47 Best 「sport psychology」 Books of 2024| Books Explorer
- Soccer Tough: Simple Football Psychology Techniques to Improve Your Game (Soccer Coaching)
- Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology
- Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success
- Soccer Tough 2: Advanced Psychology Techniques for Footballers (Soccer Coaching)
- The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books)
- Key Studies In Sport And Exercise Psychology
- Endurance Performance in Sport
- Being a Sport Psychologist
- Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
- RANGE
"Take a minute to slip into the mind of one of the world's greatest soccer players and imagine a stadium around you. Picture a performance under the lights and mentally play the perfect game." Technique, speed and tactical execution are crucial components of winning soccer, but it is mental toughness that marks out the very best players - the ability to play when pressure is highest, the opposition is strongest, and fear is greatest. Top players and coaches understand the importance of sport psychology in soccer but how do you actually train your mind to become the best player you can be? Soccer Tough demystifies this crucial side of the game and offers practical techniques that will enable soccer players of all abilities to actively develop focus, energy, and confidence. Soccer Tough will help banish the fear, mistakes, and mental limits that holds players back. Soccer psychology consultant Dan Abrahams shares the powerful techniques that have helped him develop reserve team players to become international players, and guided youth team players from slumps to first team contracts. Covering the mental triumphs of some of the world's leading players - Soccer Tough will help you become the best player you can be. Soccer Tough is for amateur and professional players of all levels, as well as coaches. This book explores how the best soccer players in the world think and gives the reader step-by-step ways to do the same.
The leading textbook in sport and exercise psychology is back in a revised seventh edition, and it again raises the bar with its engaging introduction to the field. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Seventh Edition With Web Study Guide, offers both students and new practitioners a comprehensive view of sport and exercise psychology, drawing connections between research and practice and capturing the excitement of the world of sport and exercise.Internationally respected authors Robert Weinberg and Daniel Gould continue to gather and incorporate feedback from teachers and students with each edition, building a text that addresses emerging trends and remains relevant and up to date. In-depth learning aids have been refreshed, including chapter objectives and summaries, sidebars, key terms, key points, and discussion questions to help students think more critically about applying the material. Other updates to the seventh edition include the following: A new chapter on diversity and inclusion addressing topics related to gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, and disability New content on popular and emerging areas such as grit, mindfulness, organizational sport psychology, and technology in sport psychology Additional modern-day practical examples and anecdotes to better illustrate concepts Updated references, including more contemporary sourcesFoundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology provides students with a unique learning experience—taking them on a journey through the field’s origins, key concepts, research development, and career options available in the field. After this introduction to the field, the text shifts focus to personal factors that affect performance and behavior in sport, physical education, and exercise settings. It augments those concepts by factoring in situational circumstances that influence behavior, group interaction and processes, and the use of psychological techniques to help people perform more effectively. Students will gain critical insights into the role psychological factors play in health and exercise and the psychological consequences of participation in sport and physical activity, including children’s psychological development through sport participation, aggression in sport, and moral development and good sporting behavior in sport and physical activity contexts.The related web study guide serves as an important learning tool to support the educational journey. With more than 100 engaging activities, it allows students to apply the concepts from the text by completing activities for each chapter that encourage critical thinking and hands-on experience.Many of the study guide activities offer compelling audio and video clips that reveal how sport psychology consultants communicate with athletes and coaches to improve athletic experiences. These clips feature esteemed experts from the field discussing concepts that they have studied and refined during their professional careers.To further emphasize practical application, the activities can be integrated throughout a full semester, turning course units into a unified whole that builds upon itself for greater understanding of the field.In addition to the web study guide, instructors will have access to a full suite of ancillaries: an instructor guide, test package, chapter quizzes, and presentation package plus image bank. Plus instructors have access to a special instructor video library featuring more than 120 video clips.Note: The web study guide is included with all new print books and some ebooks. For ebook formats that don’t provide access, the web study guide is available separately.
"A transfixing book on how to sustain peak performance and avoid burnout" ― Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Option B, Originals, and Give and Take "An essential playbook for success, happiness, and getting the most out of ourselves." ― Arianna Huffington, author of Thrive and The Sleep Revolution "I doubt anyone can read Peak Performance without itching to apply something to their own lives." ― David Epstein, New York Times bestselling author of The Sports Gene A few common principles drive performance, regardless of the field or the task at hand. Whether someone is trying to qualify for the Olympics, break ground in mathematical theory or craft an artistic masterpiece, many of the practices that lead to great success are the same. In Peak Performance, Brad Stulberg, a former McKinsey and Company consultant and writer who covers health and the science of human performance, and Steve Magness, a performance scientist and coach of Olympic athletes, team up to demystify these practices and demonstrate how everyone can achieve their best. The first book of its kind, Peak Performance combines the inspiring stories of top performers across a range of capabilities - from athletic, to intellectual, to artistic - with the latest scientific insights into the cognitive and neurochemical factors that drive performance in all domains. In doing so, Peak Performance uncovers new linkages that hold promise as performance enhancers but have been overlooked in our traditionally-siloed ways of thinking. The result is a life-changing book in which readers learn how to enhance their performance via myriad ways including: optimally alternating between periods of intense work and rest; priming the body and mind for enhanced productivity; and developing and harnessing the power of a self-transcending purpose. In revealing the science of great performance and the stories of great performers across a wide range of capabilities, Peak Performance uncovers the secrets of success, and coaches readers on how to use them. If you want to take your game to the next level, whatever "your game" may be, Peak Performance will teach you how.
Global soccer psychologist Dan Abrahams is back with a follow up to his groundbreaking, international bestseller "Soccer Tough". In "Soccer Tough 2: Advanced Psychology Techniques for Footballers" Dan introduces soccer players to more cutting edge tools and techniques to help them develop the game of their dreams. Soccer Tough 2 is split into four sections - Practice, Prepare, Perform, and Progress and Dan's goal is simple - to help players train better, prepare more thoroughly, perform with greater consistency and progress faster. Each section offers readers an assortment of development strategies and game philosophies that bring the psychology of soccer to life. They are techniques that have been proven on pitches and with players right across the world. Like the original Soccer Tough, this book has been designed to be readable, accessible, and no-nonsense. Every chapter is short, engaging and packed full of stories from some of the best men and women soccer players in the world today. In this book - Develop a no limit attitude towards your potential - Create a world class improvement programme for your soccer - Ramp up your training attitude using cutting-edge motivational theories - Prepare to play with energy and confidence - Use your 'controllers' to manage your focus, your intensity, and your emotions on the pitch - Learn to play under pressure like the best footballers in the world do - Measure and build your self-belief Soccer Tough 2 has been written with one thing in mind... to make you the best footballer you can be.
Key Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology provides readers with a volume that examines in depth some of the most important and influential studies in sport and exercise psychology. Extensive examination of such studies has been historically difficult to achieve in general textbooks in the field. Also, students often wish to learn more about a particular article than textbooks offer or teachers provide in classroom settings. Invariably, interested readers are required to search for the original publication from other sources, which can be time-consuming. By bringing together a selection of important readings in sport and exercise psychology, this book fills a major gap in the academic literature. Each of the book’s 23 chapters includes a framework makes the most efficient use of the material originally published. A Background and Context section is initially provided in order to put the study into a theoretical, practical, and historical context. This is followed be an abridged version of the Key Study, itself. A Subsequent Research and Application section concludes each chapter and focuses on research developed since the original study was published, as well as relevant theoretical, methodological, and applied issues. A list of additional readings is provided in each chapter, along with study questions to stimulate readers to think critically about any theoretical, methodological, statistical, and ethical features of the studies.
Athletes participating at all levels of endurance performance can relate to the impact of psychological factors. Whether it is motivation, self-belief, feeling nervous before a race, exercise-induced pain, sticking to a pacing strategy, or thoughts around what to focus on, there are a vast number of psychological factors which can affect endurance performance.Bringing together experts in the field from around the world, this is the first text to provide a detailed overview of the psychology of endurance performance where there is a research and an applied focus looking at both main theoretical models as well as how interventions can support an athlete’s efficacy and well-being. The authors look at regulatory processes around pain, decision-making, self-belief, emotions, and meta-cognition, before examining a range of cognitive strategies, including the use of imagery, goals, self-talk, and mindfulness techniques. With a final section of the book outlining issues related to mental health that are relevant to endurance performance, the book shows that the future of research and application of psychological theory in endurance performance in sport is bright and thriving.Aimed at researchers, students, coaches, and athletes themselves, this is essential reading for anyone wishing to better understand how our minds experience endurance in performance arenas, and what psychological techniques can be used to make us more efficient.
What makes a great sport psychologist? Is there an ideal style or approach? What do you need to consider when working with a client?In this practical guide, Richard Keegan presents a user-friendly model of the sport psychologist's consulting processes and offers a framework for understanding best practice. Whether you are a trainee or a qualified sport psychologist, this book will help you to deliver a consistent, transparent, effective and ethical service at all levels of sport.Being a Sport Psychologist:- Provides a clear and coherent model which accommodates different styles, philosophies and experience levels;- Contains worksheets to help you record, evaluate, understand and reflect;- Offers a range of useful case studies and examples;- Is the first book to describe the process of being a sport psychologist from beginning to end.
A New York Times BestsellerA Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2020Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR“A fascinating scientific, cultural, spiritual and evolutionary history of the way humans breathe—and how we’ve all been doing it wrong for a long, long time.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and Eat Pray LoveNo matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you’re not breathing properly.There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren’t found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of São Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe.Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is.Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.
The #1 New York Times bestseller that has all America talking: as seen/heard on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, Morning Joe, CBS This Morning, The Bill Simmons Podcast, Rich Roll, and more.“The most important business—and parenting—book of the year.” —Forbes“Urgent and important. . . an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance.” —Daniel H. PinkShortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year AwardPlenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you’ll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.
Coaching soccer is demanding. Impossible to perfect, it requires a broad knowledge of many performance areas including technique, tactics, psychology and the social aspects of human development. The first two components are covered in detail in many texts - but Soccer Brain uniquely offers a comprehensive guide to developing the latter two - player mindsets and winning teams. The environment that a coach creates, and the relationships formed with players, is the bedrock of performance and achievement. Coaches who are able to deliver students of the game, and who are able to help players execute skills and tactics under pressure are the future leaders of the world's most loved sport. Soccer Brain teaches coaches to train players to compete with confidence, with commitment, with intelligence, and as part of a team. The positive messages from each chapter of Soccer Brain help coaches to develop players through patience, repetition, reinforcement, re-appraisal and high value relationships. Soccer Brain is for the no limits coach. It's for the coach who is passionate about developing players and building a winning team. This is not a traditional soccer coaching book filled with drills or tactics or playing patterns. This book is about getting the very best from you, the coach, and helping you develop a coaching culture of excellence and world class football mindsets. This book is for Soccer Coaches of all levels and experience. Written by Dan Abrahams, the best-selling author of "Soccer Tough", it aims to show coaches how their approach to coaching is as much about their relationships with players and the coaching environment as it is about tactics, fitness or strength. By utilising the information in this book - coaches will be able to create an optimum coaching world that creates confident, committed, and mentally strong players. More book details are available on the Bennion Kearny website.
Mental toughness is one of the most common terms used in sport – by athletes, coaches, spectators and the media. However, it is also one of the least understood terms. This book examines the characteristics and development of mentally tough sport performers, and presents the cutting-edge research in this area. Within these chapters, the author proposes that mental toughness is a personality style and mindset, and presents a compelling case for its inclusion within the positive psychological paradigm.This second edition has been updated to include new material on the characterisation, conceptualisation, measurement, and development of mental toughness. As in the first edition the book includes a historical overview of empirical research, and also describes the conceptual arguments behind this research.Now packed with even more rigorous scientific evidence and bang up-to-date anecdotes from the world of sport, the book presents a fascinating explanation of why some athletes are successful, and how and why they stay on top. Mental Toughness: The Mindset Behind Sporting Achievement will be essential reading for all sport psychology, sport science, sport studies, and coaching students.
Sport psychology is a competitive profession with rigorous and demanding entry routes in terms of education, training and accreditation. Once qualified, the sport psychology practitioner will face complex, day-to-day professional challenges of the kind not always covered in conventional sport psychology textbooks. Becoming a Sport Psychologist is the first book to reveal the reality of working in sport psychology through the personal perspectives and narratives of some of the world’s leading sport psychologists, top professionals with many years experience of working at every level of sport, from amateur to elite, in consulting and support roles, and in sport psychology research.With each chapter focusing on a key issue or issues in professional practice, each contributing psychologist discusses their own education, training and professional experience, their personal motivation and their approach to consulting and delivery, helping the reader to develop a rounded understanding of how to succeed in sport psychology. The book also explores key professional issues such as intervention style, work-life balance and the commercial aspects of sport psychology practice not covered in other books, plus it offers a summary of typical education and training routes and additional information on professional organisations and accreditation schemes. Becoming a Sport Psychologist is invaluable reading for anybody considering a career in sport psychology, or any practising sport psychologist looking to extend and develop their professional skills.
The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 20 million copies sold!Tiny Changes, Remarkable ResultsNo matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.Learn how to:make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; design your environment to make success easier; get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more.Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.
Unlock your creativity.An inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Steal Like an Artist presents ten transformative principles that will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life.Nothing is original, so embrace influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to discover your own path. Follow interests wherever they take you—what feels like a hobby may turn into you life’s work. Forget the old cliché about writing what you know: Instead, write the book you want to read, make the movie you want to watch.And finally, stay Smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring in the everyday world so that you have the space to be wild and daring in your imagination and your work.“Brilliant and real and true.”—Rosanne Cash
Praise for Mind Gym"Believing in yourself is paramount to success for any athlete. Gary's lessons and David's writing provide examples of the importance of the mental game."--Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters champion and former Ryder Cup captain"Mind Gym hits a home run. If you want to build mental muscle for the major leagues, read this book."--Ken Griffey Jr., Major League Baseball MVP"I read Mind Gym on my way to the Sydney Olympics and really got a lot out of it. Gary has important lessons to teach, and you'll find the exercises fun and beneficial."--Jason Kidd, NBA All-Star and Olympic gold-medal winner"I love the book Mind Gym."--Madison Kocian, 2016 U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team, 2015 Uneven Bars World Champion, as told to Us WeeklyIn Mind Gym, noted sports psychology consultant Gary Mack explains how your mind influences your performance on the field or on the court as much as your physical skill does, if not more so. Through forty accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes from prominent athletes--many of whom he has worked with--you will learn the same techniques and exercises Mack uses to help elite athletes build mental "muscle." Mind Gym will give you the "head edge" over the competition.
Over the last 35 years, Steven C. Hayes and his colleagues have developed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with many hundreds of studies supporting the impact of his approach on everything from chronic pain to weight loss to prejudice and bigotry. A Liberated Mind is the summary of Steven's life's work which will teach readers how to live better, happier and more fulfilled lives by applying the six key processes of ACT. Put together these processes teach us to pivot- to "defuse" rather than fuse with our thoughts; to see life from a new perspective; and to discover our chosen values, those qualities of being that fuel meaning. Steve shares fascinating research results like how ACT techniques decreased typing errors on a clerical test or showed that positive affirmations actually increase negative emotion. And he weaves them with stories of clients and colleagues as well as his own riveting story of healing himself of a severe panic disorder, which is how the idea of psychological flexibility was born. A Liberated Mind is a powerful and important book about a new form of psychology, destined to become a modern classic of narrative psychology on par with Daring Greatly and Rising Strong by Brene Brown, or Carol Dweck's Mindset.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Foreword by Malcolm GladwellLimits are an illusion: discover the revolutionary account of the science and psychology of endurance, revealing the secrets of reaching the hidden extra potential within us all."A voyage to the outer reaches of human capacity.” —David Epstein, author of Range"Reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits." —Adam GrantThe capacity to endure is the key trait that underlies great performance in virtually every field. But what if we all can go farther, push harder, and achieve more than we think we’re capable of?Blending cutting-edge science and gripping storytelling in the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell—who contributes the book’s foreword—award-winning journalist Alex Hutchinson reveals that a wave of paradigm-altering research over the past decade suggests the seemingly physical barriers you encounter as set as much by your brain as by your body. This means the mind is the new frontier of endurance—and that the horizons of performance are much more elastic than we once thought.But, of course, it’s not “all in your head.” For each of the physical limits that Hutchinson explores—pain, muscle, oxygen, heat, thirst, fuel—he carefully disentangles the delicate interplay of mind and body by telling the riveting stories of men and women who’ve pushed their own limits in extraordinary ways.The longtime “Sweat Science” columnist for Outside and Runner’s World, Hutchinson, a former national-team long-distance runner and Cambridge-trained physicist, was one of only two reporters granted access to Nike’s top-secret training project to break the two-hour marathon barrier, an extreme quest he traces throughout the book. But the lessons he draws from shadowing elite athletes and from traveling to high-tech labs around the world are surprisingly universal. Endurance, Hutchinson writes, is “the struggle to continue against a mounting desire to stop”—and we’re always capable of pushing a little farther.
Golf Tough is an original and inspiring book- a book that will transform your game. Dan Abrahams is Lead Psychologist for England Golf, as well as a former touring professional golfer, and PGA coach. In Golf Tough, Dan offers you a powerful blueprint for improvement and a detailed plan for consistent high performance no matter what your standard of play. If you want to significantly lower your handicap, compete with greater consistency, win tournaments or reach the next level on the course, Dan's simple yet powerful philosophies, tools and techniques will help you break through your current barriers and reach your golfing goals. Dan is renowned in the sporting world for pulling no punches and in Golf Tough he introduces the reader to a different approach to golf. This book will show you how to practice to build skill, technique and confidence - your visits to the range will become more productive and purposeful than ever, and your practice more deliberate. Dan also reveals the secret processes golfing champions employ to prepare to compete under the most intense pressure, as well as how all golfers can learn to stand on the first tee brimming with self-belief. Dan believes all golfers can learn to take control on the course - in Golf Tough he shows you how. Taking a unique viewpoint on performance and progression, you will learn from some of the top authorities in the game - the world's leading golf statistician, one of the premier coaches in Europe, a putting coach to the stars, and a former caddy who spends his days teaching players to plot their way around the course. This accumulated wisdom, combined with Dan's cutting edge approach in sport psychology - and with up-to-date scientific research, practical lessons, and eye opening anecdotes from golf and a variety of sports - makes Golf Tough the essential golfing read. - TRAIN your golf brain and your golf game to compete with confidence under pressure - LEARN about your two on-course controllers - self-talk and body-language - to play with certainty, focus, energy and intelligence - DEVELOP a golf game with a winning mental structure by creating world class pre-shot and post-shot routines - LEARN to plot your way around a golf course intelligently by understanding and grading risk - UNDERSTAND how the quirks of your brain hold you back, and learn tools to deal with distraction and a noisy inner voice.
Even among the most elite performers, certain athletes stand out as a cut above the rest, able to outperform in clutch, game-deciding moments. These athletes prove that raw athletic ability doesn't necessarily translate to a superior on-field experience—its the mental game that matters most.Sports participation—from the recreational to the collegiate Division I level—is at an all-time high. While the caliber of their games may differ, athletes at every level have one thing in common: the desire to excel. In The Champion's Mind, sports psychologist Jim Afremow, PhD, offers the same advice he uses with Olympians, Heisman Trophy winners, and professional athletes, including:• How to get in a "zone," thrive on a team, and stay humble• How to progress within a sport and sustain long-term excellence• Customizable pre-performance routines to hit full power when the gun goes off or the puck is droppedWith hundreds of useful tips, breakthrough science, and cutting-edge workouts from the world's top trainers, The Champion's Mind will help you shape your body to ensure a longer, healthier, happier lifetime.
Move over, Moneyball -- this New York Times bestseller examines major league baseball's next cutting-edge revolution: the high-tech quest to build better players.As bestselling authors Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik reveal in The MVP Machine, the Moneyball era is over. Fifteen years after Michael Lewis brought the Oakland Athletics' groundbreaking team-building strategies to light, every front office takes a data-driven approach to evaluating players, and the league's smarter teams no longer have a huge advantage in valuing past performance.Lindbergh and Sawchik's behind-the-scenes reporting reveals:How undersized afterthoughts José Altuve and Mookie Betts became big sluggers and MVPs How polarizing pitcher Trevor Bauer made himself a Cy Young contender How new analytical tools have overturned traditional pitching and hitting techniques How a wave of young talent is making MLB both better than ever and arguably worse to watch Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball: Success stems not from focusing on finished products, but from making the most of untapped potential.
Dan Abrahams is the world-renowned sport psychologist who has helped to transform player development and the coaching of soccer. His Soccer Tough titles have become international bestsellers and have been translated into numerous languages. Now, for the first time, Soccer Tough and Soccer Tough II are available in one cost-effective, high-value volume.\nIn Soccer Tough: Simple Football Psychology Techniques to Improve Your Game, journey with Dan to demystify the mental side of the game in order to maximise performances. It is full of practical techniques that will enable soccer players of all abilities to actively develop focus, energy, and confidence. Soccer Tough will help banish the fear, mistakes, and mental limits that hold players back.\n- Train your soccer brain and performance mindset to play more consistently and deliver under pressure - Use the power of Body Language to play with energy and intensity - Create dynamic mental Scripts that pinpoint focus and give your game mental structure - Utilise commanding Self-Talk to develop certainty and performance confidence - Boost your self-belief through Visualisation and Imagery\nIn Soccer Tough II: Advanced Psychology Techniques for Footballers, Dan introduces players to more cutting-edge tools and techniques to help them develop the game of their dreams. Through four sections – Practice, Prepare, Perform, and Progress – Dan shows players how to train better, prepare more thoroughly, perform with greater consistency, and progress faster.\n– Develop a no limit Attitude towards your potential – Create a world-class Improvement Programme for your soccer – Ramp up your training outlook using cutting-edge motivational theories – Prepare to play with energy and confidence – Use your ‘controllers’ to manage your focus, your intensity, and your emotions on the pitch – Learn to play under pressure like the best footballers in the world do
Should you always "think about it"?Are you "only as good as your last game"?Is it just a matter of "keeping your eye on the ball"?The answer to these questions is no, and to help you steer a course through the many challenges of a sporting career this second edition of Pure Sport sets out, in everyday language, the lessons you can take from contemporary sport psychology – helping you recognise what works and what doesn’t when it comes to improving performance.As the title suggests, Pure Sport goes back to basics by highlighting practical concerns for those involved with competitive sport at every age and level – from junior club members to Olympic athletes. Drawing on their considerable experience as both applied sport psychologists and academics, the authors present practical advice and a powerful array of techniques for channelling and harnessing mental skills with the goal of improving sporting performance.Drawing on the international popularity of the first edition, in this fully updated second edition the authors have taken the opportunity to revamp chapters with colour photographs, contemporary examples, and sporting anecdotes, and the book is now even more accessible for those without a formal background in psychology.Pure Sport, Second Edition is essential reading for anyone with an active involvement or interest in sport, it will help students, coaches, teams, and sportsmen and women to sharpen their mental edge and so realise their true potential in sport and through sport.
A USA Today BestsellerHigh-performance psychologist Michael Gervais presents a groundbreaking guide for overcoming what may be the single greatest constrictor of human potential: our fear of people’s opinions (FOPO).FOPO shows up almost everywhere in our lives—and the consequences are great. When we let FOPO take control, we play it safe and small because we're afraid of what will happen on the other side of critique. When challenged, we surrender our viewpoint. We trade in authenticity for approval. We please rather than provoke. We chase the dreams of others rather than our own.But it doesn't have to be this way.In The First Rule of Mastery, Michael Gervais shows us that the key to leading a high-performance life is to redirect our attention from the world outside us to the world inside us. He reveals the mental skills and practices we need to overcome FOPO—the same skills he's taught to the top performers in the world, including sports MVPs, world-renowned artists and musicians, and Fortune 100 leaders and teams.Filled with fascinating stories from the worlds of sports and business, leading-edge science, and insights from the frontier of human performance, The First Rule of Mastery is a much-needed wake-up call that when we give more value to other people's opinions than we do our own, we live life on their terms, not ours.
Hugh van Cuylenburg was a primary school teacher volunteering in northern India when he had a life-changing realisation: despite the underprivileged community the children were from, they were remarkably positive. By contrast, back in Australia Hugh knew that all too many children struggled with depression, social anxieties and mental illness. His own little sister had been ravaged by anorexia nervosa. How was it that young people he knew at home, who had food, shelter, friends and a loving family, struggled with their mental health, while these kids seemed so contented and resilient? He set about finding the answer and in time came to recognise the key traits and behaviours these children possessed were gratitude, empathy and mindfulness. In the ensuing years Hugh threw himself into studying and sharing this revelation with the world through The Resilience Project, with his playful and unorthodox presentations which both entertain and inform. Now, with the same blend of humour, poignancy and clear-eyed insight that The Resilience Project has become renowned for, Hugh explains how we can all get the tools we need to live a happier and more fulfilling life.
Come back from every setback a stronger and better leader.If you read nothing else on mental toughness, read these ten articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you build your emotional strength and resilience--and to achieve high performance.This book will inspire you to: Thrive on pressure like an Olympic athlete Manage and overcome negative emotions by acknowledging them Plan short-term goals to achieve long-term aspirations Surround yourself with the people who will push you the hardest Use challenges to become a better leader Use creativity to move past trauma Understand the tools your mind uses to recover from setbacksThis collection of articles includes "How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better," by Graham Jones; "Crucibles of Leadership," by Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas; "Building Resilience," by Martin E.P. Seligman; "Cognitive Fitness," by Roderick Gilkey and Clint Kilts; "The Making of a Corporate Athlete," by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz; "Stress Can Be a Good Thing If You Know How to Use It," by Alla Crum and Thomas Crum; "How to Bounce Back from Adversity," by Joshua D. Margolis and Paul G. Stoltz; "Rebounding from Career Setbacks," by Mitchell Lee Marks, Philip Mirvis, and Ron Ashkenas; "Realizing What You're Made Of," by Glenn E. Mangurian; "Extreme Negotiations," by Jeff Weiss, Aram Donigian, and Jonathan Hughes; and "Post-Traumatic Growth and Building Resilience," by Martin Seligman and Sarah Green Carmichael.HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever‐changing business environment.
Although sport is played with the body, it is won in the mind. Inspired by this idea, the second edition of this popular textbook provides a comprehensive critical introduction to sport and exercise psychology – a discipline that is concerned with the theory and practice of helping athletes to do their best when it matters the most.The book is organized into four sections. Part one investigates the nature, foundations and current status of the discipline. Part two reviews the latest research findings on motivation, anxiety, concentration, mental imagery and expertise in athletes. Part three examines group processes and team dynamics. Finally, part four explores exercise behaviour and the psychology of injury rehabilitation. Each chapter contains specially designed critical thinking exercises to encourage the student to explore the deeper issues, and also features an invaluable list of suggestions for independent research projects by students. The text has been extensively re-written and updated with new material to take account of hot topics such as neuroscience and motor imagery, as well as issues such as ‘grunting’ in tennis, the psychology of penalty shootouts, mindfulness training as a concentration technique, the effects of music on physical activity, and ‘exer-gaming’ – the use of computer games to increase physical activity and exercise.Written in a lively, accessible style, the book is brimful of vivid contemporary examples and insights from the world’s leading athletes, to provide a compelling bridge between theory and practice for undergraduate and postgraduate students of sport psychology, health psychology, sport science, physical education, kinesiology and leisure management.Instructors who adopt the book will be able to access a wealth of online teaching resources.
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITIONChampions do extra.They sweep the sheds.They follow the spearhead.They keep a blue head.They are good ancestors.In Legacy, best-selling author James Kerr goes deep into the heart of the world's most successful sporting team, the legendary All Blacks of New Zealand, to reveal 15 powerful and practical lessons for leadership and business.Legacy is a unique, inspiring handbook for leaders in all fields, and asks: What are the secrets of success - sustained success? How do you achieve world-class standards, day after day, week after week, year after year? How do you handle pressure? How do you train to win at the highest level? What do you leave behind you after you're gone?What will be your legacy?
National Bestseller"In Do Hard Things, Steve Magness beautifully and persuasively reimagines our understanding of toughness. This is a must-read for parents and coaches and anyone else looking to prepare for life's biggest challenges." -- Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers and host of the Revisionist History podcastFrom beloved performance expert, executive coach, and coauthor of Peak Performance Steve Magness comes a radical rethinking of how we perceive toughness and what it means to achieve our high ambitions in the face of hard things.Toughness has long been held as the key to overcoming a challenge and achieving greatness, whether it is on the sports field, at a boardroom, or at the dining room table. Yet, the prevailing model has promoted a mentality based on fear, false bravado, and hiding any sign of weakness. In other words, the old model of toughness has failed us.Steve Magness, a performance scientist who coaches Olympic athletes, rebuilds our broken model of resilience with one grounded in the latest science and psychology. In Do Hard Things, Magness teaches us how we can work with our body – how experiencing discomfort, leaning in, paying attention, and creating space to take thoughtful action can be the true indications of cultivating inner strength. He offers four core pillars to cultivate such resilience: Pillar 1- Ditch the Façade, Embrace Reality Pillar 2- Listen to Your Body Pillar 3- Respond, Instead of React Pillar 4- Transcend DiscomfortSmart and wise all at once, Magness flips the script on what it means to be resilient. Drawing from mindfulness, military case studies, sports psychology, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, he provides a roadmap for navigating life’s challenges and achieving high performance that makes us happier, more successful, and, ultimately, better people.
A fascinating insight into the psychology behind elite-level sports.Mind Games discusses concepts used in sports psychology in a way that is understandable to the watching public, sports fans and sports-haters alike. Annie Vernon draws on her own experiences as an Olympic medalist, interviews with a wide range of people from other sports, and input from experts to answer the question: What is it about our psyche that makes pushing the mind and body to their limits such a basic human desire?Annie speaks to athletes from a broad spectrum of sports around the globe, including basketball's Shane Battier and John Starks, NFL star Ryan Fitzpatrick, fencer Tim Morehouse, and baseball's Craig Breslow and Tino Martinez, tennis's Judy Murray, polar explorer Ben Saunders, triathlete Chrissie Wellington, skeleton-bob star Lizzy Yarnold, runner Jo Pavey and sailor Ben Ainslie, along with coaches and sports psychologists from both Olympic sports and their professional equivalents.Whether it be performing under pressure, coping with nerves, teamwork, or building self-belief in the face of adversity, the methods that elite sports-people use are also relevant to everyday life. But sports psychology is still regarded as something of a mystery. How exactly do elite sports performers harness the power of their mind in pursuit of physical perfection?After looking closely at areas such as motivation, competitiveness, gender, and teamwork, Annie Vernon uncovers the underlying psychological principles behind the sports that everyone enjoys.
Join readers from all over the world and learn about a powerful antidote to today's epidemic of burnout—and a path to achieving success with deeper satisfaction—from the bestselling author of Peak Performance."A thoughtful, actionable book for pursuing more excellence with less angst." --Adam Grant, author of Think Again"Ambitious, far-reaching, and impactful" -- David Epstein, author of RangePlaying into the always-on, never enough hustle culture ultimately takes a serious toll. While the high of occasional wins can keep you going for a while, angst, restlessness, frayed relationships, exhaustion, and even substance abuse can be the unwanted side effects of an obsession with outward performance.In The Practice of Groundedness, bestselling author Brad Stulberg offers a path from which peak performance and well-being and fulfillment can emerge and prevail for a lifetime. At the heart of this model is groundedness—a practice that values presence over rote productivity, accepts that progress is nonlinear, and prioritizes long-term values and fulfillment over short-term gain. To be grounded is to possess a firm and unwavering foundation, an internal strength and self-confidence that sustains you through ups and downs and from which deep and enduring success can be found. Groundedness does not eliminate ambition and striving; rather, it situates these qualities and channels them in more meaningful ways.Interweaving case studies, modern science, and time-honored lessons from ancient wisdom traditions such as Buddhism, Stoicism, and Taoism, Stulberg teaches readers how to cultivate the habits and practices of a more grounded life. Readers will learn:* Why patience is the key to getting where you want to go faster--in work and life--and how to develop it, pushing back against the culture's misguided obsession with speed and "hacks."* How to utilize the lens of the wise observer in order to overcome delusion and resistance to clearly see and accept where you are—which is the key to more effectively getting where you want to go* Why embracing vulnerability is the key to genuine strength and confidence* The critical importance of "deep community," or cultivating a sense of belonging and connection to people, places, and causes.Provocative and practical, The Practice of Groundedness is the necessary corrective to the frenetic pace and endemic burnout resulting from contemporary definitions of success. It offers a new—and better—way.
A book for finding purpose and strength in times of great despair, the international best-seller is still just as relevant today as when it was first published.“This is a book I reread a lot . . . it gives me hope . . . it gives me a sense of strength.”—Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360/CNNThis seminal book, which has been called “one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought” by Carl Rogers and “one of the great books of our time” by Harold Kushner, has been translated into more than fifty languages and sold over sixteen million copies. “An enduring work of survival literature,” according to the New York Times, Viktor Frankl’s riveting account of his time in the Nazi concentration camps, and his insightful exploration of the human will to find meaning in spite of the worst adversity, has offered solace and guidance to generations of readers since it was first published in 1946. At the heart of Frankl’s theory of logotherapy (from the Greek word for “meaning”) is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but rather the discovery and pursuit of what the individual finds meaningful. Today, as new generations face new challenges and an ever more complex and uncertain world, Frankl’s classic work continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living, in spite of all obstacles.A must-read companion to this classic work, a new, never-before-published work by Frankl entitled Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, is now available in English.This book was published with two different covers. Customers will be shipped the book with one of the available covers.
The New York Times Bestseller * Foreword by Malcom Gladwell"Reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits." —Adam GrantDiscover the revolutionary account of the science and psychology of endurance, revealing the secrets of reaching the hidden extra potential within us all. This updated paperback edition features a new afterword.The capacity to endure is the key trait that underlies great performance in virtually every field. But what if we all can go farther, push harder, and achieve more than we think we’re capable of?Blending cutting-edge science and gripping storytelling in the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell—who contributes the book’s foreword—award-winning journalist Alex Hutchinson reveals that a wave of paradigm-altering research over the past decade suggests the seemingly physical barriers you encounter as set as much by your brain as by your body. This means the mind is the new frontier of endurance—and that the horizons of performance are much more elastic than we once thought.But, of course, it’s not “all in your head.” For each of the physical limits that Hutchinson explores—pain, muscle, oxygen, heat, thirst, fuel—he carefully disentangles the delicate interplay of mind and body by telling the riveting stories of men and women who’ve pushed their own limits in extraordinary ways.The longtime “Sweat Science” columnist for Outside and Runner’s World, Hutchinson, a former national-team long-distance runner and Cambridge-trained physicist, was one of only two reporters granted access to Nike’s top-secret training project to break the two-hour marathon barrier, an extreme quest he traces throughout the book. But the lessons he draws from shadowing elite athletes and from traveling to high-tech labs around the world are surprisingly universal. Endurance, Hutchinson writes, is “the struggle to continue against a mounting desire to stop”—and we’re always capable of pushing a little farther.
Mental toughness is about how effectively individuals deal with stress, pressure and challenge. It is rooted in the notion of resilience but moves beyond this by adding ideas from the world of positive psychology. The result is a complete process which is highly applicable and measurable. Tracing its development from sports psychology into business, health and education sectors, Developing Mental Toughness was the first book to look at applications at the organizational level and to provide a reliable psychometric measure.The new edition of Developing Mental Toughness includes greater coverage of how mental toughness relates to other behaviours and can be applied to leadership, creativity, emotional intelligence, and motivation. It also looks at its applications in employability and entrepreneurship, and has expanded coverage of coaching for mental toughness. Written for anyone coaching individuals and teams for improved performance, the book contains practical guidance and techniques, exercises and case studies, all reflecting the exciting developments in this field over the last five years.
Find flow and reach peak performance—in sports and in life. Based on the groundbreaking Still Quiet Place mindfulness program, this workbook provides practical, step-by-step exercises and skills to help you gain present-moment awareness and achieve your athletic goals.Are you looking for unique ways to "get into the game"? To enhance your training and find focus? You aren’t alone. Increasingly, athletes and coaches—from amateur leagues to professional football champs to Olympic athletes—are incorporating mindfulness practices into their training. That’s because mindfulness can help you lower your stress levels, connect with the moment, and mentally bounce back after setbacks. So whether you're a sports enthusiast or a professional athlete, mindfulness can also help you deal with physical aspects of training, such as fatigue, aches, pains, injury, burnout, and exhaustion.Written by holistic physician, mindfulness coach, and long-time athlete Amy Saltzman, this practical workbook offers mindfulness-based skills you can use any time throughout your athletic career, as well as in daily life. You’ll discover what the author fondly refers to as the “still quiet place,” and from the vantage point of that stillness, you’ll be able to observe your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations—before and during practice and competition, between events, after a miss or significant loss, or exhilarating win. You’ll also find skills for dealing effectively with teammates and coaches, as well as skills for coaching mindfully. A parents guide is also included.No matter what sport you play, 90 percent of performance is mental. With this workbook as your guide, you can use mindfulness to enhance your training, competitive performance, and your life beyond athletics.
Free yourself from depression, anxiety, and insecurity, and instead build a rich and meaningful life with the updated and expanded edition of the world’s best-selling guide to escaping the “happiness trap.”Over 1 million copies sold!In The Happiness Trap, Dr. Russ Harris provides a means to escape the epidemic of stress, anxiety, and depression, unlocking the secrets to a truly fulfilling life.Updated and expanded in its second edition, this empowering book presents the insights and techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), covering more topics and providing more practical tools than ever before. Learn how to clarify your values, develop self-compassion, and find true satisfaction with this bigger and better guide to:• Reducing stress and worry• Handling painful thoughts and feelings more effectively• Breaking self-defeating habits• Overcoming insecurity and self-doubt• Building better relationships• Improving performance and finding fulfilment at workThe Happiness Trap is for everyone. Whether you’re lacking confidence, facing illness, coping with loss, working in a high-stress job, or suffering from anxiety or depression, this book will show you how to build authentic happiness, from the inside out.
The first systematic collaboration between cognitive scientists and sports psychologists considers the mind–body relationship from the perspective of athletic skill and sports practice.This landmark work is the first systematic collaboration between cognitive scientists and sports psychologists that considers the mind–body relationship from the perspective of athletic skill and sports practice. With twenty-six chapters by leading researchers, the book connects and integrates findings from fields that range from philosophy of mind to sociology of sports. The chapters show not only that sports can tell scientists how the human mind works but also that the scientific study of the human mind can help athletes succeed. Sports psychology research has always focused on the themes, notions, and models of embodied cognition; embodied cognition, in turn, has found striking confirmation of its theoretical claims in the psychological accounts of sports performance and athletic skill. Athletic skill is a legitimate form of intelligence, involving cognitive faculties no less sophisticated and complex than those required by mathematical problem solving.After presenting the key concepts necessary for applying embodied cognition to sports psychology, the book discusses skill disruption (the tendency to “choke” under pressure); sensorimotor skill acquisition and how training correlates to the development of cognitive faculties; the intersubjective and social dimension of sports skills, seen in team sports; sports practice in cultural and societal contexts; the notion of “affordance” and its significance for ecological psychology and embodied cognition theory; and the mind's predictive capabilities, which enable anticipation, creativity, improvisation, and imagination in sports performance.ContributorsAna Maria Abreu, Kenneth Aggerholm, Salvatore Maria Aglioti, Jesús Ilundáin-Agurruza, Duarte Araújo, Jürgen Beckmann, Kath Bicknell, Geoffrey P. Bingham, Jens E. Birch, Gunnar Breivik, Noel E. Brick, Massimiliano L. Cappuccio, Thomas H. Carr, Alberto Cei, Anthony Chemero, Wayne Christensen, Lincoln J. Colling, Cassie Comley, Keith Davids, Matt Dicks, Caren Diehl, Karl Erickson, Anna Esposito, Pedro Tiago Esteves, Mirko Farina, Giolo Fele, Denis Francesconi, Shaun Gallagher, Gowrishankar Ganesh, Raúl Sánchez-García, Rob Gray, Denise M. Hill, Daniel D. Hutto, Tsuyoshi Ikegami, Geir Jordet, Adam Kiefer, Michael Kirchhoff, Kevin Krein, Kenneth Liberman, Tadhg E. MacIntyre, Nelson Mauro Maldonato, David L. Mann, Richard S. W. Masters, Patrick McGivern, Doris McIlwain, Michele Merritt, Christopher Mesagno, Vegard Fusche Moe, Barbara Gail Montero, Aidan P. Moran, David Moreau, Hiroki Nakamoto, Alberto Oliverio, David Papineau, Gert-Jan Pepping, Miriam Reiner, Ian Renshaw, Michael A. Riley, Zuzanna Rucinska, Lawrence Shapiro, Paula Silva, Shannon Spaulding, John Sutton, Phillip D. Tomporowski, John Toner, Andrew D. Wilson, Audrey Yap, Qin Zhu, Christopher Madan
Based on new research in exercise physiology, author and running expert Matt Fitzgerald introduces a first-of-its-kind training strategy that he's named "Brain Training."Runners of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels can learn to maximize their performance by supplying the brain with the right feedback. Based on Fitzgerald's eight-point brain training system, this book will help runners:- Resist running fatigue- Use cross-training as brain training- Master the art of pacing- Learn to run "in the zone"- Outsmart injuries- Fuel the brain for maximum performancePacked with cutting-edge research, real-world examples, and the wisdom of the world's top distance runners, Brain Training for Runners offers easily applied advice and delivers practical results for a better overall running experience.
With Search Inside Yourself, Chade-Meng Tan, one of Google’s earliest engineers and personal growth pioneer, offers a proven method for enhancing mindfulness and emotional intelligence in life and work.Meng’s job is to teach Google’s best and brightest how to apply mindfulness techniques in the office and beyond; now, readers everywhere can get insider access to one of the most sought after classes in the country, a course in health, happiness and creativity that is improving the livelihood and productivity of those responsible for one of the most successful businesses in the world.With forewords by Daniel Goleman, author of the international bestseller Emotional Intelligence, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, renowned mindfulness expert and author of Coming To Our Senses, Meng’s Search Inside Yourself is an invaluable guide to achieving your own best potential.
The greatest athletic performances spring from the mind, not the body.Elite athletes have known this for decades and now science is learning why it’s true. In his fascinating new book How Bad Do You Want It?, coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness.Fitzgerald puts you into the pulse-pounding action of more than a dozen epic races from running, cycling, triathlon, XTERRA, and rowing with thrilling race reports and revealing post-race interviews with the elites. Their own words reinforce what the research has found: strong mental fitness lets us approach our true physical limits, giving us an edge over physically stronger competitors. Each chapter explores the how and why of an elite athlete’s transformative moment, revealing powerful new psychobiological principles you can practice to flex your own mental fitness.The new psychobiological model of endurance performance shows that the most important question in endurance sports is: how bad do you want it? Fitzgerald’s fascinating book will forever change how you answer this question and show you how to master the psychology of mind over muscle. These lessons will help you push back your limits and uncover your full potential.How Bad Do You Want It? reveals new psychobiological findings including: Mental toughness determines how close you can get to your physical limit. Bracing yourself for a tough race or workout can boost performance by 15% or more. Champions have learned how to give more of what they have. The only way to improve performance is by altering how you perceive effort. Choking under pressure is a form of self-consciousness. Your attitude in daily life is the same one you bring to sports. There’s no such thing as going as fast as you can—only going faster than before. The fastest racecourse is the one with the loudest spectators. Faith in your training is as important as the training itself. Athletes featured in How Bad Do You Want It?: Sammy Wanjiru, Jenny Simpson, Greg LeMond, Siri Lindley, Willie Stewart, Cadel Evans, Nathan Cohen and Joe Sullivan, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ryan Vail, Thomas Voeckler, Ned Overend, Steve Prefontaine, and last of all John “The Penguin” Bingham
Want more joy and confidence when you perform?Discover the life guide that has developed world champions, empowered athletes to become world #1, and most importantly, transformed their hearts and minds. This step-by-step training manual from one of the world's top mental skills coaches will teach you how to train your mind like the very best.My #1 tip for success: Read Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy. - Stewart Cink, British Open Champion, 8-time PGA Tour WinnerWhether you’re an athlete or entrepreneur, single mother or father of five, you’ll find exercises, techniques and tools in this book that will improve every area of your life. Your life will take on new meaning as you move beyond the pursuit of happiness to a life of purpose and fulfillment.Jim Murphy's complete program of proven mental techniques is based on the powerful principles of love, wisdom, and courage, that came from over six years of full-time research and writing (after his masters degree in Coaching Science).“I read the first version of Inner Excellence six times. I recommend all my clients read it.” – Matt Killen, PGA Tour coach to Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods and many othersINNER EXCELLENCE WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO: DEVELOP SELF-MASTERY—and let go of what you can’t control OVERCOME ANXIETY—and build powerful mental habits REMOVE MENTAL BLOCKS—and get out of your own way TRAIN YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND—and release limiting beliefsAs a professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization, Jim’s sense of worth and identity revolved around his performance. He was obsessed with fame but also afraid of failure, and that fear made him struggle under the pressure to perform.When he started coaching professional and Olympic athletes, he saw the same pattern over and over again: athletes had lost their joy and passion for life as the fear of failure engulfed their lives. This book will share with you how some of the best athletes in the world transformed their careers through Inner Excellence.You'll learn how Inner Excellence propelled them to extraordinary performance even when they were filled with doubt and uncertainty, and how you can excel in the same way in your life.“Inner Excellence changed how I see the world, how I think, and how I play golf.” - Vaughn Taylor, three-time PGA Tour winnerJim Murphy is a Performance Coach (mental skills) to some of the best athletes and leaders in the world. The majority of his clients achieve the best year of their career their first year working with Jim (or their best year in the previous five years).
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening—and how to get our attention back.“The book the world needs in order to win the war on distraction.”—Adam Grant, author of Think Again“Read this book to save your mind.”—Susan Cain, author of QuietWINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Post, Mashable, MindfulIn the United States, teenagers can focus on one task for only sixty-five seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Like so many of us, Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live. He tried all sorts of self-help solutions—even abandoning his phone for three months—but nothing seemed to work. So Hari went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention—and he discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong.We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari found that there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention. In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD. He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where everyone lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers’ productivity.Crucially, Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus—as individuals, and as a society—if we are determined to fight for it. Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back.
The Mamba Mentality: How I Play is Kobe Bryant’s personal perspective of his life and career on the basketball court and his exceptional, insightful style of playing the game―a fitting legacy from the late Los Angeles Laker superstar.In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball, Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant decided to share his vast knowledge and understanding of the game to take readers on an unprecedented journey to the core of the legendary “Mamba mentality.” Citing an obligation and an opportunity to teach young players, hardcore fans, and devoted students of the game how to play it “the right way,” The Mamba Mentality takes us inside the mind of one of the most intelligent, analytical, and creative basketball players ever.In his own words, Bryant reveals his famously detailed approach and the steps he took to prepare mentally and physically to not just succeed at the game, but to excel. Readers will learn how Bryant studied an opponent, how he channeled his passion for the game, how he played through injuries. They’ll also get fascinating granular detail as he breaks down specific plays and match-ups from throughout his career.Bryant’s detailed accounts are paired with stunning photographs by the Hall of Fame photographer Andrew D. Bernstein. Bernstein, long the Lakers and NBA official photographer, captured Bryant’s very first NBA photo in 1996 and his last in 2016―and hundreds of thousands in between, the record of a unique, twenty-year relationship between one athlete and one photographer.The combination of Bryant’s narrative and Bernstein’s photos make The Mamba Mentality an unprecedented look behind the curtain at the career of one of the world’s most celebrated and fascinating athletes.
Play your sport, not mind gamesBen Loeb has created an actionable guide to implementing sport psychology in team sports, including extensive exercises and self-assessment activities.With seventy-five exercises for coaches and athletes to use upping their game, Next-Level Coaching will give you the competitive edge. Use this book to learn about:This book will help you learn about:• Mental Toughness• Confidence• Focus• Motivation and Motivational Obstacles• Entering “The Zone”• Developing Mental and Emotional Skills• Leadership and Team Building• Character and ValuesNext-Level Coaching will help any athlete, coach, or parent working with a young athlete become more successful in athletics—and life.
An integrated and personalized approach to health, nutrition, training, recovery, and mindsetPerfect for personal trainers, sports science students, fans of high level fitness (crossfit, marathon training, iron man, team sports) and gym heads!There is a new revolution happening in sports as more and more athletes are basing their success on this game-changing combination: health, nutrition, training, recovery, and mindset. Unfortunately, the evidence-based techniques that the expert PhDs, academic institutions, and professional performance staffs follow can be in stark contrast to what many athletes actually practice. When combined with the noise of social media, old-school traditions, and bro-science, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.Peak is a groundbreaking book exploring the fundamentals of high performance (not the fads), the importance of consistency (not extreme effort), and the value of patience (not rapid transformation). Dr. Marc Bubbs makes deep science easy to understand, and with information from leading experts who are influencing the top performers in sports on how to achieve world-class success, he lays out the record-breaking feats of athleticism and strategies that are rooted in this personalized approach.Dr. Bubbs’s performance protocol is for the elite athlete, active individual, strength coach, nutritionist, or practitioner who wants to expand their potential by: Connecting the importance of sleep, digestion, the athlete microbiome, and blood glucose control metrics Creating personalized deep nutrition strategies for building muscle, burning fat, or “making weight” for competition Rethinking nutrition specifically for team sports Learning how elite endurance athletes fuel, including training techniques to boost performance Applying the new science of recovery that enhances performance Emphasizing the tremendous role of emotional intelligence and mindset in overcoming roadblocks and achieving athletic success (the next frontier in performance) Analyzing the qualities of elite leaders and how to develop them authenticallyDr. Bubbs expertly brings together the worlds of health, nutrition, and exercise and synthesizes the salient science into actionable guidance. Regardless if you’re trying to improve your physique, propel your endurance, or improve your team’s record, looking at performance through this lens is absolutely critical for lasting success.
BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.