Mastering Performance for Athletes When Facing Things We Can't Control

How to Schedule as a Busy Athlete: Take Control and Find Freedom in Scheduling

In episode 33 of "Your Mental Weight Room," host Desi, a mindset mentor and certified life coach, tackles scheduling challenges faced by busy college athletes. She explains how proper scheduling reduces decision fatigue, increases productivity, and creates more downtime. Desi shares practical techniques, including writing down all tasks, estimating completion times, prioritizing non-negotiable commitments, and scheduling free time before homework. She emphasizes that schedules create freedom rather than restriction and encourages listeners to shift from a scarcity mindset around time.

How I Manage Anxious and Depressive Feelings

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, pleasecall to call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline In Episode 32 of Your Mental Weight Room, Desi opens up about a recent tough week battling anxiety and depression, describing the experience as a "low vibration" state where she functioned outwardly but struggled internally. She clarifies she's not a medical professional and encourages those with severe symptoms to seek help. Desi explores how anxiety, poor nutrition, and brain fog interconnect, then outlines what not to do—like toxic positivity, emotional avoidance, and self-judgment. She closes with seven practical coping tools, including mindful awareness, trusted conversation, quiet walks, and prayer, reminding listeners that experiencing difficult emotions is a normal part of being human.

The Importance of How You Show Up

In Episode 30 of Your Mental Weight Room, host Desi, a mindset mentor and certified life coach, explores the importance of how athletes show up mentally. She challenges college athletes to embody the mindset of the player they want to become, rather than defaulting to their current circumstances. Drawing from personal volleyball experiences and coaching calls, Desi explains how negative mindsets can become self-fulfilling prophecies. She encourages athletes to identify limiting thoughts, visualize their ideal mindset, and intentionally practice showing up as their future selves — because lasting confidence must be built from within, not dependent on external validation.

Mastering Performance for Athletes When Facing Things We Can't Control

In episode 28 of Your Mental Weight Room, host Desi explores how athletes can mentally handle uncontrollable circumstances. Drawing from a personal experience playing in a sand volleyball playoff — where she battled strong winds and severe calf cramps — Desi shares four practical tips: Stop hating what you can't control Breathe into your experience Release uncontrollable factors to refocus your energy And identify what you can control She also highlights a powerful mindset moment from a ten-year-old baseball client. Ultimately, Desi emphasizes that accepting difficult situations, rather than fighting them, leads to better performance and personal growth.

5 Practical Mindset Hacks to Manage Overwhelm and Boost Your Performance

In Episode 27 of Your Mental Weight Room, mindset mentor Desi tackles the overwhelming feelings many athletes experience. She clarifies that overwhelm stems not from the number of tasks but from how we think about them. Desi shares five practical tips to manage overwhelm: calming the nervous system through deep breathing, reflecting on what can be simplified or delegated, doing a thought download to separate facts from thoughts, giving yourself grace, and setting a clear intention. These tools help athletes regain focus, reduce stress, and perform at their best.