A Companion for Your Journey
Understanding the Mental Game
Sport performance is not all about the body. Any athlete knows that. But few truly understand the role of thought and how it shapes our mind-set, perceptions, and experience. Our thinking, and not our circumstances, drives our internal feelings. We experience the world from the inside-out. Deepening one’s understanding of this thought-feeling connection and all of its ramifications is how athletes maximize performance, win games, realize their own personal development, and enjoy life to the fullest. Are you:
- Struggling with fear of failure or intense anxiety?
- Lacking confidence?
- A perfectionist?
- In a slump?
- Easily distracted or having trouble focusing?
- Prone to temper tantrums, self-condemnation, or harsh self-talk?
- Trying too hard?
- Stopped enjoying the game?
- Seeking a “mental” edge?
Spend some time with Bruce learning the principles of thought and state of mind. It could change your game, your world, your life.
Bruce Stankavage
As founder of MindSports Consulting, Bruce has had many conversations with a variety of athletes and coaches about understanding the importance of the inner workings of the mind. His counter-cultural approach is changing the way his clients understand and interpret their experiences on and off the playing field. This understanding of the role of thought and how it shapes our mind-set, perceptions, and experience is leading more and more athletes to greater success and improved performance.
“Regardless of your performance, thinking, or feelings, you are OKAY and always will be. You have what you seek.”
Free 30 Minute Phone Consultation
Spend some time with Bruce learning the principles of thought and state of mind. It could change your game, world and life.
WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING…
Bruce has been the single most important influence pointing me to the truth that my feelings come from my thinking and not from the events in my life. When we speak, I feel completely heard, and his response is filled with truth and love. I am grateful for our many conversations.
~Entrepreneur and Former Athlete
Bruce has been a huge benefit to me and my staff. He has a great way of seeing the best in me and those he works with. He’s got a big heart and a ton of wisdom.
~Basketball Trainer, Business Owner and Former Pro Athlete
Bruce was absolutely fantastic during his workshop with our team. He communicated with passion and insight and offered a paradigm our players needed to hear.
~High School Basketball Coach, Former College Coach and Athlete
BEFORE BRUCE
AFTER BRUCE
We’ve all seen before-and-after photos. But have you ever seen one for the mind?
The image on the left depicts the level of clutter in the mind of most people, most of the time. Many mental coaches and sports psychologists add to this clutter in athletes’ minds with tips, tools, and techniques (behavior modification strategies).
That isn’t the way MindSports Consulting works. Bruce teaches the principles behind performance that are based on an understanding of how the mind works. When you understand these principles, the mind looks more like the image on the right—calm, clear, and ready to perform naturally.
Please do not be fooled, however: Living with 100% clarity is unreasonable and should never be a goal. We don’t chase clarity; clarity is a byproduct of understanding the innate psychological functioning of the human mind.
Part of the human condition is living on a roller coaster going from moments of clarity to moments of confusion without judging either dualistically as “good” or “bad.” The difference at MindSports Consulting is that we help you understand that your highs (generated by less conscious thought—intuitive living) and your lows (the result of a cluttered mind—ruminating on the content of your thinking) are related to your thinking in the moment and NOT to your circumstances.
“Blue-sky” performance comes from within (from understanding), not from outside (from some head-filling strategy).
Even though I was a successful high school and Division I standout athlete and am now an entrepreneur, husband, and father of three boys, I have spent most of my mental life in torment and lonely. I searched for greater mental freedom and clarity in various places: self-help, religion, education (Master’s in counseling psychology), countless retreats, counseling, seminars, and group training sessions.
I was working for a well-respected mental skills/leadership development training company when one Saturday morning, while looking at Twitter, I stumbled on a paradigm that intuitively connected with my heart, soul, and experience.
It changed everything. I realized my strategies (and most popular performance and sports psychology paradigms, tips, tools, and techniques) significantly increased an already excessive workload for my clients, cluttered their minds, reduced their effectiveness, and limited their innate psychological functioning.
For decades, I had strived to control outcomes and believed my achievements (wins, money, success, children, marriage) would reduce my insecure feelings and enhance my well-being. I was looking at the world from outside-in.
Now, I seek answers from the inside-out. And I found what I had been looking for: mental freedom, contentment and clarity by understanding how the mind works.
I left the comfort zone of my established company and started MindSports Consulting.
I teach the understanding of inside-out and how it can change your athletic and personal life. I help clients learn the source of their feelings, what to do with their endless thoughts and habitual ruminating, and how to create and interpret their experiences.
My clients discover what I have learned: That the foundation of human performance is understanding the principle of thought, the impact of mind-set, and seeing the truth in the thought-feeling connection.
ARTICLES
Clouds, Sunshine, and Thought
The weather is an excellent metaphor for describing the principle of thought. We all know the weather fluctuates; some days the weather is cloudy, rainy, dark, and full of thunderstorms. And other days, the weather is beautiful, the sun is shining, and the sky is a...
read morePlanes, People, and Turbulence
I am writing this article from a plane as I travel from Charlotte to Philadelphia to play in a golf tournament with my brother. Approximately halfway through the flight, the pilot made the following announcement: "Please make sure your seat belts are buckled because...
read moreWHAT IS YOUR ANSWER?
To what do you attribute your inner feelings and emotions? Your answer greatly influences the trajectory of your life. If your answer isn't your moment-to-moment thinking, then you are looking in the wrong direction, and you are a victim of your circumstances. No...
read more12 REMINDERS
All people experience the world from the Inside-Out (we create our experiences via our moment-to-moment thinking). Ignoring this truth does not diminish its power. Easy to understand intellectually but not so much experientially. All humans have innate psychological...
read more4 Keys to Understanding Thought
1) We all have thoughts. This is obvious. However, what isn’t so obvious is understanding how our moment-to-moment thinking creates and shapes our experiences and perceptions, throughout the day and every day. Remember, our experience of the same event changes...
read moreA DEADLY MISUNDERSTANDING
It was 9:30 p.m. on July 3, 2014 when Keith, a college teammate, called, texted, and emailed. All three messages said the same thing. “Call me now!” Despite our infrequent contact, I still consider my college teammates my friends and look forward to connecting with...
read moreTHE BEST STRATEGY
Do the following strategies and advice sound familiar? Be positive. Be confident. Be aware of your body language. Be grateful. Don’t judge. Love more. Control what you can control. Focus. Never give up. Choose success. Find your passion. Serve others. Be kind to...
read moreA Clear Way to Break a Habit
Several months ago, I decided to give up coffee. It was a simple decision; it just felt right, and I gave it up cold turkey. Here’s the “behind the scenes” story of that decision. From a moment of clarity and a high level of awareness, I made a choice to modify what I...
read moreOur Innate Growth Mind-Set
“Mom and Dad, we want to play ice hockey!” declared my two youngest boys after watching USA hockey star T.J. Oshie score several overtime goals during the 2014 Winter Olympics. My wife and I said in unison, “You don’t know how to skate.” They didn’t care—they wanted...
read moreA TRAGIC MISUNDERSTANDING
It was January 4th, and I was the starting point guard in one of the biggest games in the history of my college. Tiny Lafayette College in Easton, PA, was hosting Notre Dame and its legendary coach Digger Phelps. Just days before tipoff, the Lafayette coaches pulled...
read more