Fear of Failure – Part I
Fear of failure is the single most common cause of performance difficulties for the young athletes who come to me for help. Whether they experience low confidence and extreme negativity, pre-competitive anxiety, a preoccupation with results, or severe self-criticism, in most cases, when we dig deep enough, we discover a profound fear of failure at […]
Read MorePlacebos Can Make You Better
There is a great article in The New York Times describing how placebos can enable athletes to perform better. The argument is that believing that a pill or shot will boost performance (when it really just saline) causes us to tap into a reserve of energy (mental and physical) that propels us faster and longer. […]
Read MoreThe Myth of Birth Order
A fascinating article in The Huffington Post debunks the myth, so dearly held by so many, that birth order impacts personality. Two recent large-scale, international studies (here and here) found no relationship between birth order and five primary personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism). In fact, the only known effect that birth order […]
Read MoreIs Praise Bad for Young Athletes?
Please be prepared. I’m going to go on a bit of rant now. I just can’t hold it in any longer. I see parents doing this constantly and it’s killing me because they know not what they do and they are actually hurting their children’s personal and athletic development. What am I referring to? It’s […]
Read More26% of Parents Believe Their Children Will Become Pro Athletes
I was recently interviewed by the Toronto Sun about a remarkable statistic: 26% of parents believe their children will be professional athletes. Remarkable because, as the article notes, the chances are actually infinitesimal.
Read MoreIs the American Academy of Pediatrics Copping Out on Kids’ Screen Time?
According to a recent article titled, “Pediatricians to tweak ‘outdated’ screen time recommendations for kids,” the American Academy of Pediatrics, that esteemed organization charged with protecting the health and well-being of children, has decided that their recommendations of limited screen time—basically no screen time for children under 2 years old and only two hours a […]
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