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Previous Issues of The Game Plan
Driven by Reward or Punishment
Read time: 3 mins 18 secsLets say you’ve got a big game coming up in 4 weeks time. Your coach has told you that you could be offered a professional contract at the end of it. But it’s between you and one other player. When do you start preparing? 4 weeks? 3 weeks? 2...
The Illusion of Control
Read time: 3 mins 18 secsWhat are you really in control of? Think about the thing that you are anxious about right now. Go on, whatever it is, think about it. Have you got it? Good. For me, it’s hoping people like this weeks email. Is it going to be good enough? Will...
The Magic of Writing Things Down
Read time: 2 min 29 secIf you’ve got a problem, chances are it’s running around in your mind like the London Marathon. Perhaps you’ve suffered a setback, a poor performance, even a heartbreak. You can’t seem to catch any clarity. You can't make sense of anything. You...
The Hot Hand Fallacy
Read time: 1 min 59 secIn my time as a professional athlete, I would see players that would get success, maybe a run of form, and you’d see things change. They would start training a little differently. Take it a little easier. But they would keep having good...
The Power of Yet: Your Guide to a Growth Mindset
Read time: 2 min 29 secDr. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, talks in her popular Ted Talk of the power of one simple word: yet! The trouble is that most people have a fixed mindset, as Dr. Dweck explains. Where you see failure as finite, an attack on you as an...
The Anatomy of an Elite Mindset
Read time: 2 min 29 secYou may watch some of your idols in sports and think about how they do what they do. How they overcome challenges, how they stay cool under pressure, how they keep their motivation when things don’t go their way, and so much more While being...
The Matthew Effect
Read time: 3 min 43 sec“For those who have everything, much will be given. For those that have nothing, much will be taken.” Have you ever noticed those people who seem to get everything - you know, the favourites of the group. As I was growing up, I would see young...
Knowing when to Stop
Read time: 3 min 43 secAt the end of the most exciting Ashes series I’ve ever seen, came the story of Stuart Broad finishing his career on a fairytale high note. With his decision to end his career, people may ask, “Why is he ending when he’s playing so well?” In his...
Zero to Pro in 6 months
Read time: 3 min 35 secIn March 2010 I was working a a fish factory. By September 2010 I signed my first professional contract. Within 6 months my life had changed. But it wasn’t what happened in that 6 months, it was the years leading up to it. The Story In 2004, at...
The Difference between Elite and Super Elite Athletes
Read time: 2 min 5 secIn 2019, there was an interesting study to explore the differences in athletes that compete and those that win. They interviewed 16 Super-Elite and 16 Elite Athletes. Elite athletes were those who had competed at major international...
Why you have a Fear of Failure
Read time: 2 min 5 secIf there’s one thing I hate, it’s not achieving what I set out to. Failing. However, as I and many guests on the podcast would note, you can’t hide from it. Yet one truth remains: every single time I’ve failed, I’ve learnt and I’m still here....
The Power of Dedication
Read time: 2 min 5 secIn 2022 Katie Boulter, upset the centre court stage with a 2nd round win against the former world No1. But what was more impressive was that in the post match interview she announced how she was dedicating her performance to her grandmother, who...
5 Fundamental Mental Skills for Athletes
Read time: 2 min 5 secIt’s easy to think that the best athletes who manage pressure are ‘just born with it’ or ‘gifted’. While they are extremely capable of doing things under pressure, they also learned these skills over time. Mental skills are like any other skill...
The 7 C’s of Resilience
Read time: 2 min 5 secOn the fifth day, in the last hour, Australian captain, Pat Cummins lead a resistance to win the first ashes test match of 2023. While I am distraught that England lost the game, I am in awe of what Cummins and his team showed in those moments....
Don’t Let Your Conditions Determine Your Decisions.
Read time: 1 min 50 secThere’s a Norwegian saying - “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” I’m sure you’ve been there, you’ve intended on going outside, only to get to the door ready to go and it begins to pour it down. So you kick off your boots...
Two Perspective Lenses
Read time: 1 min 50 secPicture yourself standing at a starting line, the 100 meter hurdles race to be exact. What do you see? Do you see the hurdles? Do you see the competitors beside you? Do you see how far away the finish line is? Or Do you see your first steps? Do...
How to think Positively
Read time: 2 min 30 secAt the end of the majority of my keynotes/masterclasses I get the same question. How do you think so positively? The truth? I don’t. I think about the negatives - a lot. However, I work on being positive even more. And that’s the secret. It...
Why Anxiety is NOT Bad
Read time: 1 minute 20sec It’s recently been Mental Health Awareness Week, and the theme this year has been Anxiety. And a lot of the conversation is about how to reduce your anxiety. Yet, I have another belief alongside this. That Anxiety is NOT bad. That...
Ten Ted Talk for your Mindset
Read time: 2 minute 20secThe power of believing that you can improve Carol Dweck The godmother of growth mindset. This Ted Talk teaches us the power of saying ‘not yet’ and rising to challenges through having this mindset. Takeaways: Turning a “Not” into a “Not...
A Painful Truth
Read time: 2 minute 20sec“You’re good enough the way you are” This is a phrase that I have been thinking about a lot recently. It’s a phrase that is used as a form of compassion to others and ourselves. Essentially it’s spoken with love to stop us being so harsh on...
