The Freedom Project

If your mindset is an exhausting emotional rollercoaster, I wrote this for you.   Training like a full time athlete is exhausting enough. Combining it with not being able to live comfortably off sponsorship, running a full time & demanding job, or being a parent is infinitely harder.   You have other exhausting things in your life, and you still have lofty aims.   Yet the constant demands of everything stack up.   And there’s always the inner doubt of “is all this even worth it?”   Part of you wants to give up, but there’s a stronger part of you which desires a life well lived.   Most athletes never reach their potential because they let this emotional rollercoaster take away from what’s important, create self doubt and make them think that anything less than perfection is failure.   You don’t have to live that life. You don’t deserve that life.   Today, I am going to teach you:   How to drop the pressure when you need to perform How to let go of perfectionism How to stop being knocked around by your thoughts and emotions How to regain the fun in training

“I’ve tried to journal, but I don’t know how.” If that sounds like you, this blog post is your answer. I’m going to give you an exact framework of the 4 most common journaling exercises I use with the athletes I work with. If you’re like almost every athlete I have spoken to, you know you should be journaling, but you’re not sure how, you’re not sure it will even benefit you, or you struggle with it feeling like it’s working. If you’re not journaling, you’re missing out on huge mindset gains because you’re just settling for what’s normal to you… …not what’s best for you. Most athletes never get the most out of journaling because they don’t know how to do it effectively. I’m going to teach you how to journal for four main goals: How to be more a more positive athlete How to increase your self-knowledge How to become mentally tougher (or any other character skill you want) How to be more consistent, driven & disciplined

There are two types of comparison. One really is the thief of joy. If you compare in this way, you’ll always find proof you are not good enough. Your workouts will be filled with doubt and negativity. Your progress will stutter to a halt.   Whilst this form of comparison will hurt you, comparison’s lighter side will guide you to better performances. It will highlight your best path to growth. And it will provide fuel for your progress as an athlete.   So maybe you should be comparing yourself more, not less.   This week, I’ve had conversations with a handful of the athletes I work with about comparison. They have been struggling with comparing themselves to the athletes they either look up to or want to beat.   I told them they need to stop that way of thinking.   Yet I had a conversation with another athlete where I encouraged them to compare themselves more to those kinds of athletes. When they did that, their performance excelled, their motivation spiked, and they felt more positive.   Today, I’ll be explaining how I approach comparison with my athletes, and ensure that they’re using the correct type to fuel their process, not beat themselves up with.   We’ll be covering   The difference between the two types of comparison and what to avoid if you want to perform well How to recognise the negative type of comparison and limit how it shows up An antidote to the non-serving comparison to fuel positivity How to train positive comparison to excel as an athlete

Today, I’m going to show you the anatomy of a confident athlete.   After reading this, you’ll know how to build your confidence and start performing like you believe in yourself.   Because right now, I’m guessing there’s a little too much self-doubt in your performances…   …not enough belief…   …and a whole bunch of unhelpful self-talk.   Which means that progress is slow and training has stopped being enjoyable.   Most athletes never discover their confidence for two main reasons:   They see confidence as a character trait which is set in stone, and not a trainable skill They never put the reps into changing it   Today, I’ll give you the first steps in changing that.   There’s so much BS out there when it comes to training your confidence. Most often we’re just told to be more confident… yes, but how?   “Just believe in yourself” does more harm than good to the unconfident athlete   I’m going to explain to you the four things confident athletes do, that you don’t do:   Detaching from the problem Having something worth fighting for Creating the vital distance Creating effortless effort

If you struggle with Oly Lifting, brace yourself because the following doesn’t read nicely…       You walk up to the barbell. This lift is always your biggest weakness.       All you want is to succeed for once. But success is unpredictable for you. Will it be a good session or a bad one?       You’ve already visualised missing the lift. The pressure is unbearable. You feel weak. Confidence through the floor.       You tell yourself to drop the pressure, or just try and enjoy it, or maybe “just stop being so shit.”       You’ve missed the lift before you’ve even touched the barbell.       Which just proves to yourself the story that you’re not good enough & you won’t make your potential count.       Ouch.       Sorry to speak so bluntly, but if you’re not going to look honestly at the problem, I will.       Because if your mindset sucks, your lifting will suffer.       And using discipline, aggressive self talk, and psyching yourself up will not be enough to change a story that lives deep in the recesses of your mind.       Today, I’m going to teach you a four-part mindset checklist to improve your relationship with olympic lifting.

If you’re ready to overcome that little voice telling you “you don’t belong…” …you don’t deserve to be here… …you’re not good enough… … then you’re in the right place. Today, I’m going to teach you the 4 steps to eliminate imposter syndrome in the world of competitive fitness. Imposter syndrome is feeling you don’t belong and you’re going to get caught out. If you’re an athlete, that means looking at your competitors and feeling like you’re an outsider. It means feeling like you’re just making up the numbers and not a serious contender. But asides from feeling shitty, Imposter Syndrome means never living up to your potential when it counts, never feeling like you gave your best account of yourself, and missing the opportunity to meet your potential. Most athletes never get to grip with this problem. They dabble in mindset work but never find a system that works for them. Or they think they just have to “believe in themselves.” Basically, they try to change, but have no idea how to change. Imposter syndrome is not only costing you your best performances. It’s costing you fun, enjoyment, and purpose in the thing you love doing the most. Today I’m going to teach you the four steps you must take to overcoming this potential stopper: Discovering the story at the root of it Creating a “break in case of emergency” antidote The 7,000 year Imposter Syndrome Remedy Building confidence through an undeniable body of work

Today, I am going to give you the tools you need to (a) not allow injury to destroy your mental health, and (b) use the setback of injury to move toward mindset mastery. If you’re teetering on the edge of (a), with negativity and despair setting in, (b) will seem impossible. I hear you, and I get the magnitude of the task ahead of you. Without a strong mental foundation, your rehab will be slower, be more emotionally and physically painful, and have a higher likelihood of setbacks. Mindset is as important as physio, rest, or sleep in overcoming injuries. I would go so far as to say, the biggest reason athletes fall off their rehab plans, or rush the recovery and therefore reinjure themselves is the mindset they hold. Fear or frustration get the better of them and they never regain the same level of performance they once had. Don’t be that person. Conquer the fear injury can create, and use it to become a better version of yourself. The alternative isn’t worth thinking about. Today you’ll learn: How to maintain positivity in the face of a long and boring rehab process What to do when you are confused about what to do next How to come out of injury better than you went in How to prepare yourself for getting back into training

Today, I’m going to teach you how to leave your training sessions with no regrets. You’ll learn how to go all in on workouts when it really counts and lose that disappointed feeling you get when you hold back. If you’re like a lot of the athletes I speak to who haven’t started mindset training yet, you aren’t leaving the gym knowing you’ve crushed workouts. You probably feel disappointed and frustrated. Maybe you have plateaued. Your sessions are probably filled with negative self-talk. So the fun has disappeared and the growth has stopped. It’s time to go all in on your training sessions. Training - and let’s face it life - has never been about half-assing it has it? You only get one shot at this, and to become the athlete and person you have the potential to be, you have to go all in. If you want to make your life count, you’ve got to go all in. Here’s what we’re going to cover: Why you need to seek out hardship A 2 minute positivity tool that transforms training sessions Flipping the script when shit gets tough Becoming the type of person who thrives under hardship

Are the next 12 months going to be more of the same? Another year with great intentions but mediocre results? Or, is this going to be your year? One which counts?   If you’re ready to commit to a new level of athleticism, master your mindset, and build habits which serve you in 2023, this blog is for you.   Yes, you need more balance in 2023 than you had over the past 12 months. But more than that, you need to learn to flex your mindset skills and find adaptability amongst the chaos.   There are four mistakes athletes make when training their mindset. Mistakes that will create performance-crushing levels of self-doubt, fear, and frustration. Especially when you combine that with a demanding career, family life, and a backstory which may be holding you back.   Many athletes end up looking back at their time with disappointment that they didn’t fully commit to their potential. The opportunity to become the person they longed to be…to earn the respect of others… to have made these years valuable…has passed them by.   If you do not change these four things about your mindset, 2023 will be yet another wasted opportunity:

Today, I'm bringing you an extract of a webinar with Khan Porter, CrossFit Games athlete, and Rachel Binette, our Head Coach. It focuses on the role identity plays in your mindset, and features Khan's experience and perspective heavily. Enjoy!