One of the biggest traps I fall into - and one of the worst for my mental training - is to think that I’m doing something right or wrong. It might seem like that’s accurate, but it’s really not; It’s not right or wrong, it just happened to lead to the result I wanted, or it didn’t.

See, the problem is that when I think I did it right, I stop thinking about what to do differently or improve - and even worse, if I think I did it wrong then I stop thinking altogether and instead I beat myself up and get upset.

The best way I’ve found to handle this is to approach everything I do to prepare for competitions with curiosity.

When I’m curious about what I’m doing, and how it’s going to impact my training or my results, I immediately move away from a place of putting pressure on myself, and judging every little thing I do.

Curiosity is the opposite of judgment, and when we approach things with curiosity, we can see them more clearly.

Of course it’s not always that easy - if you wake up tomorrow and say ‘great, I’m going to be curious about everything and not judge it at all ever!’ you may still find yourself criticizing something you’ve done, or being mad about how you handled a challenge, or whatever.

Just like everything else in mental training, this is a practice and it doesn’t happen overnight.

The skill I would recommend practicing to help get yourself into a mindset of curiosity is mindfulness.

Remember - Mindfulness is observation without judgment, and when we practice stepping back and observing what we are doing, or what’s happening within us, it lets us move into that mindset of curiosity.

Think you might try this? I’d love to hear about it! Reply to this email with something you’ve noticed by approaching things with curiosity. Any step forward is a win!

**also note - if you aren’t an athlete yourself, but you’re supporting one, this approach will work for you too! You may find it’s less stressful (and more fun) to watch your athlete with a mindset of:

“I wonder what’s going to happen next?” instead of

“Oh my god I hope they win or they’re gonna be so sad and I’m gonna be so upset!”

Let’s get out there and get curious. Win or lose - stay strong.

P.S. if you’d like help implementing these ideas, remember I’m now offering private coaching - click here to learn more and get started.

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