The Edge: Peak Performance Psychology

By taking apart the term “sport psychology”, we can learn a lot about both sport and the practice of psychology. It’s not just an academic exercise: Whether you’re on the field of play or "sidelined" as coach or parent—and especially if you’d like to be working with any of those people—being accurate is important. Read More

Want to sustain those warm turkey thoughts? Try feeling grateful. Thinking, writing, and/or speaking your appreciation improves your sense of self and connection with others. Read More

Maggie is a passionate runner. Energetic, competitive, single-minded, and skilled. At 16, she’s already made a name for herself, received funding, and is being scouted by prospective schools. It doesn’t hurt that she brings this same drive to her academics, is popular, and has a supportive family.

Everything’s perfect, right?

Well, not so fast. Read More

When it comes to decision making, what’s a person to do? And who has the power, anyway? Read More

‘Twas the morning after Christmas and Santa was tired, grumpy, upset, and melancholy. He had just performed a major, magical act. As a psychologist with particular knowledge about performance psychology, I was asked the classic diagnostic question: What's the matter with Santa? Why is he in such a lousy mood? Read More

How do you go about learning? How do you go about improving? Our kids need to be taught, of course. But what about adults? What's the difference between being "taught" and being "coached"? Read More

Dear Mr. Lindros,

Thank you for referring Scott to me. You don't know me, of course-and, actually, you don't know Scott, either. But it's directly because of you that Scott came in to meet with me about the aftermath of his most recent concussion. Read More

Flash mobs appear, do their thing, and then disperse. Bemused, the unanticipating audience blinks their collective eyes and, perhaps, feels lightened of their usual everyday burdens. Read More

What does writing for publication have to do with performance? It's not as if I'm about to do a piece of performance. I'm just sitting here at my computer, minding my own business.

No audience.

Hmmm: no audience?! Read More

"Which is more important to you? Your life or this marathon?" the Psyching Team leader asked the runner. Read More

You're at a funeral: would you rather be offering the eulogy or lying dead in the casket? According to Jerry Seinfeld-as well as statistical surveys-you'd prefer death to the prospect of speaking in front of people.

I've been thinking about public speaking and communications for a number of reasons. Read More

No man [or woman] is an island, the poet John Donne wrote. We are all connected. A truism for sure-but if you're an athlete in an individual sport, do you need different mental skills than if you're in a team sport?

My initial answer was a qualified "yes," but the more I think about it, I suspect that the best answer may be a qualified "no."

Let me explain: Read More

An African adage asks and responds: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Speaking of elephants, there's also a really old and lame joke that begins: How do you get down off an elephant? Or, lumbering further afield, we could talk about pink elephants...or elephants in the room....

But back to our one-bite-at-a-time elephant. Read More

Asked about his meteoric rise to fame over the past year, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert comments that it's fun and exciting-and adds, "There are moments when I get overwhelmed and I have to breathe."

Of course he does.

So do we all at times, whether because we're delighted or despondent, terrified or over-shooting our goals. Read More