Latest / The Standard / Flexible Mindsets and Evidence-Based Mental Performance Training | Ep. 40 Craig Buhler

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Flexible Mindsets and Evidence-Based Mental Performance Training | Ep. 40 Craig Buhler · The Standard

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Alrighty, perfect.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: Team, welcome to the Standard Podcast, where we raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconceptions that nobody else will.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't motivation, this is a movement.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Thomas Rowe joined today with my co-host Aaron Charles, and we're sitting down with Craig Bueller.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Bueller?
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Bueller?
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: And sports psychology and educational professional, passionate about mentoring students and guiding them through their academic, athletic, and personal development.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Currently based in Manchester, England, Craig works as an educational consultant helping students and athletes study and play in the United States with a degree in psychology and entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll talk about that later because it looks like Michigan and Arizona on a head-on collision for NC for March Madness, and a master's in performance sports and exercise psychology from the University of Illinois and Chicago.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Craig brings advanced evidence-based coaching, mental performance training, and holistic development to youth and elite performers across multiple sports.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Craig's approach is rooted in empathy, integrity, and professionalism with an overarching goal of helping others cultivate flexible mindset that yield high-quality life experiences.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: He understands that true performance isn't just about winning games, it's about developing the mental skills and character that create success in sports and in life.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're diving into the truth behind what it really takes to build identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Craig, thanks so much for joining.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is awesome.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate your time.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thank you.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Thomas, and thanks, Aaron, for having me.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: I'm looking forward to it.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Right on.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: So you're a sports psychology professional working as an educational consultant in Manchester, England, helping students and athletes pursue opportunities in the United States.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: What does raising the standard mean to you and the work that you're doing with mental performance and personal development?
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's a good question.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think to me, raising the standard is really about awareness.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: So, what are my current processes for consistency?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: What does that look like on a day-to-day basis?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: What are my strengths?
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: What do I care about?
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: What are my values?
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: And then from there, you know, where are some areas in which I can improve?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: So raising the standard is really kind of looking at yourself from a zoomed-out lens and thinking more about your strengths, where you might be able to improve and building some structures and processes around that to maintain a high level of consistency.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, building on that, what do you think is the biggest lie or misconception that you feel the culture of the sports industry has sold athletes about mental performance, mindset, and what it takes to succeed at the highest level?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: I think good question.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: I think I think one of the bigger things is this idea of mental toughness, of grit, of just kind of throwing out those words like resilience, flexibility.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: And then I think you know they're they're well intended, but looking at kind of mental toughness, you know, what does that actually mean?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: What does you know resilience actually mean?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like we just throw these words around and don't have an agreed-upon kind of definition surrounding it.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: So with mental toughness and sports, kind of going all in, focusing maybe on just one sport, specializing in just one sport, I feel like there's some cost to that.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel like mental toughness really isn't just about going all in.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: Mental toughness can honestly be about having the discipline to rest, having discipline to have interests outside of your one sport.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that today's kind of sport climate, we need to do a better job of educating what these terms actually mean and what they can look like because I feel like people get the wrong, the wrong picture of what toughness really is.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so let me ask you something.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you have a if you have an athlete who's a two-sport athlete, do you kind of use the same tools and curriculum to work with that same athlete, even if they're playing two sports, let's say football and baseball?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so ultimately there's gonna be some similarities, but also some differences just based, just based on the context of sports or baseball.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: Again, it is a team sport, but it's also pretty individualized, whether you are a pitcher or a batter, you are by yourself.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas football, you might be kind of working with your unit, with your defense, with your offense more in sync.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: So again, there's gonna be some similarities behind what mindsets you want to bring, but within that, there's gonna be some nuance.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: So thinking about okay, what's gonna be the most helpful in this particular context, whether it is football, whether it is baseball, and helping them kind of navigate what's gonna work best in this in this particular situation.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: But then again, there are some similarities in terms of kind of the values you might want to bring, how to focus, how to reset, how to work with your emotions.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: So it kind of goes both ways.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm I'm thinking about I've always you've heard the term yips, and I'm sure people in my in the audience have.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like I think about baseball and golf, but I guess it could apply to uh football, right?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, if you're a quarterback and all of a sudden you can't make the pass, or if you're a receiver and you just start dropping balls, I mean, I guess, you know, it's not universal.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the yips are the yips, but the sport is different, right?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_03: Show up, yeah, it can show up anywhere.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: If you think of a center trying to snap a ball, right about, you know, a kicker perhaps who's who's struggling.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but again, it's really difficult to diagnose and be like, yeah, that's the yips versus this athlete.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: That's not the yips, it's super complex.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: Again, there's it's gonna look different for everyone, everyone's gonna perceive it differently.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: And and being in in England too, I was learning that people who throw darts, like sometimes they get this, I guess the yips, and where they can't like actually release the dart.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: So that's been interesting to think more about.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, the yes can show up in New Oregon, it's really complex and and hard to diagnose, but it shows up differently for everyone.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: But again, there are some some similar patterns.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: No question.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: No question.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: So you study psychology and entrepreneurship at Michigan, then earn your master's in performance sports and exercise psychology at UIC.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: How did your own academic and athletics journey shape your understanding of what athletes really need to for sustainable success?
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so for me playing playing golf and tennis in high school, realizing I was never going to play at the kind of division one level or even D2, D3, but playing those individual sports kind of motivated me to want to learn more about the mental side of the game because I felt that being by yourself on the golf course or on the tennis court, like there's just a different aspect there compared to to playing in a team environment, having your team to pick you up if you make a mistake.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: So just being kind of isolated on the golf course, that made me think like, you know, why am I behaving this way?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: How does this kind of relate to my performance and how do how do my mindsets shape the way in which kind of I engage in my in my shot selection and shot routine?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: So that kind of led me to study psychology at the University of Michigan, learning more about just human behavior in general and how the brain works, realized sports psychology was a profession.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: And knowing that I wanted to work in sports, I figured it'd be a really cool opportunity to be in a position to work with athletes to not only help them with their performance, but to help them as humans to build these tools that apply both within and out of sport.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um so that was a really nice experience.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I went to Chicago, was able to work with some teams at UIC and also get an experience with the Chicago Hounds, which is Major League Rugby Club, and that's what sparked my interest in coming to England.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: But really just kind of going back to the individual sporting experience, that's what sparked me wanting to explore that the mental side of athletics and really just be in a position to help others to help themselves.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: So thinking of how I can make a career out of it.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: So it's been it's been a fun journey so far.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: And it's been, you know, some twists and turns, but overall it's been good.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh, you so you kind of just answered my question, but I was curious on how did you end up in the UK?
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you were born and raised in America, went to school here, and then you went over there.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: But you kind of you do you want to expand a little bit on it?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: What took you across the pond?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so in Chicago during my master's program again, working with the hounds, so working in a rugby as sport, I knew zero about that's what kind of sparked my interest in maybe wanting to Tuesday when everyone was zagging, so do something different, and figured, you know, being in my 20s, not having a family yet, when else would I have the time to maybe move to another country or a completely new environment and do something different?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: And knowing that as you know, aspiring sports psychology professional and a mental performance coach, working with athletes to kind of build resilience and to be able to do hard things, I figured why not put myself through that personal challenge and have that experience.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: So kind of walk the walk a bit and figured, why not why not look in another country?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: I realized that through the University of Michigan, we have an agreement with the UK government where you can live for up to two years and work in in the UK if you graduated within the last five years.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: So kind of everything worked out.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: I figured why not go take a chance and again put myself through something challenging, put myself in a new environment where I knew no one and just do something difficult and personally meaningful.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: So it's been it's been really again good so far, challenging for sure.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: But I'm hoping that this experience can equip me with some tools and different ways of perhaps helping athletes in the future navigate their journeys to new environments, because that's where you know my current interests are is working with emerging athletes to help them navigate the transition to new environments, whether it is coming to the states to play sports or whether it is transitioning out of sport, transitioning from injury.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: So really helping them proactively build these tools to successfully navigate just whatever happens in life, whether it is something you plan for or not.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Right on.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: So is it fair to assume that on 4th of July you wear your American shirt and get a Budweiser and go to the pubs?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: I haven't been there yet, but tourist life's somewhat popular here.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: So maybe I'll just go and have a couple of those.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I'll definitely be waving the flag.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: Craig, we're gonna turn it over to the.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_02: He's not a good golfer, but I think it starts with the sports for me.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: That's kind of where the passion is.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_02: But I think I think beyond that, Craig, Craig's a son, he's a brother, he's a friend.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: Craig's curious.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: He likes to put himself in situations to meet interesting people, whether those are athletes, business professionals, people in science, technology.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say Craig's a curious learner, is really open to different ideas and and beliefs.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: And I think also Craig is someone who who's a helper.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_02: He wants to to leave people and things better off than he found them, and he wants to pursue something meaningful in life and and beliefs that kind of life's too short not to go for what you care about.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: So overall, it's a curious person, enjoys sports, enjoys food, enjoys to travel.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's so awesome.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to know your overarching goal, and you just kind of shared about it, is helping others cultivate flexible mindsets that yield high quality life experiences.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, what does legacy beyond performance and championships mean to you, especially as someone developing the next generation of athletes?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think I think legacy beyond sport, beyond accolades is kind of who who you are as a human, the impact you left.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_02: Essentially, legacy is kind of the outcomes of how well you lived up to your values.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_02: So it's a reflection of did you demonstrate values in a consistent manner?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: Did you lead with character?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: Did you lead with compassion, empathy?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: Did you lead with qualities that actually matter to you?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: So as a as a performer, you know, how did you treat your teammates?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: How did you treat your coaches?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: How do you treat yourself?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: And as a human, kind of what impact did you make?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: What did you do that that went above and beyond what was expected?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's so important for us to think about beyond the game and who we are as human beings.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so you're based in Manchester, and you've talked about helping students and athletes pursue opportunities in in the United States.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, what separates athletes who successfully navigate international transitions from those that don't?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And what are kind of the mental and character pieces that you see in those athletes that are successful, or maybe what's missing?
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's not one proper recipe for success, but a lot of it comes from awareness.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_02: So proactively thinking about, okay, well, what are my goals?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: What are my habits like?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: What are my routines for sustained, sustainable performance?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what do I actually care about?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: Who am I?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: How much preparation have I put into finding the right schools, the right geography, the right culture?
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: What is my support system like?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: Do I have a strong support system at home?
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: Have I thought about my support system when I come over to the states?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: Will I have good teammates who are supportive?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: So really thinking about my identity, my mindset, my habits, as well as my environment.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like, do I have that support system?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: Am I going to a school where I feel like the coach actually cares about my development?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: And once there, is this like the proper environment for my own success?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: Is it in a geographical location that suits my needs?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, am I in this position to develop and I'm a position to get some playing time?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_02: Things like that.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I think what separates a successful transition from not successful one is the proactive preparation, along with, you know, finding the environment that's right, not necessarily the best environment, but what's right for me as an individual.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's so important.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think especially in that international transition, like knowing what you're getting into and spending the time to really kind of vet that out, I think is critical.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's critical for all athletes and all students, but especially if you're going to have a new culture that you have to acclimate yourself into.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, with that, what's one truth you wish every young athlete, parent, or coach understood about mental performance and personal development that more most sports psychologists' approaches aren't addressing?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think one of the bigger things is that you know people might advertise themselves or market themselves as kind of this guru who's gonna provide that quick fix of, oh, we'll just build resilience and your performance is going to improve by X amount tomorrow, or we'll work on confidence and all of a sudden you're gonna you're gonna hit home runs every game.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: So I think the the truth that we need to kind of clear up on is that this isn't gonna guarantee increased performance.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's not gonna be something that happens overnight.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: Again, I like to equate mental training to to strength training.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: Like you're not gonna put on muscle after going to the gym for three times a week.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: This mental training is part of your performance development plan.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's part of your process.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna take some time to build.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: And within that, yes, your performance might improve, but the goal beyond mental performance is how do I actually build the tools, the awareness to maintain consistency, to seek marginal gains in my improvement.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: But also beyond that, how do I translate these skills that I take from my performance into my life, into my other aspects of identity?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: So learning how to handle stress, handle pressure outside of sport, how to treat others well, how to work with others, how to be an effective leader.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: So understanding that mental training is not gonna be a quick fix.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's not gonna help you hit a hole in one, but it might help you be a better human.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of where I want to come from is equipping you to be a better human and a better leader.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's so, I think is so important.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: So with that, Thomas is gonna take back over for segment three.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you're muted.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_03: I'm mute.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I am back.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: We run a professional operation here, Craig.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: Segment three, across all advice across all stages.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, this is kind of a two-part question.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: If you could sit down with a young athlete just starting their journey, maybe still figuring out their identity and goals, what advice do you give them about developing mental performance skills and flexibility mindset?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: And the second part of that is at what age do you think it's important to start working with athletes at a young age for mental performance and mindset?
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I think again, it's gonna depend, but ultimately, I think as you kind of enter that eighth, ninth grade and start getting a bit more serious about your sport, I think that would be an appropriate time to start working with a mental performance coach to work on not only skills for the your sport, but also let's just start with kind of the basics of you know who are you right now?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_02: Who do you want to be?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: And understanding that you're gonna change so much in the next four years and as you continue beyond college.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_02: So helping them kind of build that base of identity, values, purpose, and then trying to blend those with their individual needs regarding their performance.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say that the eighth, ninth grade kind of kind of start is is big.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: From a skills perspective, I think, again, biggest things for for emerging athletes, especially kind of those who might be a bit underdeveloped to start is this idea of confidence.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: So building some some psychological flix flexibility around that.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: So being open to your experiences, uh, whether it is kind of a thought of, oh, I better not mess up, I better not fail, I better not mess, you know, miss this shot, and and helping them to notice those thoughts, those emotions a bit better.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: And when you start to notice those unhelpful thoughts and realize that, hey, it's just a thought, you can then turn your focus onto what actually matters.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's okay, maybe it is this free throw, maybe it is my pre-shot routine in golf.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: So helping them kind of notice a bit better, build that psychological flexibility and start to be a bit more willing to be open to whatever's thrown at you, and within that confidence can can form.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: So ultimately it starts to kind of build that structure of identity, values, purpose, and then going from these performance-specific tools that can help along the way.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Got it.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that definitely gives me some things to think about because you know, Aaron and I sometimes professionally have a disagreement as far as when do we start with young kids.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because I kind of feel like, you know, when we get families that approach us that are ninth grade or 10th grade, my response, my initial knee-jerk response is let them be kids.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: Let them, you know, let them have fun and so forth.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that, you know, especially, and we'll, and I'm sure we'll get into it in this discussion, with the pressure of the transfer portal on NIL.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Erin has seen it more than me because she deals closer with the parents, that there are parents that are really like spearheading the NIL opportunities at an early age, which could which could definitely hinder the athlete, the young athlete, put pressure on them, right, to perform and have to kind of seek out those NIL deals.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely something to think about here.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, what about athletes who are making the major transitions?
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: I assume that we're talking about older athletes, whether they're changing schools, moving countries, or transitioning between competitive levels, what mental skills do they need to navigate those changes successfully?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: Good question.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: I'm always gonna revert back to depends, but in general, I think it's important to again have that awareness as to, you know, why am I actually doing this?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: So connecting to what's my motivation.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what are my goals?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: Is it something my parents want?
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: Is it something I want?
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: And within that, I always find it, you know, helpful to understand, okay, well, what are my values?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, those are always something that we can for the most part control.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: And within within values, you can be a bit more clear on how to make decisions, how to pivot towards the things that actually matter to you.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that values are are super helpful when when transitioning, whether it is to a new country, a new team, if you're on loan with a new club.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: Further, I think it's also helpful to have like a strong relationship with your with your mind, with your emotions, um, with your body.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: So having the sense of psychological flexibility of of being open to both pleasant and unpleasant experiences.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, when you're moving to a new environment, it could be super exciting.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: Everything can seem new.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, you could be homesick, lonely, isolated.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: So there's a wide, wide variance in what you might be experiencing and what your body might be predicting as it relates to emotions.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: So being able to be open and to accept whatever's thrown at you and still to hold those values within you to help you decide where to pivot next.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's super helpful.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: So again, expanding upon this idea of building the flexibility to really be open to experiences, to be able to notice when you might not be present and then to focus on pivoting towards what matters, your values.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: So I find I find those three helpful.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_02: But um overall it's gonna depend, but at the same time, there's some common similarities.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: No doubt.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: And for this question, it's kind of interesting because it might seem like apples and oranges, but there's definitely a correlation.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, Aaron and I recently did a webinar where we talked about parents are the problem, right?
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: So for coaches and parents, what do they need to understand about supporting athletes' mental performance and personal development in ways that build character and not just competitive results?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think again, it's hard, it's hard for me to speak on that.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, you know, not a parent yet, hope to be one day, but I I think it's important for parents to understand, you know, where their support, like what their support processes are, because these parents obviously want the best for their kids.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: They want them to, you know, pursue elite levels of performance.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, within that, I think just the awareness might not be there as to what types of pressures they're putting on their kids, how their own stress and pressure is being passed on to their kids.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean really understanding that you know their actions are always being watched by their kids.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: So if I'm a parent who's stressed, who's under immense pressure, my kid might get that sense and it's it's contagious in a sense.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_02: So really helping parents be aware as to, you know, what pressures do you face?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: How do you manage pressure?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: How do you support your child?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: What are your what are your communication tactics with your child?
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: How do you express curiosity and non-judgment when you might want to, you know, be a bit more assertive with your kid, like conversation styles, but really helping parents understand like Gen Z, these athletes face an immense amount of pressure as it is, just via comparison, social media, growing up with a phone, I think there's a lot of issues there.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: So helping them kind of be educated on what exists, increasing their awareness as to you know how they manage perfor how they manage pressure.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: And then also within that kind of expectation management, like let's let's pursue our goals, let's be optimistic, but at the same time, understand that like two percent of high schoolers actually go on to play in the NCAA at Division I.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: So being able to shoot for the stars, but also to be realistic and to to be anchored in an expectation that's that's fair.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: Got it.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: Before I turn it over to Aaron, I have you one of the problems or the obstacles that we deal with is parents living vicariously through their children.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: What's been your experience on that front?
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's in it's intense for sure.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, yeah, like you said, parents are almost kind of reliving their childhood dreams through their kid and and almost care more than their kids about their performance.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that, you know, it's their, I guess, form of expressing that they care, their form of maybe expressing love, like I'm putting all my money into this, all my time.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: But I think, you know, children don't react the same way to that.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: I think it puts some unneeded pressure on the kid to perform and and now their values turned on to, oh, I better perform well or else my parents aren't going to be happy or aren't gonna be satisfied.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that, you know, while the parents do want best for their kids, you know, living vicariously through them probably isn't the strongest tactic at all times.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_02: And it could actually put a lot of pressure and unnecessary stress on their kids to always perform well or perform to their expectations.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_02: So again, it's about this this parent education of holding up the mirror and helping them kind of realize that you know this this strategy might not be the most helpful for your kids' development and overall growth.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: All right, cool.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, I'm gonna turn it over to you, segment four, which is the rapid fire round.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: Go for it, Aaron.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm back.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, this is my favorite segment, Craig.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna start a finish, start a sentence, and you're gonna finish it for me.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: So this is quick.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: So discipline equals.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_02: Discipline equals structure and consistency.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Leadership equals.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_02: Emotional intelligence, finding solutions, and active listening.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Faith equals trusting what you don't see.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: Legacy equals the outcomes of how well you live by your values.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And what is one thing you would never compromise on?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_02: Relationship with my family.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's probably the most important thing.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: And what is one message?
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you could put it on a billboard for the next generation of athletes, what would your message to them be?
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: I think message would be is you know, you are more than your sport, you're more than your performance.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: As a human, you're capable of doing a lot of interesting and meaningful things.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't have to just be limited to your performance.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, Thomas, it's your turn.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: Close us out.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Craig, before we wrap up, is there something we didn't touch on today that you feel athletes, parents, or coaches need to hear about mental performance, personal development, or building sustainable success?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: I guess what is the peanut butter and jelly of your practice?
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think it's this idea of proactive, you know, mental fitness.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think when we hear the word, you know, mental, mental training, mental performance, mental health, we think that you're coming from an area of weakness or deficit, whereas I'm hoping to kind of lead something different as mental training should be a part of your normal training.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_02: Again, you don't need to have something necessarily uh wrong with you or weakness to begin training your mind.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think that anyone could do it at any point.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_02: So, how do we proactively start to think about how to you know be better focusing, how to work better with our emotions, how to you know navigate transitions successfully.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_02: So building these tools now, so when stress does come or pressure does come or these inevitable transitions do come, we're a bit more prepared for it and we can can use our mental toolkit to to find success in that.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: So I really want to kind of promote this idea of proactive training, just as you would go to the gym to proactively train muscle for the upcoming season.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, team, Craig went to Michigan undergrad.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: I went to Arizona.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think we're gonna be playing for the national championship.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Together, we'll kind of kind of see each other.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: If we do, we'll see each other in the final four before we go to the championship.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: So that being said, Craig, I always like to at the end, I always like to ask our guests, what are your top three sports movies of all time any genre?
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_03: Oh goodness, Caddyshack.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_03: Can we count that?
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_03: Of course.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it's probably the top movie ever outside of the fugitive, but for sports, Caddyshack.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm as a baseball fan, Moneyball, love Moneyball.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and then can I do a documentary?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_02: Of course.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, there's the there's an ESPN film.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_02: I think this was like before 30 for 30, but there's one, the Fab Five.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_02: So thinking about Michigan basketball.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, totally.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um so appropriately timed with March Madness going on right now, but I've watched that documentary over you know 35 times.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_02: So um Fab Five.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_02: Other ones, Sam Lot.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: But um yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: Those are some good ones.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't heard about that.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Right about the time that that documentary came out, you I think E I think HBO put out something called Run and Rebels about the early with targeting.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that was such foreshadowing for what has become now the transfer portal and NIL.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, those guys were getting they bought a championship, right?
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was it was wild.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, Craig, where do people connect with you and learn more about your work?
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's a website or a LinkedIn or your social media handles.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think LinkedIn would be the best.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: So just my name, Craig Bueller, go from there, shoot me a message.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_02: We'd be would be more than happy to connect and chat further.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I would say LinkedIn for now and go from there.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_02: I'd love to always chat and curious to learn just from different backgrounds, different professionals, and have a good conversation.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: Craig, thank you so much for sharing your story and your truth.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: Team, if this conversation challenged you, inspired you, or made you think differently, share it.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: Send it to a young athlete developing their mental gain, a parent supporting their child's academic and athletic journey, or a coach trying to build their character alongside performance.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: And team, definitely connect with Craig.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: He's got incredible insight, he's got an incredible experience, or we wouldn't have had him on our pod.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: And do two things for us.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: One, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, and two, connect with Craig on LinkedIn.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're an athlete, parent, or coach ready to raise the standard, check out blueprintbluechip.com.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: We help athletes build identity, discipline, and legacy that goes well beyond the game.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're ready to get clear on who you are beyond the game, join us for our three-day reset at blueprintbluechip.com.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: This is a standard podcast, and this movement only grows when we raise the standard together.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Talent fades, but truth endures.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: Let's raise the bar, let's rebuild the culture, and let's become the standard.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: Craig, Aaron, thanks so much, team.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you next time.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.