There are so many books, videos, and other ways to learn about mental performance but finding them can be difficult. I want to provide my recommendations for readings and other sources that I think provide helpful lessons for everyone, from elite level athletes to someone starting their first days at the gym.
The Confidence Gap, A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt By Russ Harris
The Confidence Gap provides an amazing introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Training. Russ Harris helps guide the reader through how to engage their thoughts and accept that we all have negative and unproductive thinking. But that thinking doesn't define us. Providing practical tools to accept our thoughts, and let go of those that are unhelpful so that we can focus on what really matters.
The Power of Habit, Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business By Charles Duhigg
While not directly about sports the Power of Habit does an excellent job of breaking down how our habits help and hinder our thinking in every activity we do. It uses so many wonderful examples to illustrate where our habitual thinking leads us astray and how to retrain those habits to be helpful to us. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to find ways to not fall into the trap of just going through the motions.
The Soul of a Team, A Modern-Day Fable for Winning Teamwork By Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker
The Soul of a Team follows famous Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy as he walks through his process of working with a fictional new football team in Orlando Florida. He teaches the team his acronym, SOUL, and what it means to apart of a team, both individually and as the greater whole. I think this book provides a fantastic view of how team dynamics works that for both coaches and players it provides an amazing framework.
Talent is Overrated, What Really Seperates World-Class Talent Performers from Everybody Else By Geoff Colvin
Talent is Overrated might be one of the most influential books in my early development as a mental performance consultant. It made me completely reevaluate how I viewed practice. Geoff Colvin teaches the reader how to not only understand how we practice impacts us, but how to do it effectively and focus on what matters. Geoff pulls from both the sports world and business world to show how we have to practice everything we do if we want to become elite. So understanding how to get the most out of practice becomes the most important step to reaching that next level.