Mindset Manual
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................................................3
Becoming a Clutch Performer - The #1 Goal For Every Athlete...........................................................................................................5
Arousal Regulation - Finding the Sweet Spot...........................................................................................................................................9
Stress Appraisals - From Threat to Challenge........................................................................................................................................12
Pre-Performance Routines - Regaining Control.....................................................................................................................................16
Performance Intentions - The Focus Narrowers.....................................................................................................................................19
Pressure Desensitization - The Key to Comfort.....................................................................................................................................22
Visualization - Seeing is Believing............................................................................................................................................................ 25
Facilitative Self-Talk - Clearing the Mind................................................................................................................................................29
Reset Buttons - Moving On From Mistakes.............................................................................................................................................32
Post-Performance Evaluation - The Progression Guarantee.............................................................................................................. 35
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................................................................38
Bonuses.............................................................................................................................................................................................................39
Journaling Prompts........................................................................................................................................................................................40
Mental Skills Tracker.....................................................................................................................................................................................42
Affirmations - Simple Reminders...............................................................................................................................................................44
Will Your Journey Continue?.......................................................................................................................................................................45
Copyright © 2023 by Samuel Martin
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission
from the author, except as permitted by international copyright law.
2
Introduction
Welcome to "The Mindset Manual," your ultimate guide to unlocking the
incredible power of the athlete's mind. If you are seeking the key to reaching
peak performance and achieving your sports-related goals, you are in the
right place.
In the world of sports, talent and physical prowess are undoubtedly critical
factors, but it is the strength of your mindset that often separates the good
from the great. The ability to harness the full potential of your mental faculties
is a game-changer, and this manual is your roadmap to success.
You may be a dedicated athlete, a coach, or even a sports enthusiast seeking
to understand the inner workings of the athletic mind. Regardless of your
background, "The Mindset Manual" is designed to equip you with the
knowledge, tools, and techniques needed to thrive in the world of sports.
As athletes, we all face the ebb and flow of competition, the emotional
rollercoaster of victories and defeats, and the unique challenges that come
with pushing our physical limits. However, it is your mental state that can
empower you to overcome adversity, conquer self-doubt, and consistently
perform at your best.
Throughout this manual, you will explore the psychology of peak
performance - learning the key pillars that make the very best athletes thrive
under pressure and get the best out of themselves seemingly on-demand.
The goal of this manual is to provide you with a complete understanding of
an elite mentality and a toolbox of skills to help you develop and actualize
such a mindset.
This is an ‘action-oriented’ manual, meaning that its intention is to be used
as a practical tool to facilitate your learning and development. This is why the
skills discussed will be broken down into a simple, digestible format that is
accompanied by practical exercises for you to go away and implement.
3
You will only get as much out of this playbook as you put in. Working on your
mentality is often harder and requires more effort than working on your
physicality. This means the skills you learned must be practiced with patience,
focus, and discipline. Like all other skills, they require time to gain expertise in.
You would not get a six-pack after heading to the gym once, so do not expect
a shredded mentality from using these tools once.
You have taken this first important step but the hard work starts now. Enjoy!
4
Becoming a Clutch Performer - The #1 Goal
For Every Athlete
Chances are, you have a role model or someone you have looked up to and
thought “How on earth are they so ‘cold’?” Or, “why is it that they seem like
they actually thrive off high-pressure situations?”
Think of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kobe Bryant - those performers
who seem completely and utterly unfazed by the big moment. Instead, they
lean-in to it. They demand the ball for the last-minute penalty or last-second
3-pointer.
There is a name for these freaks - Clutch Performers.
Clutch performers are those exceptional individuals who rise to the occasion
when the stakes are highest. They possess a crazy ability to maintain
composure and deliver their best performances, despite facing the intense
pressure that often causes others to crumble. The chaos that comes with
high-pressure situations just does not faze them in the slightest.
And if you are an athlete striving to be your best, then the overarching goal
you must set for yourself is to become a clutch performer.
This is great, but what actually sets these clutch performers apart from
everyone else?
Well, as a mental performance coach, I have worked with a lot of performers
in various domains - athletes of all abilities, ranging from beginners to
professionals, students at some of the best universities in the world, and
business owners and leaders in various industries.
I have also undertaken countless hours of investigating into this space as well,
analyzing research papers and articles, reading tons of books and just
observing a lot of high performers.
5
And from all of this experience I would say there are 3 common principles
that allow someone to become a clutch performer.
And notice what I wrote there “become a clutch performer”. There are the
occasional freaks of nature who from birth have always been fearless, but
everyone else had to learn how to handle pressure and how to take their
mindset to that bulletproof level. So the good news is that these traits are
something you can develop and this playbook will help you with that.
Principle number 1 is “Seeing Pressure as Fuel, Not a Drainer”. Unlike many
individuals who view pressure as a draining force that saps their energy and
focus, clutch performers see pressure through a different lens. They
recognize that pressure, when channeled properly, can be a powerful
source of motivation and energy. Instead of letting pressure overwhelm
them, clutch performers leverage it as fuel to sharpen their focus and
enhance their performance.
Through simple reframing techniques, which will be covered later in the
playbook, clutch performers harness the energy of pressure to elevate their
game. They use pressure to activate a heightened state of readiness that
enables them to tap into their full potential.
Principle number 2 is “Remaining Present-Oriented”. One clear thing you see
within clutch performers is their ability to stay fully present in the moment.
When pressure mounts, most performers become consumed by thoughts of
past failures or future consequences. Things like thinking about previous
similar moments where they screwed up, or thinking about all the negative
that can come through not seizing the moment. But this act of mental time
travel does little more than divert focus from the task at hand. Lapses in
concentration, more often than not, cause the performer to panic, become
overwhelmed, and be unable to execute.
But clutch performers, on the other hand, anchor themselves in the present
moment, maintaining unwavering focus on the current action or
task—essentially, directing pure, undivided attention to the here and now.
6
Think of Tiger Woods in his prime. He would just calmly make ridiculously
long putts to win championships. Or the likes of the tennis GOAT Novak
Djokovic, who several times throughout his career has fought back from two
sets down to win the match. Tiger and Novak do not even think about how
the odds are stacked against them. They just carry on with their job
moment to moment, using all their mental energy on the task right in
front of them.
It is this present-oriented mindset that prevents distractions and allows them
to execute their skills with precision, meaning that they do not even for a
second think about past or future concerns. Once again, later in the playbook
I will share the strategies these clutch performers use to remain so grounded
in the present.
Then finally, the last key principle is “Being at Peace with All Outcomes”.
Perhaps the most profound principle of clutch performers is their ability to
get to a point of complete acceptance with whatever happens.
While it is natural to desire success and to an extent, fear failure, clutch
performers cultivate a unique mindset. They understand that despite their
best efforts, outcomes are always going to be somewhat uncertain. Rather
than fixating on a specific result, they detach from the need of validating
themselves through success.
This detachment does not signify indifference or not caring, instead, it allows
clutch performers to perform without the suffocating pressure of
perfectionism.
By embracing the possibility of failure and accepting it as a guaranteed part
of the journey, they free themselves to perform authentically and without
fear. What this means is that they will still be the first person to demand that
they are given the ball to take the game-winning shot even though they
missed their last three.
In their eyes, it is just about stepping up to the big moments with
confidence but without too much care. Yes, they want to win and succeed,
but they know that in trying too hard or wanting something too much, this
7
can cause unnecessary tension in the mind and body, which in turn
negatively impacts performance.
Without question, this characteristic is the hardest to cultivate out of the
three but through learning and applying everything in this manual, you will
get to this point. It will not happen overnight, I am not guaranteeing you will
become completely different in a click of a finger. But what I am
guaranteeing is that you are being given a playbook that consolidates all the
tools that clutch performers use to embody these principles and allow them
to put in peak performances no matter the magnitude of any high-pressure
moment.
So, let us now go through these tools that will take your mental game to the
next level. .
8
Arousal Regulation - Finding the Sweet Spot
The starting point for any athlete wanting to become a clutch performer is to
become a master of arousal regulation. This refers to the deliberate and
systematic control of an athlete's physiological and psychological arousal
levels to optimize performance. Arousal in sports is the state of physical and
mental readiness or activation, often associated with factors like excitement,
stress, and anxiety.
If you are over-aroused, that is when you begin to suffer from performance
anxiety, you feel a range of ‘uncomfortable’ symptoms like butterflies in your
stomach, your pulse thumping on the side of your head, and general
agitation. Yet if you are under-aroused, you are also not in an ideal state to
perform. This is because in that state you are not ‘switched-on’. You do not
feel up for it and just a bit ‘meh’ overall.
Due to this variance, arousal regulation is a key skill that clutch performers
take incredibly seriously. Those who are most adept in this skill are able to
easily find and maintain their optimal level of arousal, which varies hugely
from person-to-person and sport-to-sport. For example, athletes in a sport
like rugby need a much higher level of arousal than that of Olympic shooters.
Rugby players need to be ‘pumped up’ in order to cope with the physical
demands of slamming into and being slammed by 240-pound giants.
Whereas for the shooter, the slightest elevation in arousal can completely ruin
the accuracy of their shot.
Understanding your own
optimal arousal level can be
facilitated by the
Yerkes-Dodson law. This is a
psychological principle that
describes the relationship
between arousal (or stress)
and performance. In the
context of sports
performance, it suggests that there is an optimal level of arousal or stress for
peak performance.
9
The central idea of the Yerkes-Dodson law is that performance improves with
increased arousal up to a certain point, after which further increases in
arousal lead to a decline in performance. In other words, there is a bell-shaped
curve depicting the relationship between arousal and performance, with an
optimal point in the middle.
This concept is essential in sports for several reasons:
1. Finding the Sweet Spot: Athletes need to identify and maintain their
optimal level of arousal to perform at their best. Too much anxiety or
stress can lead to errors, muscle tension, and reduced focus, while too
little arousal can result in a lack of motivation and energy.
2. Individual Variation: The optimal arousal level varies from person to
person and can also change depending on the type of sport and the
specific situation. Some athletes may perform best under high-pressure
situations, while others may thrive in a more relaxed state.
3. Skill Complexity: The Yerkes-Dodson law highlights the importance of
adjusting arousal levels based on the complexity of the skill being
performed. Simple tasks may require higher arousal, while complex
tasks benefit from lower arousal levels.
Clutch performers are often masters at utilizing the Yerkes-Dodson law to
their advantage. This is something that takes time, effort, and practice to
achieve though. One of the first crucial steps to take is to reflect on your own
‘optimal arousal level’ in your sport. Take a moment to ponder this before
reading the next section.
A helpful journaling prompt is - “Where is my sweet spot?” i.e. where on the
Yerkes-Dodson Law curve do you perform your best and feel as though you
are harnessing your talents optimally?
One thing to keep in mind though is that it is often the case that different
moments or scenarios within a sport require a different level of arousal, so
think deeply about where some of those nuances may lie in your
performance domain too.
10
For example, in basketball, there is a great deal of variety in intensity during
the usual ebb and flow of a match. This means there are instances where
heightened arousal is crucial, such as during high-pressure situations like
last-minute free throws or crucial three-pointers. In these moments, players
need to harness the energy and motivation that pressure brings, using it as
fuel to sharpen focus and enhance performance. But the trick is to calm
oneself sufficiently so arousal levels do not tip over into the right-hand side of
the Yerkes Dodson bell curve during such moments.
On the flip side, there are moments in a game where a lower arousal level is
beneficial. During routine plays, maintaining a calm and composed state
prevents distraction, allowing players to execute passes and shots with
precision. This is because on average, a basketball team can expect to have
around 100 possessions a game. Being highly aroused for every single one of
those would lead to complete exhaustion by the end of the first quarter!
Like basketball, many other sports require athletes to navigate between
these moments of intense focus and calm composure, demonstrating a
nuanced understanding of the psychological dynamics that contribute to
success on the court, pitch, or track. Building this self-awareness is vital so
that you then understand which out of the future tools discussed in this
playbook will help you best regulate your arousal to maximize performance.
11
Stress Appraisals - From Threat to Challenge
Despite knowing that you need to reach a certain level of arousal to perform
your best, it can be natural to experience overwhelm and discomfort when
faced with high-stakes moments as an athlete. In that aroused state your
body undergoes a range of physiological changes that can make you feel
nauseous, agitated, and generally uneasy. For many athletes, these symptoms
are debilitating - they often cause distraction and doubt.
But clutch performers experience such symptoms differently. They too will
face butterflies in their stomach or a touch of pre-game jitters. But instead of
worrying about such symptoms or trying to eliminate them completely,
clutch performers will leverage such symptoms. The way they do this is in the
stress appraisals they make.
Stress appraisal is simply the process by which individuals evaluate and cope
with a stressful event. What you tend to find is that most performers believe
stress is awful and something to be avoided. In believing this, they end up
making THREAT APPRAISALS. In other words, they see the thing causing
them stress as a threat, something debilitating, and that their stress response
is a panic button in which the body and mind are self-imploding due to the
demands being placed upon them.
But what the clutch performers do, those who seemingly thrive under
pressure, is make CHALLENGE APPRAISALS. In other words, they see the
thing causing them stress as a challenge, something to overcome and that
their body’s stress response is fueling them with what they need to overcome
it.
And the interesting thing is that irrespective of the situation, you can control
how your mind and body responds to it, due to how you label the stress you
are facing.
One study at Harvard Business School showed that nerve wracking and
highly stressful situations can be very simply re-appraised and this can have
amazing impacts on performance.
12
A group of researchers recruited participants for a study where they did not
know what they were initially signing up for. The researchers then revealed to
the participants that they would be taking part in a karaoke task in front of a
random researcher. Obviously this is a task pretty much everyone would find
stressful, even some professional singers!
The participants were then separated into three groups - Group 1 - who were
asked to read aloud a statement on a card before they started singing, which
read “I am nervous”. Group 2 - who were also asked to read aloud a
statement on a card before they started singing, but theirs read “I am
excited”. And Group 3 was a control group who did not have to read anything
aloud before singing.
So for all the participants in the three groups, their singing of the exact same
song was then measured by a computer software which recorded their
volume, pitch, and note accuracy. And so, group 3, the no statement groups
scored an average of 69%. Group 1, the ‘Anxious” group scored 53%. And
Group 2, the “Excited" group scored 80%.
So what these results demonstrate is that it is not stress or stressful
situations that are the problem, it is how we commonly think about and
label those stressors. And even changing just one word can significantly
increase our performance on challenging tasks.
You may have heard of the phrase “pressure is a privilege” and that
statement is exactly the kind of reappraisal that clutch performers make. They
are seeing high-stakes moments as opportunities to thrive instead of
situations where they will crumble or get found out.
If you want to become a clutch performer, then you must start reconditioning
yourself into how you appraise stressful and high-pressure moments.
In order to do so, use the table below to write out some high-pressure
situations typical of your performance domain.
After this, take some time to think about how you would interpret each
situation from a “threat” standpoint, as well as how that exact same situation
could be interpreted from a “challenge” standpoint.
13
For example, you could think about taking a last minute penalty. If you see
this through the lens of a threatening situation you might put “This is so
much weight on my shoulders.” The tricky part is to then reappraise that
exact same situation as a challenge. This will feel unnatural to begin with, if
you are someone who consistently views pressure as a threat. So it could be
something like “This is my time to lift my entire team to victory.”
After this, spend a minute playing that situation out in your mind through
those two different lenses. Visualize what that moment would be like if you
were adopting the threat mindset and then visualize that exact same
moment if you were adopting the challenge mindset.
For the first one, you are likely to feel that weight on your shoulders and
nervousness. But for the second, you may feel your chest pumping out and
feeling excited about the chance to be that guy or that girl.
Consistently making “challenge appraisals” will allow you to be able to
use your stress response as fuel to tackle high-pressure moments.
14
Reappraising Your Stressors
Performance Situation
Threat
Challenge
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
15
Pre-Performance Routines - Regaining
Control
One of the main reasons athletes succumb to pressure is because pressure
acts a threat to one’s sense of control. Whenever feeling anxiety or
nervousness about anything, performance or life-related, it often comes down
to the fact that there is something about the situation that is outside of our
hands. Naturally we all crave control to be comfortable and although we
cannot control absolutely everything during high-pressure situations, we can
do many things to increase our overall sense of control. If we achieve this, we
dramatically increase our chances of remaining unfazed when the going gets
tough.
So what clutch performers do to massively enhance their perceived sense of
control, is develop countless game-day routines. Again, it is worth
remembering that the very elite also feel the same sense of nerves and
excitement that all other athletes do. As arousal increases, so too can a loss of
inhibitions and this naturally causes a surrendering of some control. This
inevitably causes some agitation because of the mind and body preparing
the athlete for a huge effort that comes with tonnes of pressure.
To balance out this agitation and ensure that arousal levels remain in the
sweet spot mentioned earlier, clutch performers will run through a
meticulous list of routines that start as soon as they wake-up on gameday.
These are typically a range of idiosyncratic actions that have become
habitualized and serve to help clutch performers start productively
channeling that gameday energy.
In case you did not know, around 40% of our day-to-day lives are habitual. It is
literally hardwired into humans to thrive on routines and rituals. Aside from
giving us a greater sense of control, they also act as triggers for the brain to
transition into the desired mindset for whatever tasks, duties, or opportunities
we are facing. So when thinking about gameday habits, it is important to also
appreciate that they are literally priming you for peak performance.
16
Typically a clutch performer will wake-up at the exact same time on gameday.
They then take a 10-minute shower in which they close their eyes and start
visualizing the performance ahead. They will then eat the exact same
breakfast before then leaving at the exact time to get to the stadium or arena.
Most will run through the exact same warm-up routine. During this, they will
listen to the exact same pre-game playlist. Many will even just add in some
fun challenges to keep things lighthearted and dial back that arousal if they
feel it creeping dangerously near to overarousal. For example, basketball
players like Steph Curry try to hit a half-court shot or a shot from the tunnel
right before they head back to the locker room for the last time before tip-off.
Or football players may try to hit the crossbar before they do the same.
Many clutch performers will then have a set routine of how they put on their
kit or uniform, in the exact same order every time. Then as they head out for
the performance they may have a certain action they carry out as they step
onto the court, field, or track. Just think of those athletes you have seen
praying, pointing to the sky, or doing a pose like Usain Bolt’s “Lightning Bolt”
just before settling into the blocks for the 100m final.
All of these actions are not random gimmicks. They are a deliberate chain of
actions that dial in focus, channel energy, and create a greater sense of
conviction in one’s ability to seize the moment. Quite literally these actions
are fooling the brain into believing that everything is 100% under control,
which as you know, in sport is an impossibility.
So below in the table map out your game day routine, from the moment you
wake-up right up until the performance starts.
Most of the individual actions themselves are not what are making the
difference here. It is the wider impact they have when sequenced together.
So do not question yourself if you are thinking about how putting your left
sock on before your right one is going to make you perform better. It is not
the act itself, it is the process of following these things to condition yourself
into that super confident state that comes through feeling more in control
about what is to come.
What you also want to think about are other specific routines to engage in
mid-performance. Again, this varies a lot depending on your performance
17
domain. But you will see the very best football players have a certain routine
they perform before taking penalties or freekicks. The very best tennis players
have routines of how many times they bounce a ball or adjust their sleeve
before a serve.
In all of these cases, the routines are exactly the same every time. Because it
gives you something to fully concentrate on and lock into so that your mind is
not wandering onto the significance of the situation, such as the fact it is an
opportunity to take the lead or claim a match point. Following routines
provides a pathway of predictability, which is needed during those times
where uncertainty starts to build. As said, even the very best want to do all
they can to feel like they are in control and routines are what gives them the
very best chance of achieving this.
Creating your Game-Day Routine
My Game-Day Routines (In Order of Completion)
✅
My Mid-Performance Routines
✅
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
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Performance Intentions - The Focus
Narrowers
As just discovered, the pre-game rituals and routines of clutch performers
would be best described as ‘intentional’. This characteristic is also central to
another key skill the very elite become proficient in and that is “performance
intentions”.
A clear issue many athletes face is that they are often incredibly vague in
terms of what they want to achieve when either training or performing. They
will say that their intention is to always “win” or “perform my best”. Those of
course are the ultimate North Stars to be guided by, yet in only looking up to
those things you will inevitably stumble over challenges, obstacles, and
hurdles that are littered all over the pathway to victory.
Clutch performers overcome this through setting incredibly deliberate and
specific intentions for every single training session and game day.
For example, a clutch athlete does not just focus on improving their overall
game. Instead, they set explicit goals, such as increasing their shooting
accuracy by a certain percentage or reducing their reaction time on the field
during specific drills. There is an obsession over detail and data, which
drastically heightens the chances of putting in peak performance after peak
performance.
One of the best techniques to achieve this extra sense of intentionality is the
use of “If-Then” plans.
This was a technique developed by psychologist Peter Gollwitzer. In an
experiment into goal setting, Gollwitzer asked two groups of students to mail
him an assignment two days before Christmas. One of the groups were
simply given the assignment and mailing date, whereas the other group were
asked to form an “if-then plan”, where they had to write out when exactly
they would mail it, where they would mail it to, and how they would mail
it.
19
So they would write - “If I am to mail my professor this assignment on time,
then I will mail it 10 days before Christmas to his home address and by the
US postal service box down my street”.
Gollwitzer waited for the assignments to arrive and found that 32% of the
non-planners sent him the assignment on time compared to 72% of those
who set an ‘if-then’ plan.
What this demonstrates is how simple yet effective basic ‘if-then’ plans can be
to help us follow-through and reach a goal.
This of course sounds incredibly simple, basic and ‘common sense’. But that
does not necessarily mean this becomes ‘common action’. If it was, then
everyone would be a clutch performer.
‘If-then’ plans provide an easy framework that allows anyone to achieve clarity
on all the things that go into achieving a goal, particularly those things that
can often be forgotten or by-passed. They kickstart a bit more thought
because they force us to think through and look at our GPS coordinates
instead of just the end location on the map.
So as an athlete, a good initial if-then plan to set is through applying this
method to the general goal of “playing my best”.
For example - “If I am to play my best on Sunday, then I need to stay
behind after practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to take 150
extra jumpshots so that my shooting is as sharp as possible.”
It is also a good idea to isolate specific skills or techniques in your sport and
form specific, individual if-then plans on those.
For example - “If I want to develop a powerful and accurate serve, then I
need to dedicate an extra 30 minutes every day to practice my serve
technique, focusing on my toss and follow-through.”
One key thing to be aware of is that these if-then plans are important to use
as an initial template to gain clarity, so that you can then plan out training
sessions or drills in more detail. Following on from each if-then plan you can
20
write out a few additional bullet points of specific targets or objectives to
reach in training or performances in order to measure your progress or
general success.
This is an incredibly flexible tool that clutch performers will use to
double-down on their strengths, overcome clear weaknesses, and also give
them a renewed focus after inevitable performance plateaus or drops in form.
Before progressing onto the next section, spend some time writing out some
‘if-then’ plans so that you can start building the habit of being much more
intentional about your day-to-day performance. There are also spaces to track
your progress and think about how to self-correct in future, which is another
intentional aspect of training clutch performers take incredibly seriously.
If-Then Planning
IF
THEN
Did I Succeed?
(Y/N)
What To Do
Differently Next
Time
1.
2.
3.
21
Pressure Desensitization - The Key to
Comfort
Pressure and having to handle it is an inevitability as an athlete. Despite this
being the case, a majority of athletes will just ‘wait’ for pressure to arise. They
may train hard in the week, but nothing quite feels as intense as walking out
onto the pitch, court, or track for the big performance.
One thing that is often easily neglected is just ‘planning’ for these big
occasions and moments without necessarily practicing for them. It is easy to
write down what you will do through the performance intentions just
mentioned, but it is another thing actually executing and performing these.
Another key distinction between clutch performers and the rest of the
athletic pool is that the former will time and time again engage in pressure
desensitization. In other words, clutch performers regularly practice under
pressure so that performing under pressure becomes second nature.
It is a huge part of training for the likes of military personnel or those in
emergency services. People in these fields undergo constant role-play
training and simulations of high-pressure incidents. For example, the US
military pioneered the increasingly common practice of using a simulated
helicopter body that is plunged into a swimming pool to train cadets on how
to survive underwater escape scenarios. That is not something you can do just
by writing out the steps of “if this happens, then do this and then do that”.
That specific and intensely stressful training desensitizes the cadets overtime.
The first-time, a lot of them almost drown because it is such a shock to their
system and the threat feels so real because they have never had to deal with
such an alien and demanding situation. But by the 5th time of getting
dunked into the pool and having to release themselves, they do it with
zen-like calm and they follow a set of steps before they even have the chance
to panic.
Pressure desensitization like this is based on a simple principle: Repetition
Leads to Resilience. The more you intentionally expose yourself to
pressure and stressful situations during practice and training, the less
22
those situations will impact you when they occur for real during
performances.
This varies massively depending on your performance domain. But the main
thing is to try and replicate ‘in-game conditions’ as much as possible.
A successful example comes from Adam Peaty, a 3-time Olympic gold and
8-time world champion swimmer. In preparation for competitions, he would
do his practice runs as though they were the World or Olympic final. He
would walk out to the pool to take his lane whilst playing a soundtrack of an
announcer introducing all the top swimmers in the world, like you would have
on actual race-day. This helped him become so familiar with the
high-pressure and quite nerve-wracking experience of taking his mark during
the biggest races of his life.
An easy form of pressure desensitization most athletes can implement is time
constraints. So if you are a basketball player, spend some time during your
shooting practice pretending it is the last shot of the game and there are
two-seconds on the clock. Get a teammate to inbound the ball to you and
instantly get your shot off. To take this to the next level, actually have
someone in the gym resetting the clock every shot and have the buzzer go
off. Doing this means that hitting that buzzer beater shot then becomes
much less stressful overtime and you will not rush and panic when this
happens in a real-game. This is exactly why the likes of Michael Jordan and
Kobe Bryant were never afraid to take the last second shot. Because they had
practiced thousands of shots from every possible corner of the court whilst
pretending it was the final second of a real game.
Another key thing is to add in distractions. Tigers Wood’s dad Earl would
jingle change in his pocket when Tiger was putting, and in extreme cases hurl
abuse at him and cuss him out when he was taking shots. Earl Woods called
this “psychological warfare” but it was all about teaching Tiger to be able to
take shots irrespective of whatever distractions or bad energy was around
him. It taught him to develop his skills of zoning out and devoting 100%
focused energy on each shot. And just think about it, how else did he manage
to play with such killer conviction when he would literally have thousands of
spectators breathing down his neck every single shot he took at major
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tournaments? It is because he was so desensitized to outside pressures from
practicing hundreds of thousands of shots with those pressures present.
Adding some pressure to your practice will require imagination, so do not be
afraid to experiment. You will never be able to fully replicate the energy and
feel of gameday but you can certainly get close.
A simple journaling prompt to help you ideate is - “What are 3 alterations to
my regular practice that will make me feel at least twice the pressure?”
The more you reflect on this, the more you will realize how easy and relaxed
many aspects of training are. Of course there is a need for this to an extent,
yet in failing to practice with anywhere near the same level of intensity as
gameday, you leave yourself desperately unprepared and highly unlikely to
come in clutch during high-stakes moments.
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Visualization - Seeing is Believing
Much of putting in peak performances comes down to one simple fact - you
have to convince yourself you are capable. If you do not feel ready or that
you have any chance of success, then you will inevitably crumble.
However, the mind is a curious thing because for most athletes, the default is
for their mind to self-sabotage. It will bring to the surface ten reasons why you
cannot do something or envision the fall out of you screwing up during the
pivotal moment. To a certain extent, this can be valuable. Because what your
mind is doing is drawing attention to the fact that you are facing a significant
moment, one that comes with risk. But those default strategies, for many
athletes, can spiral out of control and compound the likelihood of failing
during golden opportunities.
Clutch performers however have tamed the mind. They have built up an
inevitable sense of calm and confidence before big performances. Why?
Because they have played them out a hundred times before. Not physically
‘out there’ but rather, mentally ‘in there’. In other words, clutch performers
have become masters of visualization, which if used correctly, can be the
most effective tool to facilitate the emergence of a peak performance.
Visualization goes beyond mere daydreaming; instead, it involves creating a
detailed mental image of success, one that engages all the senses to simulate
the actual experience. When harnessed effectively, visualization can positively
impact an athlete's mindset, confidence, and ultimately, their physical
execution.
Visualization simply involves picturing aspects of your performance in your
mind. Yet it is not just about picturing the good - things like scoring the
penalty, crossing the finish line, or hitting that buzzer beater. It is equally
about picturing the bad - when things are not going to plan or you are up
against it.
In both cases of picturing the good or bad, visualization is mentally preparing
you to deal with that moment in real-life as and when it comes on game day.
It allows you to run through exactly what you are going to do at that moment.
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Because in the heat of competition, there is often no time to think. You
just have to do.
Visualization is however a difficult skill to master. It can be difficult to get in
the right mindset to see things clearly and to play them out in an appropriate
fashion. It is also one that can vary immensely sport to sport and whatever
your personal reason for using it is.
But if you are a complete beginner, it is worth following these 5 steps:
1. Set the environment
This is vital because if the environment is not right then your attempts at
visualization will not be effective.. Visualization is not something you can do
properly when multitasking with something else- like driving to practice or
sitting on the toilet. You need to create conditions where you can mentally
lock in to the exercise with absolute focus. To achieve this, you should go to a
quiet room. Make sure to also put your phone away and on airplane mode. It
is crucial that you have complete silence and all efforts are made to eliminate
anything or anyone that could break your focus.
2. Write it down first
Obviously visualization is about mentally creating images but if you are a
beginner you will find your mind perpetually wandering and sometimes
struggling to stay on that one key moment you want to run through. So it is
important to laser your focus by writing down the moment or goal first. This
helps break through all the noise and gives you something far more tangible
to work with. A prompt for you to focus on through setting a clear intention. It
can be just one simple sentence. For example “See myself smoothly putting
from 20ft” or “Release the ball at the height of my jump”.
3. Deep breaths
Next, it is important to prepare your body through taking a few deep breaths,
in through your nose and out through your mouth. The reason is to just slow
yourself down and to put yourself in a relaxed and suggestable state to
change. This will help the images become clearer in your mind.
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4. Play it out
This is the key stage. Close your eyes and start mentally running through that
event in your mind. You will want to run it through a few times. Play it out in
real time so that you are aware of every movement or motion, and that you
can clearly picture the perfect form of your skills. Then review the same event
in slow motion where necessary to again, get the clearest picture on how you
are moving your body or connecting with a ball.
If you feel your mind wander just bring it back to the start of the moment.
Remember, the key is to play out not just the good things, like the game
winning shot. You have also got to play through scenarios and situations that
do not go to plan and think about how you will respond to overcome them.
This could be situations like maintaining positive body language if your
opponent scores first, or keeping your cool if you are still some way from the
finish line and your legs are starting to burn.
Visualization is about preparing for anything and everything. So make sure
you play out as many possibilities you deem necessary so that you can deal
with any situation if and when it happens in real life.
5. Engage the senses
The last thing you should look to do when playing your visualized situation
out is use all 5 senses. This allows for those experiences you are visualizing to
become as impactful and memorable as possible.
Many athletes make the mistake of just seeing what is going on. In addition
to this you should seek to also hear the calls from teammates or the roar of
the crowd. Feel the sensation of your foot or hand connecting with the ball.
Smell the grass of the pitch. And taste the sweat that runs onto your lip.
Doing this ensures the moment is much more vivid and you can cement your
new found confidence of being able to deal with these situations when you
come to face them come gameday.
If you follow these five key steps then you will be in the best position to
benefit from visualization. This however is the skill, out of everything
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discussed in this playbook, that requires the most effort and practice. It is
meant to be difficult and should feel mentally taxing because after all, it is a
mental workout. But the more you do it, the better you will become at it and
enhance the odds of putting in those peak performances.
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Facilitative Self-Talk - Clearing the Mind
During highly-pressurized moments, it is natural to have racing thoughts.
There are so many ‘what-ifs’ and your brain can go into overdrive trying to
think about every possibility or eventually that may arise. Your brain can also,
rather unhelpfully, dwell on previous moments, which invariably end up being
negative ones. Past mistakes or misses can flood our immediate thoughts,
which clouds judgment
To overcome this harmful and unproductive overthinking another key
strategy clutch performers turn to is self-talk. The main benefit of self-talk is
that it completely narrows your focus. Just generally in day-to-day life the
average person can supposedly have anywhere from 6-50 thoughts per
minute. That is a lot of mind wandering, pinging from one thing to the next.
You will know from experience that when you are under pressure, your
thoughts can easily run on that upper-end of the scale. Pressure naturally
creates doubts and concerns, causing so many different “what ifs” in our
head.
Things like “what if I miss” or “what if I screw up”. But self-talk stops that
pinging around because when you speak something out loud your brain has
to fully concentrate on that so that you can get the words out correctly. But
the problem is, a common default trap performers fall into during
high-pressure moments is to use self-talk phrases that they think are helpful,
but they can actually be way more harmful.
A big temptation is to take those “what if” statements and apply a “don’t” to
them. So “don’t miss” or “don’t screw up”. But there is a problem with this.
Let me show you how quickly.
Whatever you do, don’t think about a pink elephant.
If you are a normal person, thoughts of a pink elephant would have popped
into your mind as you read that sentence. The reason for this is that our
brains have a tendency to latch upon the most salient or important parts
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of information.
In the context of performance, because you are trying to do things and
complete tasks and actions, your brain has a natural tendency to focus on the
instructional aspects of messages it receives. So when you say to yourself
“don’t miss” your brain almost exclusively focuses on the “miss” aspect. This 1)
does not calm you down and keep you composed and 2) can then heavily
impact what then actually happens, which chances are, will be you missing or
screwing up.
Because of this flaw, what you tend to find among clutch performers is that
they have eliminated those types of statements from their self-talk and
instead developed a habit of only using facilitative self-talk. What this
involves is a greater focus and intention on desired outcomes and actions in
the statements they say to themselves.
But this cannot just be generic motivational stuff, like “you’ve got this.” It has
to be a lot more specific, much like our performance intentions discussed
earlier.
Thinking about the context of a player taking a penalty in football, they would
want to say to themselves something like “Bang into bottom left”. Such a
statement is completely and utterly focused on the objective, yet it also
provides a clear instructional aspect. There is no doubt, hesitation or the
vagueness that comes with many of the debilitating or empty-motivational
forms of self-talk many athletes unwittingly engage with.
Facilitative self-talk statements can also be things to facilitate general
performance just before you lock into something that is more rehearsed, like
a gymnastics routine. Obviously in situations like this you are unable to use
self-talk mid-performance. It has to be used right before and can also
encapsulate simple cue words that embody the characteristics of the desired
performance, such as “flow, bounce, stable”.
The more relevant the self-talk is to the act you are engaging in, the better
you are able to lock into it and allow it to then run like clockwork. This is
because you have given your brain a clear instruction and it will then do
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everything it can to help you fulfill the actions associated with that
instruction.
So what I encourage you to do in the table below, is firstly think about what
are some typical high-pressure moments that fill you with a bit of anxiety and
general uncertainty. Write these out and then next to them write out some
simple phrases you can use to feel more in control of the situation and also
just narrow your focus on achieving the task at hand. Make sure these are as
facilitative as possible, meaning they 100% focus on the desired outcome or
actions and nothing else. And then also write some phrases specifically
focused on calming you down and maintaining your composure.
Mapping Out Your Self-Talk
High-Pressure Moment
Facilitative Self-Talk Mantra/Saying
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Reset Buttons - Moving On From Mistakes
The reality is, as an athlete, things will almost never go exactly according to
plan. Despite endless preparation, pressure impacts all athletes, even clutch
performers. Those at the top of their game will still have moments where they
miss an open goal, smash an easy forehand into the net, or lose their footing
as their stride length picks up. Mistakes, errors, and mishaps are inevitable.
They often surface when you least expect them. But mistakes are not the
worst thing that can happen to an athlete. What is worse is the possible
fallout of those mistakes.
You will know from experience that one mistake can very quickly lead to a
domino effect. One faulty tennis serve becomes a double fault. Or one
misplaced pass becomes two, three, so on.
The difference with clutch performers is that they seemingly have special
powers to prevent this domino effect from happening. They have an
incredible ability in immediately detaching from mistakes in high-pressure
situations and devoting all their energy to the present moment. Which if you
remember, was one of those core principles of a clutch performer - remaining
completely present-oriented. They have no problem leaving that mistake in
the past. Because that is where it is. As soon as a mistake is made, it is in the
past.
The method that clutch performers use to remain so present-oriented,
particularly after they have made a big mistake, is to hit the reset button. This
is one of the best tools that every single athlete can benefit greatly from
because it is 1) so simple to use, and 2) so, so effective.
A reset button is basically any action that you can use to condition yourself to
make a fresh start and mentally reset after a negative moment or incident. It
has its origins in aversion therapy where therapists encouraged their patients
suffering with anxiety and intrusive thoughts to snap an elastic band on their
wrist. The point of this act is to break the cycle of these negative thoughts or
feelings, literally snapping the person back to reality and to the here and now.
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Overtime I have adjusted this technique to help countless performers find
their own reset buttons to snap away from a mistake or bad moment that can
very easily lead to a spiral of feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the
situation they are in.
Some examples include things like moving a sweatband from one arm to the
other, or untying and then retying your shoelaces. Another one tennis players
I have worked with enjoy using is spinning round their caps from front to
back. Football players in contrast may wish to bend down and slightly adjust
their shinpad. There are almost an infinite number of possibilities, each
athlete just needs to find something that feels natural and truly resonates
with them.
Additionally it is worth noting that instead of physical actions, reset buttons
can also be simple mantras like saying to yourself “Next one” or “Move on”.
This is particularly effective in domains where you may not have the
opportunity to engage in a deliberate action. For example, mid-running a race
you are not going to be able to unbuckle your running watch and put it on
your other wrist!
Irrespective of whether your reset button is an action or a saying, the main
idea is that in doing this thing you are using a symbolic act to create a
mental shift and start a clean slate. You move on from the disappointment
and re-tune your focus onto the present moment and get back to playing or
performing well.
Another key benefit to using a reset button is that you are establishing a
consistent approach to handling challenging moments. Again, if you think
back to the section on routines, a core idea was our need for a sense of
control and predictability. So if you are using a reset button consistently, you
experience a sense of predictability to help reduce the sense of uncertainty
that can arise during intense competition. It helps you immediately calm
down and you can therefore think more clearly about how to get back on
track. You switch off from the error and also the wider context, which might
be you are losing or behind where you should be. In switching off from those
things you can channel your energy and focus onto just playing the next
point, or running the next kilometer, or making the next play etc.
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Below is your opportunity to think about your reset buttons. Write out what
each reset button is going to be. What kinds of situations you know you will
need to use them in. And then what physical and mental benefit using them
will have for you in the heat of the moment. The more detailed you can be
here, the more effective your reset buttons will be because your mind has
started building out a script of how it needs to make you feel when you use
them.
It is important to think about a few quite different reset buttons so that you
are covered in all situations related to your sport. This is because some are not
necessarily practical during the heat of the moment. For example, retying
your laces is possible in situations where there are stoppages, such as the ball
going out of play after you miss a shot in football. But that same reset button
is not advisable if you miss a chance and play is still ongoing. At that moment,
a spoken reset button would be more appropriate.
Be creative and work out what will feel right for you. It has to be something
that feels natural and easy to engage in but also authentic, so that you really
believe this action is snapping you out of a potential negative spiral.
Deciding Your Reset Buttons
Reset Button
Situations to Use
Expected Effect
Action -
Spoken Mantra -
Internal Thought-
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Post-Performance Evaluation - The
Progression Guarantee
Despite the fact you have now learned a range of mental skills that will
drastically improve your chances of more consistent peak performances,
there is one final piece to the playbook that most athletes neglect.
This piece is self-reflection.
All athletes of course want to keep moving forward, but if you fail to reflect,
then you can fall into the trap of moving in the wrong direction and begin the
common journey towards performance stagnation.
Clutch performers constantly assess their performances and training sessions.
They will keep journals where they write down everything that went well and
particularly the things that did not go well. They do not just instantly move
onto the next thing. They spend a bit of time each day reviewing so that
they can move onto the right next thing and in the best way possible.
This habit of reflection is also all the more important during times in which
you are making changes to your approach. In this case, you will be looking to
integrate a range of mental skills into your game. But if you haphazardly try
them out with a plan and focus on how to tweak and adjust after practicing
them, you will not make them habitualized components of your game.
You have to be open to the notion that the tools discussed in this playbook
may not always 100% work in certain situations. For whatever reason, on
certain days, every athlete will have bad moments where pressure still seeps
through, even if they have done all the right things. Despite ideal preparation,
things can quickly derail and fall apart. This is an unfortunate truth that even
the best in the world have to accept and be at peace with.
The key though, is to ensure that during those moments of frustration and
minor failure, a spiral does not emerge. You need a great deal of pressure to
make a diamond. So it is crucial that you ‘evaluate’ pressure points after big
performances.
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What this involves is spending some time reflecting on all the ins and outs of
those big performances. It does not matter whether you were clutch or
choked, you must spend some time critically assessing what happened and
why. Because the more you dissect performances, the more you
understand why you responded in the way you did, and how to ensure
that positive performances can be replicated and that negative
performances can be subsequently avoided in future.
Below is a simple framework to engage in this post-performance evaluation.
The first is to write out the WHAT, meaning “what actually happened in your
performance that either made it a good or bad performance?”
Subsequent to this is the HOW. This is where you need to detail “how did you
try to deal with the pressure of that moment?” Hopefully you will have used
one of the tools discussed throughout the course either during the moment
or in your preparation before the performance started. It is important to
reflect on how you used the tool and how it impacted you. Ask yourself if it
made you feel calmer? Or was it hard to focus on using it? Or did it help you
gain more mental clarity?
Next there is the WHY. This is where there is a need to reflect more deeply
about “why did the situation and the technique you used to deal with it lead
to the specific outcome?” It may be that the tool did not work as you would
have liked because you rushed through it due to time pressures and the
situation was one that was alien to you. Alternatively, it may be that the
technique worked perfectly because you had practiced it under pressure
earlier that week.
The goal here is to find the reasons behind everything you have experienced.
Doing so gives you a trail of breadcrumbs to follow so that patterns can be
spotted that you either want to repeat or avoid in future.
Lastly, the final step is another WHAT. This refers to “what are you going to do
about this?” So, if you are recapping a successful moment of handling
pressure, think about what you can repeat or even refine to achieve the same
result and better guarantee it in the future. Or if it was a failure, think about
what can be done to ensure next time the same situation is handled better
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and how to use the same tool differently, or even a different tool that is more
applicable.
Becoming a clutch performer is an endless journey and this habit of
self-reflection is a necessary step on that journey. It ensures a continual
commitment to improvement and growth, which ultimately gives you the
best chance of reaching the ultimate goal of putting in peak performances.
WHAT 1:
HOW:
WHY:
WHAT 2:
WHAT 1:
HOW:
WHY:
WHAT 2:
WHAT 1:
HOW:
WHY:
WHAT 2:
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Conclusion
Congratulations on taking these important first steps to unlock mental
mastery and elevate your performance to new heights. Throughout this
manual, we have explored the crucial elements that contribute to the
mindset of clutch performers – individuals who thrive under pressure and
consistently deliver exceptional results. As you reflect on the insights shared,
remember that mental mastery is a continuous process, an ongoing
commitment to refining and strengthening your psychological skills.
Everything discussed is a ‘skill,’ meaning that it takes time, practice, and effort
to improve. To best guarantee the progress you are looking for, I would
suggest making it a priority to incorporate one skill at a time into your
approach as an athlete. Practice it over the course of a week or two and only
move onto a new skill once you feel fully confident in your ability to use it to
your advantage.
Remember, the path to mental mastery is unique to each individual. As you
implement these strategies, be patient with yourself and celebrate the small
victories along the way. Embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth, and
continuously refine your approach based on your evolving self-awareness.
These are the things that true peak performers do on a regular basis.
In the world of sports and performance, it is once again worth acknowledging
that mental strength often distinguishes the good from the great. By
incorporating the teachings from this playbook, you are not only refining your
mental game but also laying the foundation for unparalleled success in your
chosen domain
As you delve further down the pathway towards mental mastery, may each
challenge become an opportunity, each setback a lesson, and each success a
testament to the resilience of your mind. Your personal journey to mental
mastery has only just begun – embrace it with determination, focus, and an
unwavering belief in your ability to succeed.
Keep at it.
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Bonuses
Having worked with hundreds of performers, I know that each person finds
more value in some tools than others. Additionally, each performer needs a
different level of structure and support to make the improvements they are
looking for. Because of this, I want to share a few more bonus resources to
help you on your journey to mental mastery and peak performance. Enjoy!
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Journaling Prompts
One of the most underrated tools that athletes can use to level up their
mental game is journaling. If you let it, journaling can become your most
valuable tool in cultivating self-awareness, tracking progress, and
reinforcing the principles of mental mastery. The act of putting pen to
paper not only solidifies your thoughts but also serves as a personal dialogue
with yourself, offering insights into your mindset, emotions, and performance.
Here are 15 of my favorite journaling prompts that you may find useful as
starting points for your own journaling journey. Some of them aid in utilizing
specific tools discussed earlier in the playbook, while others address
important aspects to consider in the quest for peak performance:
1. Reflect on Your Performance: Write about a recent training session or
competition. What went well, and what challenges did you face? How
did you respond to adversity?
2. Goals Check-In: Revisit your short-term and long-term goals. Are they
still aligned with your aspirations, or do they need adjustment? Outline
actionable steps to progress toward them.
3. Emotional Landscape: Describe the emotions you experienced during
your most recent performance. How did these emotions impact your
mindset and actions?
4. Adversity and Resilience: Recount a moment of adversity in your
athletic journey. How did you overcome it, and what did you learn from
the experience?
5. Daily Routine Reflection: Detail your daily routine leading up to a
performance. What rituals or habits contribute positively to your
mindset and preparation?
6. Mental Mastery Milestones: Identify instances where you felt in control
of your mindset and emotions. What strategies did you employ to
achieve mental mastery?
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7. Visualization Session: Describe a recent visualization session. What
success moments did you focus on, and how did this practice influence
your subsequent performance?
8. Feedback Integration: Incorporate feedback from coaches or
teammates into your journal. How can you apply this feedback
constructively to enhance your skills?
9. Performance Intentions: Write about your current performance
intentions. How do these intentions align with your overall goals, and
what steps are you taking to reinforce them?
10. Adaptability: Recall a situation where you had to adapt your strategy on
the fly. How did your adaptability contribute to the outcome?
11. Gratitude Practice: List three things you are grateful for in your athletic
journey. Cultivating gratitude fosters a positive mindset and resilience.
12. Rest and Recovery: Detail your approach to rest and recovery. How do
you prioritize self-care, and what rituals help you rejuvenate both
mentally and physically?
13. Mindfulness Moments: Reflect on a moment of mindfulness during
your performance. How did being present in the moment positively
impact your actions?
14. Performance Playlist: Share your pre-performance playlist and its
significance. How does music contribute to your mental preparation?
15. Future Aspirations: Envision your ideal future as an athlete. What steps
can you take now to move closer to this vision?
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Mental Skills Tracker
Starting to use mental skills can be overwhelming. The ultimate goal is to
become proficient in everything discussed within this playbook, but that will
take time. To facilitate this process, it is important to visually track progress in
an easy, manageable way.
Introducing a Mental Skills Tracker adds a dynamic dimension to your
progress monitoring, allowing you to visually chart your growth and
identify patterns in your mental game. This tool serves as a tangible record
of your efforts, providing valuable insights into your evolving mindset and
performance.
Below is an example Mental Skills Tracker you can use to start recording your
use of mental skills. It gives you the opportunity to note the situations in
which you used each skill, how effective you felt it was, and think through
ways in which you may alter or adapt the use of the skill in the future.
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Track Your Mental Skills Progress
Date Mental Skill
Situation Used
How
Effective
Out
of 5?
Would I
Change
Anything Next
Time?
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Affirmations - Simple Reminders
While it's true that the idea of affirmations might sound a bit cliché, and some
motivational quotes can induce a cringe-worthy reaction, there is profound strength
in the simplicity of these phrases.
Beyond their surface-level appeal, affirmations and quotes act as potent tools for
grounding, reminding, and fortifying the mindset of athletes. Think of them not
just as words but as echoes of resilience, determination, and unwavering belief that
can propel you forward in your athletic journey. For many elite athletes, a go-to
affirmation helps cut through all the noise and pressure. A simple read-through of
these phrases can shift perspective and reignite motivation.
I would seriously recommend going out there and finding your own; however, here
are some to get you started. I hope at least one resonates with you
Quotes
"Champions keep playing until they get it right." - Billie Jean King
“If you quit once, it becomes a habit. Never quit!” - Michael Jordan
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” - Steve Prefontaine
"Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." - Sam Levenson
"Hard days are the best because that's when champions are made." - Gabby
Douglas
Affirmations
"I am resilient, and every challenge I face is an opportunity to grow."
"I trust in my abilities, and I am fully capable of achieving my athletic dreams."
"Every step I take brings me closer to peak performance."
"I am in control of my thoughts, and I choose thoughts that empower me."
"My journey is unique, and I celebrate the progress I make, no matter how small."
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Will Your Journey Continue?
This really is the end of the playbook now. But I hope you decide to keep striving on
in your journey to mental mastery and peak performance.
I would love to help facilitate that journey for you, as it is my mission to help as many
high performers unlock their true potential.
If you have any questions about the material in this playbook then feel free to email
me - sam@lomotus.com
Or if you wish to continue your journey through more interactive means then do
check out my course “Composure Amid Chaos” or book in for a consultation for my
“Peak Performer” coaching program.
Thank you again for reading,
Sam
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