15 Tips to

Stop Overthinking

Plus BONUS exercises!

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 Welcome!
If you’re ready to squash frustration or your athlete is...LISTEN UP!

I have worked with thousands of athletes (this includes my Olympians, my collegiate

athletes, my high schoolers, my professionals, as well as my youth athletes) & I have found

many suffer from the same frustrations.

What's included in this workbook may seem simple. but each part was included because it

is easier to understand without a background or 1:1 session, but every strategy is

scientifically proven & has the ability for massive impact!

You'll find exercises that will help decrease tension, worry, & hesitation. Mentally preparing

is so important to improving how you perform.

I encourage you to complete all the exercises more than once. If you put in the

time to do the work, you will handle challenges better, be more consistent, & be

able to let go of things quicker. These are only a few exercises I teach, so if you

want to learn more, understand the science behind why they work, or need more

challenging options, visit www.MaximizeTheMind.com for 1:1 work, digital courses,

& workshops.

'15 TIPS TO STOP OVERTHINKING' is listed first, but you can start in any order! It's so

important to review a few of these before each practice to really change your habits!

Start small with one a day. Create effort based goals you can track; not just results goals. I

know you want to beat a time or your stats, or get the skill, but track the things that will get

you to those goals. Ex: Run hard through the 1st baseline rather than beat throw to 1st, or

block out every shot instead of get rebound or increase distance of kick by 10 yards or 4

under waters off every wall. Our goal is to train your brain that it's in control, even when

you don't "feel" like it, you want it to PERCEIVE control.

I'm trained specifically in sport psychology, so everything I teach is backed by research. I

want you to enjoy your sport more & these are just a few ways to get started!

Ashley Eckermann, MS
Mental Performance Coach

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 15 Tips To Stop Overthinking

01. EXCITEMENT TRUMPS NERVES. Are you going to feel nervous if you care

about the outcome – yes, but if you label the nerves, like “I’m so nervous or

I’m so stressed or ugh, I’m freaking out” your body will manifest that. It

actually amplifies the feeling & makes it worse, ugh! Call it excitement

instead. You need to actually say: I’m So Excited! You’re not lying to

yourself & saying, “I’m not nervous.” You’re telling the brain that yes your

heart feels like it will beat out of your chest, but that’s just excitement. You

have the same physiologically symptoms when you’re excited as you do

when you’re nervous, so you’re brain hacking. You want your brain to

perceive control, even if you don’t feel in control. Hands may sweat, heart

may race, but call it excitement & your body will perform with power not

hesitation.

02. AVOID TALKING ABOUT WHAT’S WRONG. Be careful what you talk about

because your brain holds onto the last thing you thought about. Most

people talk about what they don’t like, what went wrong, what’s frustrating

them, & then they get stuck in a negative loop. When I get done with

practice or competition, even if it wasn’t pretty, first thing out of your

mouth needs to be something that went well & then you can talk about

what you can improve on. You’re not being fake & acting like nothing is

bad, you’re just labeling how you’ll fix it & what you’ll adjust instead of how

bad it was. Reinforce good experiences so that you repeat them. Catch

yourself doing something right!

03. USE NEUROPLASTICITY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. This is the brain’s adaptive

power to change how it’s wired. Our brains are like a muscle & has ability

to physically change based on what it’s exposed to. So, whatever you are

repeating out loud, reinforcing, or focusing on determines what gets

imprinted in the brain. Your image of yourself & your ability to perform is

based on how you think. You perform in the future like you talk today. The

cool part? No matter what you’ve said in the past, you can un-do it if you

repeat it enough. We believe what we repeatedly say! So, what are you

repeating to yourself? Make a list of phrases that you need to stop

repeating.

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 15 Tips To Stop Overthinking

04. BE A FAN OF OTHERS. Law of Reciprocity – When someone does

something for you, you’re likely to repeat the action. When you

encourage someone else, you receive the biggest benefit. You

take pressure from yourself & you loosen up. Show appreciation &

encourage teammates, even if you’re really frustrated & you will

loosen up your muscles & be able to redirect your mind. It

actually does lessen the intensity of your emotions.

05. NAME THE FEAR. Give negative reactions an actual persona. Try

naming your anxiety or stress after a bad coach, horrible ex,

crummy teacher, enemy, etc. The emotion is now able to be

manipulated & you can yell back at it, lock it in a box, or laugh at

it. Basically, you can boss worry or anxiety around, not putting

worried thoughts in charge. Here is an example: “Fred” I know I’ll

experience awkwardness, uncomfortable emotions, except I

choose how I feel, I don’t need you right now, I’ll talk to you later,

seriously you can sit the bench for this game.

06. SAY: I’M WILLING TO EXPERIENCE THIS. Say: I am willing to not know

what will happen. This lets your brain feel like it has a choice.

When you’re emotional, your brain interprets danger & it’s only

job is to keep you safe, so this is like telling it it’s not experiencing

real danger; it’s perceived danger. Remind it that it’s okay, you’re

safe. You want to get through the stress/worry/nerves. Stop

saying, “I don’t want this & say I’m willing to experience this.”

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 15 Tips To Stop Overthinking

07. FOCUS ON ABILITY NOT FEELING. This means focus on the process

& the technique required, not the results or how you feel about

what you “need” to achieve. Think about what you can control

(your physical ability), not the outcome (landing, score, time) or

why it’s so overwhelming. You want your brain to perceive

control, so it knows you know how to do something, it just feels

like you can’t do it in the moment, so this is a brain hack.

08. CREATE A REMINDER BRIDGE. Pull from past experiences of

success. What is something that you remember being afraid of

or anxious about but figured it out & do now with no problem?

Go back & RELIVE that memory of how you overcame something

difficult before & the brain attaches to this memory believing it

can replicate that. You are reminding yourself that you are

capable of challenges.

09. USE THE WORD YET. Think like this, you don’t know how to do

these things YET. Put the word YET on the end of any sentence

talking about worries or frustration. Examples – I’m not good at

this drill YET. I haven’t gotten a hit YET. I haven’t gotten this cut

YET. I haven’t gotten more playing time YET. I’m not good at

managing my emotions YET. Here is what's happening: You’re

giving your brain hope & it likes having a choice. Small words

can make a big impact in how the brain feels overwhelmed.

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 15 Tips To Stop Overthinking

10. DOCUMENT THE GOOD. Keep a confidence journal or performance

analysis notebook. The science says negative thoughts linger longer

& they store more quickly in our memory. To make sure productive

memories stick just as long, we have to savor it or “replay it” for at

least 12 seconds. This moves it from short term memory to long term

memory. Don’t let negative events sabotage your mindset, apply the

12 second rule right after something good happens then document

when you get home, so it lasts. You can’t get rid of your negative

thoughts, but you can use it to cue the productive thought. Okay you

messed up, now let’s replay the thought that supports I know what to

do in this situation, I just let my emotions get the best of me here.

Example - Compliments from others, your purpose for next workout,

obstacles you overcome, favorite memories. Review it before

competition & remind yourself what you have that’s good & how far

you’ve come. If you write down what you want to accomplish & how

you’ll do it, you’re 42% more likely to do it.

11. FIRE YOUR WORST COACH. Who was your worst coach? Think about it. I

had some tough ones, but my worst one growing up was me, so yours is

probably YOU. You may have had coaches that discouraged you or

embarrassed you, but you chose to hold onto those comments, you

chose to believe they were true. I was terrible to myself, so I get it. Ask:

how would the best coach treat me? Example - I just got home from

tough competition. Best coach would be like: congrats, take tomorrow

off, go out to dinner, make a list of adjustments tomorrow after the

emotion has died down. Stop being your worst critic & search for better

ways to give yourself grace.

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 15 Tips To Stop Overthinking

12. RECOGNIZE YOU DISTORT MESSAGES. We make assumptions about

what others meant or why they did something to us. The brain’s job

is always to protect you & keep you safe. We are wired to have

strong emotional responses because those responses keep us alive.

Then we can manipulate the brain to work for us instead of giving

in to all the warnings & thinking we’re in real danger. We make up

stories all the time of what we “know” is happening, but really, we

have no idea. We have to recognize this isn’t truth. Once you

ACCEPT that the brain is trying to protect you so the “fear” isn’t

accurate, you have more control; you actually okay. When you talk

to your brain & give it instructions on what you want to feel like, you

won’t send the brainstem into crazy mode. Try: this is what I want

to happen. This is how I want to feel. This is why it will work out.

13. APPLY GRIT. We all actually have grit within us. We can all access it.

YOU have to decide to be better than your doubts. Are you focusing
on why you’ll stink? Instead, think: how do I want the things that

have gone wrong or not as planned to impact me? YOU choose.

Each moment actually leads us to where we are now. Ask yourself,

what if everything happened FOR you, not TO you? What if tough

moments, tough feedback, illness, rejection, & injury occurred to get

you where you need to be? Try: I don’t know if I’ll nail this, but I’m

going to try. You don’t dwell on bad events, you look at them as

temporary setbacks. When you try to push your limits, you won’t

always be successful, but you will be one step closer to figuring it

out. Once you’re accepting of this, you’ll actually mess up less. Ask

yourself: Did I do something today to be better than I was

yesterday?

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 15 Tips To Stop Overthinking

14. DO HARD THINGS. You get better at doing hard things by doing hard

things. You’re building your brain; you’re teaching it how to handle

challenges. Did you know this about FEAR? Fear applies to all of us. Fear

lives in the future & fear comes from the unknown. We are afraid of not

knowing how it’s going to go. Everything you fear is self-created (it’s

how you assigned meaning to something). We can’t eliminate fear, nor

should we. We must choose courage over fear. We can create a plan of

how we’ll handle a situation that makes us uncomfortable & that takes

care of the unknown.

15. ASK YOURSELF 4 POWER QUESTIONS. When you are struggling with

overthinking or frustration from messing up, ask these 4 questions to

redirect your mind. We like to get the right answer, so when you ask

yourself questions you actually lower the intensity of the emotion you're

experiencing & are more likely to be calmer.

- What did I LEARN from this? You always gain experience.

- Am I giving the best EFFORT I can give right now? (frustration, sulking,

anger, quitting, questioning your ability aren’t your best) It may not be

your best performance ever – but you’re always growing from feedback.

- How do ERRORS make me better? If we stop after a mistake has been

made or not getting something just how we want it to go, then that’s all

our memory can hold on to. If we keep moving forward, we get to see

what happens next.

- Can I PREPARE differently? This allows the brain perceives control over

the next time we attempt the thing we messed up on.

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 Why Keep a Performance
Analysis notebook?
Documenting/Journaling/Keeping a notebook - helps the brain regulate

emotions & process thinking. This is one of the best ways to have clarity &

reduce stress & eliminate overthinking.

We tend to be terrible at predicting our emotions & determining how much

progress we’ve actually made. The brain distorts our thoughts & focuses our

attention on how far we still have to go, rather than realizing what we have

accomplished.

Dr. Albert Ellis developed a theory called RET. He said thoughts cause feelings

& if we talk ourselves into something we’ve heard others say or we start to

buy into a thought for a day, we eventually feel that way about ourselves &

capabilities. For example: you feel ugly, you now think you’re ugly & not

worthy. A coach called you slow & if you don't decide what you want to hold

onto & just pick the last thing you heard, it gets out of control quick. What do

you have a bad attitude about? Tests? No money? Exercise? School? Friends?

Can’t make a shot? Going to get hurt? Never beat this person before?

Performance Analysis journaling gives us documentation to have proof &

direction & not underestimate achievements. WE CHOOSE what we repeat &

how we process. Journaling also greatly improves mood, immune system,

lowers blood pressure, boosts memory & comprehension. Writing by hand

stimulates the brain, so put the phone away.

To keep better records, improve performance & lower overthinking - The

brain likes chunks of 3, so aim to respond to at least 3 of these prompts each

time you write & try to write 3x a week. Schedule out 7-10 min to do this or it

won’t be a priority.

Prompts on next page

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 Performance Analysis Notebook
Complete these prompts over the next few weeks to perform stronger

3 things I can do to make today

What are 5 qualities you have

better than yesterday that are helpful in your sport

What am I looking forward to

What do I value & is my time

or excited about spent on what I say I value

Complete this statement 5

Write about a few favorite

times - I am successful

performance memories
when...

Who are athletes you

Where do you want to be 1

admire & why

year from now

When is the last time you had

If you struggle being satisfied,

fun in your sport write out your progress, not

just accomplishments

Write out a Not-to-Do list -

what can you eliminate or cut

You can be brave & afraid at

back on that's hurting you the same time, what other dual

emotions are good for you

What's a cool place you can go

in your head to escape a tough

What are 3 compliments

mistake; recall all the details

you've received
by using all your senses

Write out 5 times: If I had the

What's an obstacle you've

habit of_, I'd be better at _
overcome in your sport

If I wasn't worried about

Could I do more to prepare

judgement, what would I

each week; what would that

attempt in my sport look like

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Write out Favorite Performances
Write out your favorite sport memories - could be competition, could be practice, could be

a win, could be a valuable lesson learned, could be a great compliment from a coach- any

age, any level counts!

Writing these out helps the brain relive these & then replicate them. BUT most people

relive what went wrong, what they were embarrassed by, what they don't want to go

through again, then they reinforce the memory & actually improve the chances of repeating

that. Replay your best performances AND the times you had the most fun – it reminds the

brain that it can happen again. Your brain actually thinks that “just happened” when you do

this. BONUS, when we write things out they become tangible & the brain feels like it has

more control at repeating these behaviors.

01

02

03

04

05

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 Start Of Week Check In
Fill this in to give your brain a focus for the week. Your brain likes instructions so it knows

what to do when it’s tough to problem solve, otherwise we panic & get anxious. Most people

think about they’re trying to avoid doing. Change your performance by focusing on what
you want to achieve & how you want to feel.

What have you missed out on because of avoidance or fear or overthinking? You have a

position of power when you say I’m willing to face this. Avoidance increases anxiety,

exposure treats it. You can’t make anxiety disappear, but you want to avoid unnecessary

anxiety & tolerate your symptoms better. Recognize it as temporary so it disrupts your life

less. Move toward the stressful thing. You can learn to better withstand it. Desensitize

yourself in steps. Address that we can handle it. We aren’t eliminating symptoms, we are

working on our response to them.

My #1 priority this week is:

I want to do less:

I want to do more:

This week, I choose to feel:

To feel this way, I will:

If I get stuck, I'll remind myself:

If I have the habit of I'll be better at

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 ABCD Language Reframing
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It’s scientific fact that if you change how you view things, you change how you perform. GOAL:

Say what you want to achieve, not what you want to avoid. Confidence & productive thinking

can be learned! You don’t have to be super positive or fake – like I’m going to get a hit, you can

reframe your thoughts to: connect, square up, lead with your hands. Basically, you want to

give your brain instructions of what you want your body to do, not what we’re afraid might go

wrong. Your brain holds onto the last word you said, so it can’t be a don’t or can’t thought,
because it’s focusing on the negative part that you’re trying not to do. You have to say what

you want to happen! Write out some of your thoughts & see if you can reframe them.

Activating Event Belief Consequences Dispute it

(what went wrong) (what typically think) (result) (Reframe )

Fouled in last 7 “I lost the game for Got embarrassed, I’m disappointed
sec & missed the team” upset, & tensed up but that was 1 pt
free throw out of 40 min

Coach/instructor never “He never helps me” Make excuses & He has a whole
pays attention to me “It’s so unfair” blames others team to coach, I
"He doesn't like me" can ask for advice

Fell on beam or "I always choke under Still thinking about it Nothing is gained by

sliced a drive in golf pressure” "I'll never & you’re tense & rigid  being afraid to
Or double faulted get this" because now you're take risks. Execute

in tennis trying too hard next routine or shot

Make excuses, it It’s raining for

It’s raining or “I never play well

distracts you, energy
everyone,
poor conditions in the rain or it’s too
spent on this, I can play as well as

for game muddy to get traction”

nothing left for game anyone else in it

What if I “I'll be embarrased &

Hesitate & 2nd guess
focus on strengths &
make a mistake might get pulled” plays then miss
say what I want to

chance at anything happen, here is what

I'm capable of

I don't want to go to
“I don’t have it in Participating The next practice will
practice or I don't feel
me, I can’t, I'm tired, I less than 100% & coach
be easier if I push
good today deserve a break” thinks you're lazy myself now

Coach “He embarrassed me Sulk or give up or He knows I’m better

yelled at me or he's mad at me” retreat from group than the effort I’m

putting out