"Wherever you are, be there totally." -Sharon Salzberg How often do we find ourselves rushing from appointment to appointment, checking off items on our to-do list, only to get to the end of the day and forget how we got there? It has become the norm in our current world to move from task to task, filling our days with work, family, friends, meetings, social events, workouts, and get togethers, yet never truly being present with where we find ourselves. It can be so easy to b

"Gratefulness is a practice, just like happiness is a choice." -Russell Simmons It can be so easy to be grateful when things go the way we want. When we earn that job opportunity or promotion, hit that PR in training or competition, or experience success and achieve our goals, it can be very easy to sit back and be thankful for those moments. But what about when things may not go the way we want? Are we still grateful on the days that challenge us, push us, or leave us feelin

"The athlete who is in championship form has a quiet place in himself. And it's out of that that his action comes." -Joseph Campbell Why is it that when the environment becomes chaotic, some people are able to access what it takes to perform well, while others seem to be swallowed up in the noise? Everyone who competes or puts it on the line in his or her job wants to do well when it matters most. We all practice, train, recover, and try to put ourselves in the best possible

"The mind is the king of the senses, but the breath is the king of the mind." -B.K.S. Iyengar How well do you know your own breath? It is usually not something we pay attention to very much throughout the day. Did you know that, on average, we take between 17,000-30,000 breaths per day? When we begin to notice and become aware of our breath more intimately, it allows us to have greater insight into what is going on in our brains and bodies. Last week, we learned about how qui

"Attention is currency of performance." - Peter Haberl How many times do we get distracted throughout our day? There is an incredible amount of stimuli that is constantly pulling our attention away from where we want it to be. Social media, TV, emails, deadlines, our thoughts, emotions, to-do lists...the list goes on and on and on. So, how long is the average American's attention span? The answer is eight seconds. Eight measly seconds is how long it takes before we are off so

"A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence." -David Hume What gives us the right to have confident thoughts? We all have experienced the ebb and flow of our confidence being high and other times non-existent. If we could rate our confidence on a scale of 1-10 for different areas in our life, what would those numbers look like? Think of our confidence in our ability as parents, spouses, employees, athletes, and competitors. Would the numbers be the same for those diffe

"Confidence is the ability to fully commit to the moment with the thoughts and evidence to back it up." What is the relationship you have with the voice in your head? Are you aware of the dialogue that is occurring on a moment-to-moment basis? There are times where we may have a great relationship with our thoughts. They support what we want to do, they push us and drive us towards the people we want to be, and they pick us up when we fall short. Then, there may be times wher

"If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you." - Steve Jobs What are you striving for or pushing towards? Is there a specific outcome you’re hoping to achieve? New Year’s has come and passed along with the 80% of resolutions that have failed by this time of year. That is a staggering stat for folks who want to do or be something different than they were the previous year. Words and concepts like goal s

“You already possess everything necessary to become great.” – Crow Proverb Statements like this are why the journey that we pursue is so important. The journey is NOT meant to lead us down a pre-determined path that others feel is best for us. The journey is intended to facilitate self-discovery of the path that is meant for us. We are the experts on ourselves! We mentioned in a previous blog post that Focus Unlimited operates from a strengths-based perspective when it comes

“Knowing others is intelligence, knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.” –Lao Tzu Take a moment to reflect on this quote from Lao Tzu. What does this quote mean to you as it relates to working on your mentality today? Last week, we introduced the idea that there is a battle inside each of us between making decisions that propel us forward or keep us stuck in habits that no longer serve us. We introduced the idea of id

After having the weekend to reflect on my time spent at the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Annual Conference, which included over 1,000 attendees in Orlando, FL, there were a number of thoughts that crossed my mind. “I’m so grateful to catch up with colleagues and friends who are spread out all over the country now.” “The mentors who trained and guided me are still as incredible now as they were when I studied under them.” “There are a whole bunch of folks try

Make a choice to challenge yourself every day! Be intentional with how you subject yourself to things that will move the needle of self-expectations, and enhance your overall capacity mentally, physically, socially & emotionally. It's easier to limit ourselves by staying in our daily routine that creates the greatest comfort for us versus stepping off of that comfort zone to challenge ourselves to expand our horizons and grow in a new way. An example of challenging yourself t