Competition sends your nerves up and down like a mountain range. I help you control the rise and fall — so you perform at your best when it counts, and feel better doing it.
Mental training takes the same diligence as physical training — and you don't need a clinical problem to benefit. Here's the honest line between what I do and what I don't.
The goal is self-regulation — understanding and managing how you respond to pressure, so you stay in control of your performance instead of it controlling you.
Notice what gets in the way — the thoughts, patterns, and pressures that pull you off task.
Focus, confidence, imagery, self-talk, routines, and emotional control — practiced until they're yours.
Respond instead of react. Stay poised under pressure and bring your best when it counts.
Exploring the connection between flow, your strengths and values, and your ability to sustain peak performance and well-being.
One can get in "the zone" by becoming focused on the task at hand, reacting and thinking moment by moment, and enjoying whatever it is one is doing. I think an individual is more likely to experience flow when one actually enjoys the activity that he or she is doing and feels a strong connection to it – when one can find meaning in the activity and its connected to her or his strengths, interests, and values (Biswas-Diener, 2010). One would want to be in a flow state because thinking too much about other things (worries, the future) while performing can hinder the performance and ultimately just doesn't feel good. One has a greater chance at success and pleasure when he or she is focusing on the task at hand and feeling and being in the moment. We can cultivate the capacity to attend to, appreciate, and enhance the positive experiences in our life by figuring out what is meaningful to us, what we enjoy, identifying our strengths and weaknesses, and aligning this with our values. Biswas-Diener's (2010) suggestion for a positive diagnostic system is a helpful tool to cultivate our capacity to attend to, appreciate, and enhance the positive experiences in our life. By identifying our strengths, interests, and resources, we can begin to identify how to enhance our positive experiences in life (Biswas-Diener, 2010).
Reflecting on our well-being and satisfaction with life can help us identify if our psychological needs are being met or not and what we may need to change in order for these needs to be met (Biswas-Diener, 2010). Identifying our values can further help us reflect on the decisions we make in our lives and if these choices align with our values. Becoming more self-aware can aid in attending to, appreciating, and enhancing the positives experiences in one's life. By doing this, one can connect meaning to what he or she is doing, increasing chances of flow and positive experiences. Reminiscing about the good 'ole days may be a time when an individual was doing something that he or she enjoyed, and found meaning in, and maybe they lost that feeling along the way. By reminiscing about the good 'ole days, individuals can figure out what they really enjoyed about those days. Was it the company one was with? The activity that she or he was participating in? By identifying what was so pleasurable about that time, reflecting on one's current strengths, values, interests, and resources, one may be able to cultivate those positive experiences again.
She helped me focus on my own pace, my own effort, and what I could control.
Training has gone really well this week since we chatted. On my bike ride, I did a few times by myself, looking at the trees, breathing and then refocusing on my pedal stroke which really helped. And then today during the run, my whole goal was to just allow myself to feel the pain and trust that I would be OK and work through it.
"Sport psychologist" is a protected title for licensed psychologists. I provide mental performance coaching and mental skills training — and I'll always point you toward a licensed clinician when that's the right kind of support.
Currently works full-time as a mental performance coach for the Army, working with infantry soldiers. Still working toward CMPC (Certified Mental Performance Coach) certification. Holds M.S. in Sport and Performance Psychology; working toward LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) to broaden her skills. Goal: understand the whole person to best meet their needs in enhancing performance and improving overall well-being.
Works with individuals in-person and virtually. Works best with individuals ready to take an active role in their growth. Approach emphasizes building sustainable mental skills so you can keep performing with confidence long after coaching ends.
"If you're committed to learning, practicing, and making meaningful, lasting changes, I'd love to work with you."
Book a free consultation — a real conversation, not a sales call. We'll find where you're stuck and where you want to go.