It seems like we’ve all been here before, am I right?!

I would let mistakes just absolutely ruin my day, my weekend, my week! I remember so many times just beating myself up over some mistakes.

This is not fun at all. It hurts. It feels crappy. It puts you in a bad mood. It makes you do things you’re not proud of. 

I honestly look back at my time playing and wonder how I kept going at times.

But, mistakes are part of competing. Mistakes are part of being an athlete.

So, what are we going to do about this?! Because I promise you that you don’t want to keep going like this. There is a powerful, amazing, confident version of you inside waiting to shine out on that field or court.

Here are some simple things to help you start getting over your mistakes and play with  confidence!

1 Set an intention for the game or practice!

Think about what you want to focus on for your upcoming game…

Maybe it’s…

Focusing on playing with a ton of energy.

...

As I sat down to write about leadership and how it gets confused with being bossy too often, I’m thinking about my brothers rolling their eyes

Wayyyyy too often, I have girls that tell me they don’t really want to be a leader because that means they are bossy.

This is soooo wrong.

The reason we get this confused is because a girl on a team might have the title “leader” or “captain” but it’s not about the title. It’s about how you treat your teammates.

So, let’s get this straight. You do not have to be bossy to be a great leader.

The greatest leaders I’ve seen and experienced…

Lead by example

Care and empathize 

Empower

Here is one easy way to step into leadership without being bossy…

The power of WE

Start using “we” instead of pointing fingers and telling your teammates what to do.

Let me give you an example from my own experience.

When I played high school softball, it was...

I used to think that life just wasn’t fair. It always felt like the odds were stacked against me. The coaches wouldn’t give me enough opportunities to shine. The ball wouldn’t fall where it was supposed to. I wasn’t performing when I needed to. My dad was too hard on me.

But my lack of success (in my mind because I was actually pretty successful) wasn’t because of all those things.

It was because I was holding myself back. ME! ‍‍

The thing is… it’s not always going to go our way, but it’s what you do with every moment, situation, opportunity, or even STRUGGLE.

If I wanted different results, I had to do something different. I had to get out of my own way.

Before my senior year of college started, I made some commitments to myself.

Fun was important because this was my LAST year!

Give it everything I have because I won’t ever get to play this game at this level again.

Show up as the best version of myself everyday...

Are you that stubborn one that will overthink every little mistake?

Pick apart everything and anything you did wrong?

Beat yourself up about it all?

I was her

It’s okay, a lot of us do this.

But, good news! We don’t have to!!

Instead of allowing these mistakes to bring us down into the fiery flames of frustration…

We are going to use it to fuel our confident fire!!!!

Time to turn mistakes into triumphs girls!!!

Follow this step by step after making a mistake:

1 Take a deep breath 3-5x

2 Ask yourself what went well

3 Ask yourself what didn’t go well (easy part)

4 Ask yourself what you learned and how to improve moving forward

5 Visualize what you want to happen next

6 Let it go (could sing Frozen here)

This is how you stop overthinking after every mistake!

This is how you gain confidence!

Hey, did you know that we are going to be practicing visualization, positive self talk, learning how to not be so hard on yourself, and MORE in the Confident Athlete Mini...

Trying to be perfect is only holding you back from GREATNESS.

Here’s what trying to be perfect did to me.

I tried to be perfect when I was playing softball. If I was perfect, that would mean that I would be the best. That would mean that I would go to my dream school. Break records. The whole thang!

But, I wasn’t the best… (don’t get me wrong, I was definitely up there and doing well).

I didn’t go to my dream school… (again, it all works out how it should and I LOVE Northwestern).

I broke some records… probably could have broken more.

It wasn’t until I let go of being perfect.

You’re probably wondering what the heck that even means or looks like.

I’m going to be 100% honest with you on what this was like for me…

My senior year of college (my best year yet), I decided this…

WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS!

This kind of sounds like I don’t care. But, it was the opposite.

This meant…

That I...

You might be thinking that I’m just full of it because I am a Mindset Mentor. But, hear me out.

Yes, the physical skills and work are important. The lessons, the training, the practices are important. No doubt. Sorry girls, this isn’t a video saying forget the physical work (haha).

But, the mental work is just as important. Maybe even more important.

Here is why…

When you go to that private lesson and your instructor is showing you how to do something new and uncomfortable and for some reason you can’t make the adjustment to save your life, your frustration spirals.

You get down on yourself.

Sometimes you give up.

You wonder if you’ll ever be able to be great.

The doubt sets in.

The tears might come.

Now, at the end of your lesson, you’re frustrated, angry, mad, upset, and disappointed. 

Almost feels like a waste of time, right?!

This is where the mental work is crucial for your development as an athlete.

When you are working on your...

The key to confidence is a mixture of things. Kind of like your favorite recipe.

My favorite recipe, hands down, is chocolate chip cookies!

When you make cookies, you can’t really deviate from the recipe or else they end up flat, or too salty, or burnt lol.

Same thing goes for your confidence. You have to consistently take action in order to have that confidence you want!

Here’s the recipe…

Recipe for Confidence

Ingredients:

Visualize before practice/games and during practice/games

Write down affirmations every day

Say affirmations before practices/games and during practices/games

Use a planner

Work hard at practice

Breathe when things feel hard

Directions:

Mix these ingredients together. Repeat daily. Trust the process, smile, and have fun. Results will happen.

There it is. Pretty simple!

Here are some resources to help you out with these ingredients!

FREE Downloadable Visualization Practice Package

Get the same planner that I use here!

Sign up for the...

We are all students.

What I mean by that, is we are always learning. Always growing.

On this journey I’ve been on to create my vision of helping girl athletes create confidence and kick @$& in their games, I’ve had to learn a lot. I’ve had to grow a lot.

And I definitely do it alone.

I’ve surrounded myself with other people creating visions (aka started a business and thriving).

I’ve asked a million questions from the people who have already done it. Have found success.

I watch those people closely and take a lot of notes.

I’ve watched, observed, asked, learned, and now I DO it in my own personal way that works for me.

What I am trying to say here is successful athletes and successful people learn from other successful athletes and people and then…

THEY TAKE ACTION IN THEIR OWN UNIQUE WAY.

So, what are the successful athletes doing?! And how can you start taking action doing what they are doing? 

Successful athletes are…...

Yep. I was that girl. ‍

I remember in that first week of school they would pass out our brand-spankin’-new planners for that school year.

One of my greatest strengths is organization. You can ask any of my friends or family. I am confident in that one!

I’d get that planner and I’d take it home.

Make sure the assignments or tests we already knew about were written in the planner.

If there was a test, I’d be figuring out when I was going to study.

I’d add my games and practices in there.

And, of course any special occasions! Birthdays, dances, activities!

Boom! Game plan!

By using my planner as a tool to stay organized consistently...

I was more successful

I got better grades

I was more productive

I was less stressed because I knew what was going on in my life

I was more confident!

I STILL use my planners TO THIS DAY. I am 28. I will use planners for a long, long time coming too!

I can confidently tell you that using my planner to stay...

I’ll give you the answer right away…

YOU HAVE TO WORK ON YOUR MIND!

I had a Dad send me a message recently that said… “Not sure exactly what you are saying/doing with ________, but please keep it up. She was back to her old form yesterday. Pitched 2 gems. Much appreciated!!”

My response was… “Yessss (I get excited)! It’s all in there, just giving her some new tools!”

I want you to know that you have the confidence. It’s inside you. You just need a few tools to grow it and make it consistent.

You might be doubting what I’m telling you right now. Thinking… but, Paige… my confidence is…

Up and down.

All over the place. 

Non-existent.

So bad.

You’ve probably also thought… I’d do anything to be confident!

Well, here it is girl!

Choose 1 of these things and do it consistently.

I mean like every single day! Be a freakin’ rockstar at it!

Write 3 affirmations down...