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Sport & Performance

Focus with balance: The recipe to follow when pursuing goals

In this article, I discuss the importance of focusing on tasks while maintaining balance in one’s life when pursuing goals. I recently watched a compelling documentary film entitled The Weight of Gold. Narrated by swimming legend Michael Phelps, the film featured the mental health challenges faced by several American Olympians in various sports. The common theme underlying the emotional difficulties of these athletes was the pressure they felt from focusing completely on their Olympic goals while having little balance from engaging in activities and relationships in other parts of their lives. This led me to consider the importance of combining focus on tasks to achieve one’s goals with having balance in the form of activities and relationships apart from these goals. In the following sections, I will discuss why this combination of focus and balance is important both for fostering good mental health as well as making it more likely you can achieve your goals...[more]

2024-10-20T15:59:44-06:00By |Categories: Sport & Performance, Stress|
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The United States presidential debate: A lesson in the value of rehearsal

Using the recent United States presidential debate as an example, in this article I discuss the benefits of rehearsing and the costs of not rehearsing ahead of a challenging performance in front of an audience. Like millions of people around the world, I watched the recent United States presidential campaign debate between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump. And although the debate was a key component of the campaign from a political standpoint, as a psychologist I was intrigued by the role psychology played in the debate’s outcome.  ‘ What struck me the most the benefits of rehearsing and the costs of not rehearsing ahead of a challenging performance in front of audience. I think this factor played a pivotal role in the outcome of the debate. In the following sections, I will discuss the role that two kinds of rehearsal played in the debate’s outcome and how you can use rehearsal to facilitate success in debates and other challenging activities...[more]

2024-10-06T19:46:00-06:00By |Categories: Anxiety, Sport & Performance|
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Pursuing challenging goals: Is it worth it?

In this article, I will discuss whether it is worth pursuing challenging goals in the context of the recently concluded Summer Olympic Games from Paris. Like millions of viewers across the globe, I was riveted by the recent 2024 Summer Olympic Games from Paris, France. As a psychologist, I was particularly fascinated by the elation experienced by athletes who achieved their goals of winning medals—for some of them gold medals. I was equally moved by the disappointment and, in some cases, devastation experienced by other athletes who did not achieve their goals. These events provided me with the topic of this article: Given the enormous sacrifices athletes make to pursue their Olympic dreams, is it worth it to pursue such challenging goals? In the following sections, I will discuss this issue while also alluding to people pursuing challenging goals which do not involve the Olympics...[more]

2024-08-25T20:15:06-06:00By |Categories: Self-Esteem, Sport & Performance|
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Coping with a near-miss at hockey glory: Capitalizing on hedonic adaptation

In this article, I will discuss how fans of the Edmonton Oilers can cope with the disappointment of their team recently falling one game short of winning the Stanley Cup. The Edmonton Oilers recently were on the verge of making hockey history in 2024. After losing the first three games to the Florida Panthers in the best four-out-of seven Stanley Cup final series, they fought back to win the next three games and tie the series. Winning the seventh and deciding game would have marked only the second time in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the first time in 82 years that a team had come back from three games down to win a final series. Victory in Game 7 also would have marked the first championship for a Canadian franchise since 1993 and the first title for the Oilers since 1990. The excitement among Oilers’ fans in Edmonton and across Canada grew to a frenzy. Unfortunately for the Oilers and their supporters, their Cinderella story came to an end when the Panthers defeated them 2-1 in Game 7 to win their first championship after losing the final in five games a year ago. Excitement among the Oilers’ faithful suddenly turned to disappointment, sadness and for some, devastation. Some fans wondered how they would cope with the loss while others pondered whether being a fan is worth the emotional price paid if their team loses in such a heart-wrenching manner. In the following sections, I will discuss how Oilers fans and others can cope with their teams falling short of their goals using an often-overlooked psychological principle...[more]

2024-06-30T19:07:46-06:00By |Categories: Depression, Sport & Performance|
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Best practices on and off the playing field: Lessons from the Super Bowl

In this article, I discuss life lessons displayed by participants in the National Football League’s championship game. Like millions of football fans, each year I look forward to watching the championship game of the National Football League (NFL) known as the Super Bowl. I am particularly excited to watch this year’s game as it features the American Football Conference champion Kansas City Chiefs battling my favourite team—the National Football Conference champion San Francisco 49ers. My fondness for the 49ers grew when my younger brother and I travelled to the Bay Area to watch them play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in December, 2022. In addition to enjoying the game, as a psychologist I am fascinated by the life lessons which are displayed by the participants. In the following sections, I will discuss some of these...[more]

2024-02-10T21:30:53-07:00By |Categories: Psychology, Sport & Performance|
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Dr. Pat Featured in the Calgary Herald: Insights on Achieving Fitness Goals

Discover Dr. Pat Keelan's professional advice on achieving fitness goals in his recent Calgary Herald feature. Explore the article for key strategies and tips on embracing a healthier lifestyle in 2024. Click to read more

2024-01-11T17:29:33-07:00By |Categories: In the Media, Sport & Performance|
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Four simple rules: For building good habits and eliminating bad ones

In this article, I discuss how to form good habits and discard bad habits by applying four rules for changing behaviours. I recently read Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear. As the title indicates, the book is focused on strategies to form good habits and eliminate bad habits. The cornerstone of these strategies are the four rules of behaviour change. Each of these rules provides directions on how to increase the frequency of behaviours which we want to become good habits and on how to decrease the frequency of behaviours which we do not want to adopt or continue as bad habits. In the following sections, I will discuss these rules and illustrate how they can be applied to habits of different kinds...[more]

2023-11-19T21:48:33-07:00By |Categories: Psychology, Sport & Performance|
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Physical self-focused coping: Relax your body to manage stress

In this article, I discuss why performing activities to relax your body is fundamental to managing stress. One of the most common issues clients for which clients seek help is how to manage stress. When I work with clients on this issue, I help them to implement a ‘game plan’ for managing stress which consists of a set of strategies. A key component of this game plan for managing stress is performing activities which relax the body to relieve the physical tension which comprises the stress response known as ‘fight or flight’. In the following sections, I will discuss the activities you can perform which accomplish this goal...[more]

2023-08-27T18:31:00-06:00By |Categories: Sport & Performance, Stress|
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How to attend to ‘not urgent but important’ tasks

In this article, I discuss steps you can take to address matters which are not urgent but important in your relationships, your mental health and your career. In my last article, I discussed why it is important to attend to tasks which are not urgent but important in your relationships, your mental health, and your career. I provided many examples of the positive effects of attending to these tasks and of the negative consequences of failing to attend to them. Given how important it is to attend to tasks which are not urgent but important, it is essential to know how to attend to them. In the following sections, I will discuss steps which you can take to do just that...[more]

2023-07-02T17:04:05-06:00By |Categories: Depression, Sport & Performance|
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Why being a supportive team member is important—and how to be one

In this article, I discuss how to be a supportive member of a team and how this benefits the team. Performing as a member of a team in sports or other activities has some similarities to performing as an individual as well as some unique elements. As with individual activities, as a team member you need to work hard in practice to help you contribute to team success in your position or role. However, as a team member you also need to contribute to team success by the way you interact with and respond to your teammates. Being a supportive teammate has been found to contribute to team success beyond the contribution made by the team member’s individual performance on the playing field or arena. In the following sections, I will discuss why being a supportive teammate contributes to team success and what steps you can take to be a supportive teammate...[more]

2023-06-04T18:52:39-06:00By |Categories: Relationships, Sport & Performance|
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