Philosophy

Welcome!

This post will discuss my main philosophy for approaching mental performance training. This is a brief discussion of some basic ideas of working with me for mental skills training. This list is not exhaustive of the ideas that are critical in my philosophy, but covers a few key ideas that will help you to get a better understanding of my style and if working with me will be the right fit for you. I encourage you to read through this and, if you’re interested, to book a free consultation with me on my website here.

A. The Basics

I will state the “so-called obvious” to ensure clarity. Everyone will be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. I will never discriminate; from my perspective we are all human beings and should be treated as such. It is my first priority to create an environment that will feel comfortable, with the freedom to be yourself without judgement.

B. Person First Style

Though my speciality is mindfulness and I have a strong belief that it is a foundational practice for mental skill success, the practice is not for everyone. I do not believe in forcing my style or theories to suit every person. The best interventions are the ones that people will consistently work at and enjoy engaging in. I will work to find the appropriate mental skill tool kit that works best for each individual. I will deploy a variety of assessment tools to help tailor our sessions to be specific to the needs of the performer.

C. Teams and Groups

Team and group sessions will be structured differently than individual sessions. In our initial consultation we will identify the area(s) of focus that a coach, manager, or leader wants to target and structure the session(s) around the target(s). If there is an opportunity to work long-term than a variety of assessments will also be conducted to identify some areas of opportunity for both the team/group as a whole and potentially individually also.

D. Mindfulness As A Foundation

There are a variety of mindfulness practices and definitions, but I won’t get into too many of the details here. Firstly, there is a mental approach to mindfulness that is quite different than what most people are used to. This mental approach can be a large philosophical shift that can be challenging, confusing, and take time to integrate. But, like any new skill, (learning a sport, a musical instrument, mathematics, weight-lifting) there needs to be effortful investment of time and practice. Just like at the gym getting reps in for your bench press or squat, there are mental reps that need to be done to build up your mental muscles.

Many issues that can plague an athlete revolve around being unaware or inattentive to what is happening in their mind and being unsure of how to navigate those problems. We all have a strong internal dialogue that can be unhelpful at the best of times and disabling at the worst of times. Becoming more aware of this internal dialogue and creating some mental relief from this can have a profound effect on one’s ability to navigate challenging experiences. This can also be a powerful tool to manage emotions more effectively. There tends to be a strong resistance to negative feelings, which makes sense because they are not enjoyable experiences. However, perhaps counterintuitively, attempting to avoid these feelings can make them worse, whereas becoming more comfortable and accepting these feelings can bring about more relief.

So, while traditional mental skills training, like cognitive reappraisal, self-talk, visualization, and goal setting are invaluable tools they inherently rely on being able to first recognize what is going on in your mind first. You can talk to yourself negatively for a long time before recognizing it, you may not realize the words you use to be able to change them, you may not realize you’re being distracted from your goal in all of these cases mindfulness practice helps you to recognize what is happening in your mind and then you have the option to choose what you want to do about it in the next moment.

E. Mindfulness Building Blocks

There are many more concepts within mindfulness and meditation that are essential. I will discuss these topics in future posts. For now, understand that it is difficult to discuss the more advanced topics without having a clear foundation of mindfulness skills and knowledge from which to work from. So, I will say what makes me and working with me unique is I will teach the more advanced topics because I believe in their importance to managing stress, improving wellbeing, and improving performance. As always this will depend on each individual, however when developing a mindfulness practice having an “anchor” that one can continuously come back to when facing adversity is essential. Experiences, stories, confidence, sensations, etc., are constantly changing and having a core anchor to come back to will assist in navigating those changes. Finding and developing that anchor is a key strategy for mental skills training.

F. Mental Habits Beget Physical Habits

A critical component of high performance success is building consistent habits or routines for practice. Creating consistent routines allows for the brain and body to work together to understand the context of the situations it is put in and how to maximize performance when put into those situations. For example, we can think of pre-shot routines in golf, basketball, or other sports. Trying to stick to a consistent routine can help bring success more consistently. It is a priority to focus not just on physical routines, but mental routines as well. Creating a mental routine to ensure optimal mindset going into practice and performance situations. Everyone has heard or the 10,000 hours rule or the “practice makes perfect” motto speak to ideas, though clichè, that practice is critical to success. But, research tells us that practice needs to be done a certain way, very intentionally and with purpose. Ensuring that one puts themselves into the right mindset to maximize their practice sessions will allow them to see more success in not only their performances, but of course their practice sessions as well.

G. Mental Health and Mental Skills

I need to clearly state that working with me IS NOT clinical mental health counselling. If you are seeking professional help for dealing with clinically diagnosed mental health disorders, then you need to seek out a clinical psychologist. I am happy to refer you to a variety or resources to find the right mental health help that you may need, but I cannot and will not be doing clinical work. If you have a clinical diagnosis and are receiving clinical care, counselling, or treatment and would still like to work with me that is not an issue, but I cannot provide care that is out of my professional scope.

Mental health and mental skills are intertwined and there can be a fine line between clinical and non-clinical issues. If you are unsure or uncertain please let me know if you believe you are struggling with something and I can help to identify if you need to seek additional professional opinions on your situation. Dealing with mental health struggles is normal and seeking assistance should always be encouraged. The mental skills training has many of its roots in traditional clinical practices, so even if you are not dealing with clinical issues there are many benefits to receiving mental skills training to help manage stress and negative self-talk habits that can be detrimental to one’s mental health. Unfortunately, there are many people who are do not fit into the “clinical” category, but certainly could benefit from mental skills training to manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues. So no matter your situation, I will work with you to ensure you are set up with the proper attention to your mental health needs.

H. Have Fun!

Lastly, it is fundamental that fun, pleasure, and enjoyment are a part of your performance and mental training journey. Enjoyment helps to keep you motivated and ready to do all the hard, effortful work. Despite the fierce competitiveness that burns in many of us seeking additional training support, it can sometimes be lost that fun and enjoyment is a key component of success. I want to help remind and facilitate that feeling as much as possible.

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