Chemistry Interrupted

For a lesson in chemistry, take a look at the Chicago Blackhawks current season, writes Bryan Dietzler in an online Bleacher Report article. Avid sports fans may think the Blackhawks are currently suffering from “Stanley Cup Hangover.” Since the team won a championship last year, the slow season start is a common sports phenomenon of not playing at an optimum level after a championship winning year, aka a “hangover.” Dietzler says this may be true, but the bigger reason behind their struggles is due to team chemistry. “Chemistry is the result of extended time practicing and playing with a group of people in order to build cohesion and team unity,” […]

Read More

Excellence Is Always Possible

The idea of talents or special gift is a myth, writes Tony Schwartz in a recent blog post at the Harvard Business Review. Have you stopped yourself from trying new activities or working hard at difficult pursuits by telling yourself you lack talent for the specific endeavor? It’s time to reroute this way of thinking. Schwartz shares the comment of Will Durant, who was channeling Aristotle’s thoughts, “We are what we repeatedly do.” That’s right. We aren’t born tennis players, star quarterbacks or successful CEOs. And we don’t need an innate ability to master a task. Schwartz, president and CEO of The Energy Project and the author of The Way […]

Read More

Being Right versus Being Happy

There is a human phenomenon which social psychology uncovered that states “people prefer to be right than to be happy.” What does this have to do with sport psychology? The answer is everything. A majority of people and athletes hold strong beliefs about themselves and their capabilities. And for most, they may experience some degree of self-doubt at times. If an athlete allows this doubt to become habitual, convincing, and perhaps even “grooved” in their brain (repeated thoughts of doubt over and over again so that the brain is trained to think that way), then he or she will start to believe that they are incapable and not good enough […]

Read More