Let’s discuss some new and exciting growth mindset research You walk into a lab to take part in an experiment. Someone comes up to you and says: “In a few […]
Spring training 2023. Tampa, FL. I’m watching five players doing the most boring drill in baseball. The coach is hitting them grounders, they’re fielding and throwing to first base. Normally, […]
A deep-dive into toxic positivity: what it is, why it matters, how to avoid it What is Toxic Positivity? Positivity can be great. But when it’s used to force a […]
“What’s a skill that, if you built it, would make you better at what you do?” I always ask this to groups at the end of our workshops. Usually everyone […]
We’re a little over a month into our New Year’s resolutions. How’s yours going? Same. Don’t worry though, we’re not alone. About 68% of people have never completed a resolution. […]
To change a behavior it’s usually best to focus on our rather than just the behavior. Eat more vegetables = behavior Vegetables are bland and boring → Vegetables can be […]
If our goal is to be three things usually happen: 1. We avoid things that cause discomfort (which is good if we’re in danger, but not so good if we’re […]
A video essay featuring: Amy Edmondson We’ve all seen or been a part of both good and bad teams. But what creates this gap? What separates bad from good and […]
On May 24, 2019 I found out I had bladder cancer. Yeah, WTF? Even the doctor was surprised when he found the tumor. It’s super rare, especially for nonsmokers, especially […]
Pause for a second and think of a few things you’re good at. No, really. Twenty seconds on the clock. Ready, set, go. We do this exercise during our workshops. […]
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer Great learners can […]
My friend is bad with chopsticks. He’s so bad that he actively avoids places that use chopsticks. On the rare occasion when we convince him to come out for sushi, […]
When we see someone perform at a high level we love calling them gifted. We see this in professional sports, in the workplace, and in schools. “Gifted” is coming from […]
An essential part of growth is choosing to put ourselves into situations that involve uncertainty – to do things that might not work: Applying for a new job Asking someone […]
There are two parts of learning something: 1. Figuring out how to do the thing 2. Practicing it Part 1 is fun, easy, and even exciting. We can read, listen […]
Tough emotions – stress, anxiety, fear – hold a lot of power over the way we perform, learn, and handle setbacks. We feel nervous before a big game or presentation […]
It’s 6:45pm. Friday night. A small friend squad is at my house. We’re sitting around the table talking, eating, the usual. After the snacks and chats it’s time for the […]
With our SFCOHTGGAS post we established that our mindsets have a big impact on our capacity to grow and that developing a growth mindset – the belief we can grow […]
Skills are built, not born. A simple phrase that can become the bedrock for great learning. Of course it takes time, effort, some experiments, and struggle to earn a skill. […]
If we zoom way out, the learning process looks something like this: We call this the SFCOHTGGAS: The Self-fulfilling Cycle of How to Get Good at Stuff. Yay for acronyms […]
A tiger living in the jungle is going to learn and develop more than a tiger living in a zoo. We made a video that presents the research that supports […]
It’s 2013. I’m a few weeks into blogging for my freshly launched website and winner of the most terrible domain name of all time award – championshipbasketballschool.com. The focus of […]
It’s February 2014. I’m sitting in a massive training complex in Anaheim, CA observing the USA Women’s National Volleyball team practice. I am in awe. Having spent most of the […]
Building resilience can help us become better learners. Let’s outline four tools that can help make that happen by Trevor Ragan and Alex Belser Challenges, obstacles, adversity, and struggle are […]
Lifting weights is essentially struggling on purpose. We understand the basics of how to build a muscle. So we pick a weight and exercise that induces resistance and tension, which […]
It’s easier to eat out. It’s better to cook at home. It’s easier to play someone that you know you can beat. It’s better to play the person who might […]
I’m squatting, you’re spotting. The goal: 12 reps Reps 1-3: no prob Reps 4-7: not bad either, but I’m starting to feel it Rep 8: It gets hard and I […]