The Mental Goalie Podcast Episode 3 Show Notes – To listen to this Episode visit Spotify

Simplify Your Mental Game With One Easy Step

What’s up student athletes, this is Coach Austin from The Mental Goalie and you’re listening to the Mental Goalie podcast. More athletes than ever are recognizing the importance of having a strong mental game and powerful mindset, and in a position such as goaltending, the stakes are even higher. On this show, broken up into short episodes, I break down easy ways for you to start your mindset journey on the ice. Over the next few months, we are going to discuss the ways ELITE goaltenders are able to play in the moment, not let mistakes get to them, and build confidence so that every time you step on the ice, you can perform at your very best.

Before we get into today’s episode, if you are an athlete struggling with confidence in your game and mental toughness during your training sessions, head over to thementalgoalieschool.com/mindsetacademy to schedule your free clarity call today and start the journey becoming an ELITE athlete. 

On today’s episode we are discussing simple ways you can start working on your mental game. When you first think about adapting your mindset and developing a strong mental game, the task can feel overwhelming at first. I was lucky enough in my career to have a mental skills coach to help guide me through some of my anxieties around the sport, but not everyone has that opportunity. 

If you’re tuned into this podcast right now, then chances are you’ve wanted to work on your mental game for sometime, or have even started down the path of mental toughness training. It can be a daunting process to begin. Before I discovered some of the simple ways to begin my own mental skills training, I was riddled with setbacks:

• Over thinking
• Getting overly angry at my small mistakes
• Over analyzing my mental techniques
• Disappointment that I was not noticing a difference RIGHT away
• Overwhelmed not know where to start
• Knowing there’s an issue but being unable to simplify the fix

But what I came to realize is that while shifting your mindset and growing mental toughness isn’t a change you’ll see overnight, there are simple ways you can begin and that’s what we are going to talk about in today’s episode.

I am going to give you one easy idea today that WILL help boost your mental game and get you started on your mental toughness path. This exercise should only take about 5 minutes each day! Once you get comfortable, you can build on it to create a routine unique to you. 

The EASIEST way to start training your mental game is to get your hands on a journal and start writing!

Journaling – Just 5 Sentences a day!

• Journaling is the quickest way to build self awareness. By journaling, we see and analyze our thoughts, which allows us to grow. 

Your daily easy 5 step journaling exercise should look like this:

Number 1

• At the end of the day, write done ONE thing you are grateful for. 
  • Practicing gratitude allows us to look at what we already have in the world and helps us appreciate everything we’ve accomplished to get to this point. If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more? When you’re grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. 

Number 2

• Under that, write down a challenge you had today. And then ONE positive aspect of that challenge.
  • No day goes by without a challenge. Some days will be harder than others. But journaling about a challenge you face on any given day allows you to walk yourself through it, talk yourself down if needed, and offer closure in some situations. Maybe your challenge is something as difficult as a tough game or practice, or a fight with a family member, and maybe it’s as simple as stubbing your toe on the front door frame. Whatever your challenge is, examining it at the end of the day puts it into perspective and helps you regroup and move on. 

Number 3

• Write down something positive about yourself from the day
  • Along the same lines as gratitude, reflecting on yourself in a positive manner will not only help you feel better about yourself, it will also put you in a great mindset before you fall asleep. If your overall day was a difficult, or you had a bad game, taking a moment to find a positive about yourself can help you to let go of that bad day and remind yourself that there’s still so much GOOD in you to celebrate. It’s easy and simple too, there’s no wrong answer, remember, this exercise is for YOUR EYES ONLY! Maybe you felt you had a great hair day, or your outfit was on point; write it down! Did you make someone smile? Write it down! Positive outlook on yourself builds confidence and mental toughness.

Number 4

• Copy down (and recite) three positive affirmations about yourself each night
  • Affirmations are firmly declaring a positive thought and assertively stating it as a truth. By reciting, and writing down, affirmations about yourself, you are fostering positive self talk and self empowerment. State your affirmations in the present form. Instead of, “I Can Be” say “I Am”. For example, “I Am Confident”, “I Am A Great Athlete”, “I Am Beautiful Just The Way I Am”. If you find affirmations hard at first, use the same three everyday until you get comfortable. There’s no rules that say you can say the same affirmation every single day, in fact, you should have a standard set of affirmations you say whenever things get a little difficult. I personally have the same list of 29 affirmations posted to my bathroom mirror so I don’t forget to say them every morning and evening! Don’t overthink or complicate this one, beehive in yourself.

Number 5

This one is one of my favorites and has been life changing for me personally!

• Write down something you WILL do tomorrow!
  • I started doing this last year guys, and it’s made a HUGE difference in my motivation, drive, and energy levels. By consciously writing down one (or more) things you will do tomorrow, your brain unconsciously starts preparing for those things while you sleep. You wake up the next morning with goals in mind and a prepared mindset! Now the great thing about this technique, is that it can be used for physical things you will do but also for your mental game as well. For example, I’ll write down in my journal “Tomorrow I will be confident, Tomorrow I will have high energy, Tomorrow, I will attract good things to me”. The mornings after I wake up knowing that I can have a great day. Physically, this is the time to set your short term daily goals. Write down, “Tomorrow I will go to the gym, Tomorrow I will work hard in practice, tomorrow I will finish my book report”. All of a sudden, you’re training your brain to prepare overnight for those goals and you wake up ready to achieve them. 

Those are my 5 steps for you guys, athletes or non-athletes, to start your mental toughness and self awareness journey. Your journal is for your eyes only, so be as personal and open as you are comfortable being. 

Starting to train your mindset and developing your mental game for the field, ice rink, or gym can feel like a truly daunting task. You may be struggling through burnout, depression, overthinking, over analyzing, lack of love for your sport, and constant second guessing; I know, I struggled through each of those things and more. Taking 5 minutes a day to journal and work on your self awareness, positive self talk, and short term goal setting WILL start you off on the right path to mindset development. You have the information, get started tonight!

If this Episode gave you new information you’d not considered before, screenshot the Episode and share it to your Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat to help someone else out who may be struggling to start their growth mindset journey. 

As always, thank you for listening! Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode, and if you need a little more guidance, a little more push, check out my coaching program at thementalgoalieschool.com/mindsetacademy.  

Keep pushing yourselves forward, keep growing, and control what you can control!