” are tangible actions that indicate progress. They demonstrate that you’re on the right path and are easy to identify if you’re tracking your progress towards that bigger end goal.   Really, “small wins” are not small at a ..read more

What you choose to focus on is one of the most important investments you make each day.    From a mindset perspective, our ability to focus is impacted by a belief system that sets us up to hit the ground running each day thinking we need to do it all. This high achiever mindset orients us to believe it’s easier to do it ourselves rather than delegate or that we’re the only one who can get it done right. This mindset also creates a need to be essential to everything.    The high achiever mindset leads us to make choices that create overwhelm and constant distraction. In thi ..read more

  The IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships took place in Brampton, Ontario over the past two weeks (April 5-16) and it was one hell of a tournament with some spectacular and shocking performances across the board. This year’s tournament included Canada, USA, Switzerland, Czechia, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, and France.   A Canada-USA gold medal game never disappoints and it was great to see Czechia take home the bronze (for the second year in a row) with a 3-2 win over Team Switzerland. But what is most amazing about this year’s tournament was the incredible performa ..read more

Do you value honesty in your relationships? My guess is that the majority of you would answer “yes.” But why? Honesty breeds trust. Trust is an essential ingredient in a healthy relationship. When we trust someone, we feel secure in their presence. This security allows us to show up authentically and vulnerably, leaving us feeling empowered, respected and fulfilled. On the flip side, dishonesty breeds distrust, which can quickly erode a relationship. When we lack trust in a relationship, we feel insecure ..read more

Change and uncertainty is a constant and (ironically) expected part of the human experience. Whether you are an athlete, coach, physical therapist, strength trainer, equipment manager, or athletic director, you will experience periods of uncertainty that have the ability to knock you off your game – if you let it.  In times of uncertainty, change, or high stress, people have a tendency to ruminate on past experiences that they cannot change and/or on future scenarios that have not yet happened. This act of dwelling on uncontrollable factors raises red flag emotions such as feelings of anx ..read more

As social beings we all have an inherent need to feel like we matter. It’s essential to our well being. It also helps us experience a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives. Unfortunately we can go through life with a mindset that gets in the way of us being able to meet this need in a healthy way. The biggest obstacle is a mindset that runs on perfectionism. This mindset sets us up to consciously and unconsciously go after excessively high standards and then get critical of ourselves when those standards are not met. This mindset leads to a constant undercurrent of inadequacy and a sense t ..read more

I gave two separate talks this week on goal setting. The first was to a team who is in the middle of a season, facing a losing record. The second was on a podcast, geared towards both current and former athletes. Effective goal setting is equally crucial to all three of these groups; athletes, athletes in a losing season, and former athletes. Even so, goal setting effectively is not something we are consistently taught how to do in school, by our coaches, or even by our parents. I was looking for some material in the environment where many of us first become acquainted with goal setting, when ..read more