06. The Power of Narrative and Identity

What if the secret to high performance lies not in achieving more but in shifting your mindset and narratives? Allow Dr. Cassidy Preston, a seasoned performance coach, and former hockey player, to guide you through the transformative journey. With a unique approach that centers on empathy and understanding, Cassidy shares how to challenge your thought process and belief systems effectively. Drawing from his own experience, he reveals the power of the alter ego strategy and how it has been instrumental in his coaching practice and personal life.

Cassidy also delves deeper into his approach to performance coaching, focusing on narrative work and shifting the language around confidence. He sheds light on the significance of understanding people's definitions of confidence and the power of focusing on who you want to be rather than what you want to achieve. Don't miss out as Cassidy challenges conventional wisdom and encourages listeners to question their own narratives. To wrap things up, he also extends an invitation for listeners to visit his website and social media profiles for more information.

*The upcoach podcast is produced by Ventures FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The one thing that has really made a big impact on his ability to get results for clients

It's the narrative stuff. When somebody says I've always just been that way or this is who I am, and I'm a person that does this, and so as soon as the narrative and the identity is rooted, well then we can't deal with the confidence or the beating yourself up because you just believe it to be true. And so, helping shine a light on the root problem, on the root narrative that's holding someone back from evolving or growing or letting go of those living beliefs, is the number one thing.

On the ability to challenge people on their narrative

I think it’s somewhat easy. My disposition is to coach. I kind of learned through those early experiences just to assert myself and guide without being mean around just to push people away. And I think I also have, like you said, from my own experiences, a lot of certainty and challenging people like, no, this isn't necessarily serving you. There is a different way. Try looking at it this way, and you tell me if it fits. And so that narrative is very much guiding and challenging, yet it's not like pushing, like demeaning and putting people down because that's never going to help.

On positioning the concept of narrative with people

Are you what you do or achieve, or you think, or you feel? You're the character in a story, but you're not the character in the story. You're actually the author or the narrator of your life. You are awareness and choice, and how you narrate the story, and how you write the next page. And so that framework, helping people look at it that way versus no, I'm just a character in a story, no, you're actually the author of your own story. So, helping them flip the script on that was like, okay, well then, what story are you writing and how are you interpreting the facts that have happened, is a helpful way for them to understand it. 

Show Links:

• Dr. Cassidy Preston’s website
• Dr. Cassidy Preston in LinkedIn Profile
• Dr. Cassidy Preston on Twitter
• Dr. Cassidy Preston on Instagram
• Dr. Cassidy Preston on Facebook
• CEP Mindset with Dr. Cassidy Preston
• The CEP Mindset Podcast