The CEP Mindset Podcast

What if worry, frustration, or feeling down are not the problem? Instead, they are symptoms based on your approach to sport and even life.

In our society, the way we talk about emotions is backward. We label ourselves and others as anxious, sad, or frustrated.

That is not who we are—it is what we are feeling, and the distinction matters. When you identify with an emotion, you've got a self-perpetuating problem.

More importantly, it's not true. Emotions are a feedback tool, specifically about your approach to sport and life.

If this resonates with you check out my breakdown of the 2 approaches to sport and life. Please note that this is not a catch all framework as there are surely exceptions and other factors to consider. But I encourage you to try it out and see if it works for you. 

The Outside-In Approach

Most people easily get caught up in the “outside-in” approach.

This approach means we're allowing the outside world to affect how we feel on the inside, often identified by highs and lows in emotional states.

Specifically, they'll have charged emotions, such as worry or anxiety, and then go straight to careless and reckless.

Or they may go from deflated and frustrated to elated and thinking they’re untouchable.

In the “outside-in” approach, we oscillate back and forth because we're focused on the outside world first. The thought process around this approach looks like:

What's going on around us? 

What are the results? 

What do people think?

What's the situation like? 

And how does that make me feel on the inside?

The answers to those questions then dictate how you feel on the side. In other words, your mental state becomes dependent on the external world.

This approach is fueled by needing to achieve external results. 

Of course, the external goal or intent is to achieve the desired results, but it is a fantasy to think sport or life can be all sunshine and rainbows where everything's positive all the time. 

This approach does not create reliable results and it generally makes sports and life way more stressful. 

The good news is we can flip our approach.

The Inside-Out Approach

I want you to strive towards an “inside-out” approach.

This approach is about prioritizing who we want to be on the inside first - then we go and tackle the outside world. 

Someone with this approach focuses on getting grounded, being intentional, and taking control of the things they have control over.

The thought process for this approach looks like: