Effortless Swimming Podcast: Motivation & Fear in Swimming
I recently participated in another podcast with Brenton Ford of Effortless Swimming (the best swimming YouTube channel out there!). In the podcast we explore both motivation and fear in swimming, two topics that most swimmers and triathletes can resonate with. BTW, he’s been coaching me remotely and he’s amazing! If you want to improve your […]
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Do You Protect or Express Yourself in Life?
We humans are very good at protecting ourselves from perceived threats. This reaction is the manifestation of our most powerful instinct—survival—which has developed over billions of years of evolution. This protective reaction has served us well for most of our existence (which began on the Serengeti about 250,000 years ago) when confronted with threats to […]
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Embrace Life as a Challenge to Pursue, not a Threat to Avoid
The ability to respond to our lives as a challenge separates us from our primitive forbearers because our evolved brain gives us the opportunity to resist our most basic instincts (though not easily). The fundamental goal behind the challenge response is to pause rather than act instinctively, deactivate the amygdala, engage our cerebral cortex, and […]
Read MoreDo You Perceive Life as a Threat or a Challenge?: Part I
How you act on and react to your life starts with how you look at it. I have found that a simple distinction lies at the heart of whether you adopt a mentality of negativity, fear, scarcity, and avoidance or a mindset of optimism, courage, abundance, and opportunity: Do you perceive your life as a […]
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Train Your Mind for Athletic Success Podcast: Episode #32-Emotional Mastery
Episode #32: Emotional Mastery of my Train Your Mind for Athletic Success podcast is the third of three episodes that explore the powerful influence of emotions on sports performance. Sports can evoke a wide range of emotions, from inspiration, pride, exhilaration, and satisfaction, to fear, frustration, anger, and panic, often in a very short time […]
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Saturday Evening Post column: Worrying Does More Harm Than Good
The Saturday Evening Post published my most recent column, Worrying Does More Harm Than Good. Worry is a natural part of the human condition. It has historically played a vital role in our survival and it helps us cope with many of the challenges we face today. At the same time, worry that is too […]
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Crisis to Opportunity Podcast: Episode #8: Fear to Courage
In Episode #8: Fear to Courage of my Crisis to Opportunity podcast, we continue our exploration of the powerful role that emotions play in how we react to crises in our lives. This episode examines whether you experience fear or courage as you confront crises in your life. As you can imagine, fear produces in […]
Read MoreCrisis to Opportunity Podcast: Episode #6-Emotions
In Episode #6 of my Crisis to Opportunity podcast, Emotions, I explore the immense impact that emotions have on how we respond to crises. The feelings you have in reaction to a crisis influences how you perceive, interpret, evaluate, and act as the crisis confronts you. Your ability to master your emotions, minimize the negative ones […]
Read MoreAlpine Ski Racing is One Brutal Sport
I’m spending the winter at our cabin near Sugar Bowl while my daughters attend the winter-term program at Sugar Bowl Academy. I’m knee deep (literally and metaphorically) in the ski racing life as my daughters experience the many challenges that our sport presents to them. It has brought back many memories from my own days […]
Read MoreTaylor Interview in Bicycling Magazine
I was recently interviewed by Bicycling magazine about the role of stress and enjoyment in cycling. If you’re a roadie or an MTB rider, you may find it interesting. The article offers six stressful cycling habits and how to fix them. Here’s the introduction: Cycling—like most exercise, we’re told—should ease stress. But sometimes we psych […]
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