A Companion for Your Journey

BS-camp 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 TraddPicwith 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.

Click Here to Connect with Bruce

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).

Bruce Stankavage

My Story

I know what my clients have been through.

I too have struggled with performance anxiety, worrying about what everyone thinks, the fear of failure, striving for perfectionism, wanting to be liked, excessive self-condemnation, and missing the joy of competition.

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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

Way to Go, Einstein! A Morning Thought Storm

I was sitting in the drive-through line at Einstein Bagel early one Sunday morning when I suddenly remembered I had a frequent customer card. I opened my wallet, found the card, and quickly noticed the 12th bagel hole wasn’t punched. I counted the hole punches. There...

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I Missed It-A Parenting Tip

Parenting is tough, especially when our child is unhappy and all we want to do is fix the problem. That was the case on a recent ride home from lacrosse practice with my 11-year-old son, Brooks. Clearly, he was unsettled. I have been in enough car rides after sporting...

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Anxiety or Fear? Is There a Difference?

I tweeted the word picture on the left and felt proud to share my new understanding. Historically, I associated my internal angst to my circumstances and sought relief by working really, really hard trying to control life—to no avail. For decades fear dominated my...

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Free 30 Minute Phone Consultation

Click Here to Connect with Bruce