Wade Wilson, PhD, CMPC

Elite athletes and youth athletes striving for excellence can find profound wisdom in the philosophy of Stoicism, which emphasizes control over one’s own actions and responses rather than external outcomes. Mark Tuitert, an Olympic gold medalist (Vancouver, 2010) in speed skating, shares his insights on how Stoic principles can help athletes unlock their peak potential. […]

Peak performance in sports and other high-pressure environments is a fascinating topic. It’s not just about physical prowess or technical skills; it’s also about the mind. In this post, we’ll explore the psychological characteristics of peak performance as outlined in the chapter “Psychological Characteristics of Peak Performance” by Krane et al (2021).  What is Peak

The old adage says that sports are 90% mental. Yet, when something goes wrong – a missed shot, a bad call, or an injury – most athletes don’t look at how they think; they simply react. If you want to understand the engine behind your mental game, you have to look at your explanatory style.

Every athlete trains their body. Many train their skills. Some train their mind. But even the most gifted performers often find that in the heat of competition, their greatest enemy isn’t the opponent — it’s the “disappearing act” of their own attention. A missed call, a previous mistake, or the looming weight of the scoreboard

It’s 6:00 AM. Your alarm is screaming. Your brain is currently locked in a heavyweight title fight: In one corner, the abstract, “sensible” goal of training. In the other corner, the very vivid, very warm reality of your comforter. Usually, the comforter wins. Why? Because according to Dr. Jon Rhodes and Professor Jackie Andrade from

In sport and performance, we love the “perfectionist.” We celebrate the athlete who stays late, obsessing over every detail. But there’s a dark side to the “Gold Medal Mindset” that nobody talks about. According to research (Greenaway et al., 2010), perfectionism is often a form of social masking – a protective shield used to hide

Our brains are energy-hungry machines that hate “not knowing.” In fact, a famous study published in Nature Communications showed that people are actually calmer when they know for sure they’re getting an electric shock than when they have a 50% chance of one. The ambiguity, not the pain, is what causes the stress. In sport,

Ever see a pro athlete do something weird before a game? Maybe they always put their left sock on first, or they eat the exact same bowl of pasta at 4:17 PM. From the outside, it looks like a glitch in the matrix. From the inside, it’s their superpower. But for many of us, “routine”

We’ve all been there. You miss an easy shot, blow a defensive assignment, or forget your lines in a presentation, and that voice in your head immediately pipes up: “Wow, nice job, Einstein. My grandmother could have made that play.” Standard advice says you should “think positive” and drown that voice out with sunshine and

We spend a lot of time talking about “mental toughness” and “grinding it out.” We tell athletes and coaches to just “focus harder.” But here’s a reality check: If you’re trying to find your “flow state” in a room that feels like a cold dentist’s office, you’re playing the game on Hard Mode. Recent insights