The Mental Performance Corner: 10 Weeks of Lockdown - How to Stay Motivated:

I know right now it’s probably been really hard to get motivated to do anything (workouts, school, work, literally anything besides sitting on the couch and watching Netflix.. and even that’s hard sometimes!). We are ten weeks into this shelter in place - or eleven? Who knows anymore?? Finding the motivation to get outside and train was a lot easier at the beginning when we thought this would last only a couple of weeks… Now we have been locked in our homes, away from the playing field, gym, school, and friends for almost three months and that old schedule we created weeks ago is now feeling tired and redundant (helpful hint: rearrange your routine or schedule a little bit - keep all of the same items but put them in different orders if you can. This will help keep things fresh and feel like you are doing something new). The idea of sitting on the couch watching Netflix all day is slowly taking over… but you know you NEED to keep training because you want to be ready when tryouts roll around and we finally get to play again. How do you motivate yourself to keep going when the only thing that sounds good right now is taking a nap?? What is the secret to getting motivated??

The secret is…! There is no secret, unfortunately. There’s no magic pill. When you’re unmotivated to do something, there isn’t anything that is going to miraculously change that mindset so that suddenly you say to yourself, “Yes! I can’t wait to go out and do ______!” That’s just human nature. But I DO have a trick you can try to get yourself moving even when you don’t want to. From the moment you feel like doing whatever you need to do - “I should go shoot pucks, I should go lift weights, I should watch some game film…” The second the thought pops into your head, you have 5 seconds to take action before your brain swoops in and you talk yourself out of it. Next time the thought to do something productive occurs, just count down (excitedly) from 5. Out loud works best: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! and then just get up and GO. Don’t think about it. Just count down and get up and move. By only allowing yourself 5 seconds to get up and go, you will not give yourself the chance to fill your mind with reasons not to do whatever it is, for example: “Oh it looks a little overcast today, it’s probably going to rain so I should stay inside,” or “My school work took a little longer today and I only have 35 minutes to work out before dinner and that’s not enough time to get a good sweat in, so I should just wait and do it tomorrow when I have more time..” Five seconds is all you get though - any longer than five seconds and those thoughts take over - by the time your brain realizes what’s happened, you’re already doing whatever it was you didn’t feel like doing. And then soon enough, you’ll be done and feeling awesome about having done so! I promise this works. For an added affect, at the end of your countdown blast some high energy, upbeat music - whatever gets you excited and amped up. As soon as the music starts, get up and dance. Really go all out - “Dance like no one is watching,” as they say… And then GO! It might sound silly, but it’s actually really fun and I swear it works. Try it and let me know what you think!

For additional info on this method, check out this five minute snip of Mel Robbins’ Ted Talk - The Five Second Rule, here.

Lastly, I am excited to announce that I have been working on some things to continue to help serve and support! I will be launching a full, 90 day, virtual training course in July that will encompass the entirety of my performance training program - coaching athletes how to go from choking under pressure, to being chosen in the clutch. Stay tuned for updates on that!

In the meantime I want to be sure to continue to share some value in each of these blogs, and would love to know what’s helpful - from both athletes and parents! 

• Athletes, I know this is an extremely tough time, what are the biggest challenges you are dealing with in this current climate? 

• Parents, I know at times you feel powerless when it comes to knowing what to say or do, what would be most helpful to you right now? 

• Please email me and let me know what you would like me to focus on and I will do my best to serve!

Want a freebie? "The Top 5 Mistakes Athletes Make When Preparing for a Game" - Click here!