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Why You Cannot Afford to Ignore Positive Psychology

When it comes to the field of positive psychology, there’s a ton of information and misunderstanding. Many coaches feel resistant to the idea of shifting their coaching philosophy from a deficit mentality to a strength-based one. The most common question that comes up is how will players improve their weaknesses if we only focus on their strengths? In this post, I’ll answer that question, along with the other most common questions about what positive psychology is and why it’s so important to understand.

What exactly is positive psychology?

Positive psychology is a framework based in scientific research that contains formal strength assessments to help athletes reach their optimal potential (Biswas-Diener, 2010). Martin Seligman is considered the father of positive psychology because his research on resilience, happiness, wellbeing, and strengths laid the foundation for a shift from focusing on mental illness, trauma, suffering, and pain to focusing on happiness, wellbeing, flourishing, flow, and strengths (Ackerman, 2022). Positive psychology ultimately asks what’s right with people, instead of what’s wrong with them. (Ackerman, 2022).

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living.” (Peterson, 2008).

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Mindful Awareness: It’s All About Where Your Mind’s At

Concentration, Flow & Playing in the Zone

It is widely known that Michael Jordan, the greatest NBA basketball player of all-time, had a devoted mindfulness practice influenced by Phil Jackson and George Mumford.

One of my favorite quotes about MJ, is from the documentary The Last Dance, in which Mark Vancil, the editor of Rare Air, describes Michael Jordan’s mind… “Michael is a mystic. He was never anywhere else. His gift wasn’t that he could jump high, run fast, shoot a basketball. His gift was that he was completely present.”

So, how did Michael do it? And how can you can learn to block out distractions and focus completely on the present moment? To answer these questions, I want to first define the term Mindful Awareness.

What is Mindful Awareness?

My favorite definition of mindful awareness or mindfulness was coined by Jon Kabat Zinn. Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.

Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.”
Jon Kabat Zinn

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How to Make Better and More Effective Individual and Team Goals

Growth Mindset

Do you ever feel like you’re running on a treadmill, but not gaining any ground in life? Do you know where you want to go, but you’re unsure of how to get there? Have you ever given thought to what makes a good goal?

Goal setting is a powerful strategy to get and stay motivated on the journey towards your dreams. Goal setting is the road map to the future that you want. Goal setting is the process by which you can achieve your accomplishments if you stay disciplined and continue to put forth the effort. Goal setting is the key to adopting a growth mindset. In the words of the late great basketball Coach John Wooden, “Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.”

Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do. – John Wooden

However, there is more to goal setting, then just writing lofty dreams down on a piece of paper. Goal setting is an ongoing process that needs to be reflected upon, measured, monitored, assessed, and reassessed. When done well, both individual and team goal setting can be a powerful motivator and play a critical role in achieving desired success.

Here’s 5 tips to making better and more effective individual and team goals.

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3 Key Reminders About Having a Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset, Teamwork & Team building

At Headstrong, we believe your mindset is the difference maker. Your mindset can either hurt or help your performance.

A fixed mindset focuses on how good you are right now instead of your potential. A fixed mindset takes feedback personally and gets defensive. A fixed mindset avoids working on your weakest skills and does not believe that improvement is possible. A growth mindset focuses on measuring improvement and learns from a tough loss. A growth mindset accepts feedback and views criticism as constructive. A growth mindset targets your weakest skills in training and truly believes improvement is the reward of a hard work ethic.

Having belief in your ability to improve with practice is essential to succeeding throughout your career. It is critical you trust in the potential of your ability to improve and your teammates ability to get better during the course of a season. Here’s 4 key reminders about having a growth mindset.

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Outsports Article: A Conversation on Transgender Inclusion in Sports

In the Press

Read the original article here on Outsports

by Dawn Ennis | @lifeafterdawn

The Sports Equality Foundation hosted “A Conversation on Transgender Inclusion in Sports” on its TikTok account Tuesday evening, ahead of the Transgender Day of Visibility.

Mack Beggs led the conversation. He’s the transgender man who made headlines in high school because Texas law would not allow him to wrestle other boys. Tuesday he announced his retirement from collegiate wrestling.

He spoke with the first publicly out trans woman to win an NCAA track & field title, CeCé Telfer, and the world-famous Team USA duathlete, outstanding transgender advocate and Olympic hopeful, Chris Mosier, who is the driving force behind transathlete.com and a Nike athlete.

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USA Volleyball Article: Creating an LGBTQ+ Inclusive Volleyball Culture

In the Press

Did you see my article in USA volleyball’s January 2021 magazine issue of The Court?

The article is titled Creating an Inclusive Volleyball Culture. Don’t worry if you don’t have a subscription, you can read the full article here.

I had the opportunity to interview Galen Dodd, the technical coordinator for the U.S. Men’s Sitting Team and Giovana Melo, the head women’s volleyball for CSU Bakersfield about their thoughts and experiences around LGBTQ+ inclusion. I also share 4 tips for creating a safe and affirming space for LGBTQ+ athletes on your team or in your club.

As a cisgender lesbian woman and Athlete Ally Ambassador, LGBTQ+ inclusion is a matter close to my heart. Most people don’t realize the level of discrimination that exists within sports and the devastating impact on the mental health, performance, and retention of athletes. Here’s a few stats from the Trevor Project that I included in my article…

A national survey of more than 40,000 LGBTQ youth conducted by the Trevor Project in 2020 found that 40% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide, and 68% reported symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The survey results highlighted a correlation between LGBTQ discrimination and mental health challenges among youth. However, survey findings also showed that LGBTQ youth who participate in sports reported higher grades and fewer symptoms of depression.

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