The Intentional Disc Golfer
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The Intentional Disc Golfer
Quiet The Chatter: Mastering Self-Talk For Better Rounds
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Pressure doesn’t start on the tee pad—it starts in your head. We take you inside the real mechanics of self-talk and show how the words you choose can lower cortisol, steady your breath, and unlock smoother, more accurate throws. Drawing on sport psychology research, we break down when motivational self-talk boosts endurance and when instructional cues sharpen mechanics, translating lab insights into on-course routines anyone can use.
We get candid about tough rounds in brutal weather, the social ripple of negative chatter, and the hidden costs of phrases like “don’t miss” that your brain hears as “miss.” You’ll learn how third-person self-talk moves you from the amygdala’s alarm to the prefrontal cortex’s planning, plus simple reframes to stop rumination and protect energy through long tournament days. From grounding techniques and visualization to journaling prompts that catch mind reading and all-or-nothing thinking, these tools help you reset faster and make better choices under pressure.
We also talk care for the system behind the swing: sleep, exercise, therapy, and, when appropriate, supervised medication. Routines matter—wardrobe that signals game mode, pre-decisions that prevent tilt, and two clear cues that travel from field work to finals. Along the way, we share personal stories, caddy dynamics, and disc-specific phrases that keep attention on targets and form, not fear. Change your words, change your choices, change your score.
If this helped you steady your mind and find the gap, follow the show, leave a review, and share with a cardmate. Tell us your go-to performance cue—we may feature it next time.
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To support this podcast or arrange for an interview please contact us at theintentionaldiscgolfer@gmail.com
Thank you, and welcome to this episode of the Intentional Disc Golfer Podcast. I am one of your hosts. My name is Brandon. And I am Jenny. On this episode, we are going to dive into self-talk and how it can affect mental health and performance. But first, we'd like to thank all of our fans out there. We love doing this, and you're the reason that we keep doing it. So if you like us, love us, please tell all of your friends. We have some social media. You can go on there and search the Intentional Discgolfer podcast, or you can email us directly at the intentional discgolfer at gmail.com. And at the end of this uh episode, we usually like to tack our bloopers and things um after the outro music. So if you need a good laugh, stick around if there are any.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, Brennan really likes to make fun of me.
SPEAKER_05:Well, you like to make fun of me too, dear.
SPEAKER_02:I'm not the one who produces the episode.
SPEAKER_05:Well, true. Yeah. I like making fun of myself, so it's okay.
SPEAKER_02:Alright.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I'm I'm a funny guy. Like looking.
SPEAKER_02:Where's the button? I where's my pad of buttons? You said you were gonna get me my own pad.
SPEAKER_05:It's it's when the roof goes on. When the roof goes on, we can get you a pad of buttons.
SPEAKER_02:Please leave comments to Brandon to get the roof on the shed so we can have a studio.
SPEAKER_05:It's a studio. We're building a studio. That's a that's exciting.
SPEAKER_02:Yay!
SPEAKER_05:Yay! An actual podcasting studio where we're gonna be able to podcast.
SPEAKER_02:It used to be a craft shed.
SPEAKER_05:It's still gonna be a craft shed. You don't think we're gonna be doing crafts? I mean, crafts in there? Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02:But we do have uh our website should be coming up soon. I'm hoping it's gonna be the IDGpodcast.com. Uh so that is being built, and we will be uh starting it up here soon.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, and hopefully uh we're also gonna be stocking it with some cool merchandise, some exclusive intentional disc golfer uh swag. So if you love us, support the show and get some swag.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Alright, and speaking of which, before we jump into the meat and potatoes of the episode, we're gonna have to take a quick break and hear from our sponsors.
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SPEAKER_00:You are listening to the intentional disc golfer. Pay attention, take some notes. This podcast could change your life. I'm Debbie O'Connell, LPGA professional and golf mindset expert.
SPEAKER_05:Alright, and we're jumping back into this episode. But before we get started, Jenny has some important information that she needs to share with everyone. Jenny, take it away.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so uh before we discuss this episode, I just wanted to make sure that I give a disclaimer out there. Uh the content discussed in this episode is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice and should never be used as a substitute for professional support from a licensed mental health provider. Everyone's experiences with self-talk and mental health are unique, and what we share reflects general strategies, research, and personal perspectives. If you are struggling with your own mental well-being or have concerns about your mental health, please consult a qualified professional. If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis hotline right away.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you for the information, Jenny. And by the end of this episode, you will learn how to define and understand self-talk and understand its different types. We're also going to discuss some studies about self-talk and its effects, how they impact performance and stress management, discuss the benefits of constructive self-talk, and some of the hidden traps that people fall into. Also, we will discuss the relevance of it to your everyday mental health and performance, and talk about how to change your self-talk pattern and keep yourself from becoming negative. We're also going to answer some common questions to and clarify some misconceptions about self-talk, and we're going to have a host discussion talking about what we do when we're dealing with self-talk and how we can change it and change our mindset. So, Jenny, you want to talk a little bit about the background and self-talk and how you came to be a field of study?
SPEAKER_02:No, I don't know anything about self-talk at all. Um, I'm not the history buff. I've taken probably more psychology classes than you have.
SPEAKER_05:You're not an ear. I took one and I passed.
SPEAKER_02:Alright.
SPEAKER_05:So I'll say it took two. I actually took a sports psychology class once.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, well, I guess It was one of my favorite classes. I'm the resident expert in this house, so I'll read the script. I don't know.
SPEAKER_05:You're the resident. There's no script. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Alright, so uh some background to the psychology of where self-talk has come from. So back in the 1920s and 30s, psychologists were studying learning styles and problem solving in young children. Psychologists like Vygotsky and Piaget noticed self-directed speech was a precursor to behavior regulation. In the 50s and 60s, cognitive psychologists started to shift their attention to how thoughts influence emotions and behaviors. So in the 70s and 80s, the prominence of sports psychology became better established. Ellis and Beck developed behavioral theories focusing on how thought patterns affect our emotions and actions. So they started to focus their attention on athletes, where the effects would be most prominent. A key breakthrough was made when they were able to measure changes in performance with skill-based tasks dependent on the self-talk the athlete was producing. Psychologists began to work with sport coaches on different performance strategies, including self-talk interventions to improve athletic performance. Possessing a greater understanding, psychologists have now developed the cognitive motivational model to explain motivation, confidence, and skill acquisition and how to integrate them into sport. In the early 2000s, with the advancement of brain scanning and other measurement tools, the field of performance psychology exploded with tidal waves of data and feedback to draw from. Performance psychology today is a robust and nuanced field backed by great science to the point where every major organization, from sports to business to education and so on, employs trainers versed in performance psychology to influence favorable outcomes and pro and productivity.
SPEAKER_05:Very well said, Jenny. Very well. You're turning into a history major as we speak.
SPEAKER_02:So all I can think about when I'm reading this is Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Their psychology building was, may still be, the one that looks like it's an institution, like it's completely different, it's concrete, it's creepy, and I just remember sitting in that classroom learning about child psychology in this really creepy building. And that's what I think about when I think of psychology.
SPEAKER_05:Well, we will get into that later in the episode. Yeah, what I what I think about is my first day of taking sports psychology at uh OC here in Bremerton. Um the professor, uh, great guy, but the first thing he said in the class, and I'll never forget this, he's a what is the secret weapon of any athlete? And you get all sorts of answers. Is it the weight room? Is it the the training staff? Is it no, it's the sports psychologist, it's the mental game. And that's what we're all about here at the intentional disc golfer, as well as the physical and the technical game. We spend a lot of time on the mental game because it is ninety percent of it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and you can work on the mental game while you're in your car and listening to us. But you mentioned OC. The psychology class I took there was in the weird round building in the middle of the campus, too. It was a weird building. Yeah, that's a cool building though. Why are all the psychology classes in weird, creepy buildings?
SPEAKER_05:You know, that's a good point. Yeah. Did your psychology professor wear a white lab coat?
SPEAKER_02:I don't remember.
SPEAKER_05:Well, this guy wore like a t-shirt and gym shorts, so he was cool. I don't know, it'd be great to catch up with him someday, but I don't know what what happened to him. But anyway. Let's go over some key concepts when it comes to self-talk. And I really like this quote, so I stuck it in there. Uh, Dr. Jordan Peterson, a very popular psychologist, behavioral psychologist these days, he is quoted with saying, we live our lives through the stories that we tell ourselves. And it's so true. It is so true. A lot of things are a matter of perspective, and it's just a matter of changing your mind. And self-talk is that story, it's that internal dialogue that happens within your mind. Whatever you tell yourself, it will become true or it will be true uh in the moment. And also, you gotta understand that self-talk is a constant and non-stop dialogue that continues whether we are aware of it or not. So you constantly have a storyline running through your head. You're constantly telling your things, telling yourself things, you're constantly giving yourself feedback, whether you realize it or not, and really getting a handle on that and controlling that feedback loop is kind of the challenge and the goal of understanding what self-talk is all about. And self-talk influences so many of our actions, our emotions, our performance, especially during challenging skills such as sports. And just to kind of back up and reinforce what we're saying here, we want to talk about a few studies that have been uh re that have produced some outstanding results. So uh the first one I'll I want to talk about is there's a study in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology 2013. It examined the effects of instructional versus motivational self-talk in athletes. So two different types of self-talk there. And researchers found that motivational self-talk, so the telling yourself you can do this, it significantly improved the endurance tasks such as cycling. So instr uh motivational stuck self-talk is great for endurance-based tasks. While instructional self-talk, such as, okay, keep your keep your form straight, uh, paint bring your arm up and down the pole, that was more effective for skill-based activities such as putting and golf.
SPEAKER_02:So you're telling me that the little engine that could that was a book created to increase motivational self-talk.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, so the little engine that could, I think I can, I think I can, I think it can. That is a type of self-talk called motivational self-talk. And then instructional self-talk was Do you have an example of that?
SPEAKER_02:Of motivational?
SPEAKER_05:No, instructional self-talk.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I just think of all the stuff that they put in the bathrooms. That's where I first went, was like, you know, flush, wash, leave. You know.
unknown:Are you kidding me right now?
SPEAKER_05:That's staying in the episode.
SPEAKER_02:We spend so much time at work trying to get kids out of the bathroom that that's the first thing that came to mind is my para who watches the hall. She reminded me that she's like, I have been telling the kids to do your business, flush, wash, and leave. Not a hangout spot.
SPEAKER_05:Oh my gosh. All right. So one of the ways that a disc golfer can benefit from motivational self-talk is when you're facing long rounds on challenging courses, or when there's a long backup on a hole, you can use that motivational self-talk to increase your endurance and increase your mental acuity and stay kind of in the moment. Yes, Jenny.
SPEAKER_02:Alright, off topic, The Little Engine That Could by Waddy Piper was first published in 1930. It is an American folk tale to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. It is best known for its signature motif, I think I can. The story originated in the early 20th century, being retold by various authors.
SPEAKER_05:All right.
SPEAKER_02:The little engine that could I'm running the board next episode. I appreciate that. Give me the board. No, that was good. I'll get you.
SPEAKER_05:We'll get you a sound effects board, and you can put whatever you want on it. All right, and instructional self-talk is useful during technical shots or putting drills where you need to focus on form or where focus on form is critical. So when you're going into that walk-up, you may say, I need to step further forward, or I need to step further out, or keep my arm at a right angle so that I hit that power pocket. That would be an example of instructional self-talk. Going into study two, Jenny, you want to do study two?
SPEAKER_02:The second study in 2011, also in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, demonstrated that positive self-talk reduced anxiety and improved performance under pressure in sports like tennis and basketball. This highlights its potential relevance to disc golf where mental focus is key. So tournament play often involves high-stakes moments like a crucial putt or a playoff hole. Positive self-talk can keep players grounded and prevent mental breakdowns during these key moments.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I find for myself that when I'm at my worst, my self-talk loop is not very good. And we've also rehearsed this where if we can change that self-talk loop, it will actually change the outcomes of our performance. It might take a little b while. I mean, it might go all the way until, you know, hole seventeen. But I think a big victory is being able to use that tool to be able to bring it back and finish strong. Agreed. Agreed. Alright, and study number three we'd like to talk about in the Sports Psychologist Journal, 1991, featured a foundational study showing the negative that negative self-talk increased perceived effort and decreased task efficiency, emphasizing the cost of critical inner dialogue during performance. And in disc sculpt, this often requires long walks across very re uh varied terrain, and negative self-talk during a tough round could lead to mental exhaustion and making shots harder to execute just because of physical exhaustion. It actually zaps you of your energy.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah. So what was that one? We went and played Woodland Creek during the hurricane. Oh my gosh. And I took a 12 on a hole. Like this is exactly it. By the end of that round, that was the second round. The first round I did bad, but it was equally bad across holes.
SPEAKER_05:It was gooder.
SPEAKER_02:It well it was equally bad across holes, but the second round, getting that twelve on that one hole, like I knew at that point, like I was out of the game, I was out of it, and I was just so exhausted because of the weather, the wind, not knowing the course, like it was so draining, and I haven't shot around that bad in so long. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Oh my gosh. Well, for our listeners out there that weren't there, or maybe you were there, uh, it was like 15 to 20 mile an hour winds. We had rain coming down sideways. It was what maybe 40 45 degrees outside. So it's freezing cold, pouring down rain. I think I went through all my towels. In the first round, and uh none of your discs would go anywhere you wanted them to go, and it was uh it was one of those rounds where it was really easily, easy to get into that negative feedback loop, and it just it made the round seem like it was taking forever.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and a lot of the um so they had open holes at the community center that they don't normally use except for these events, like this event specifically. And the OBs put in play that I mean I wish it would have been a hazard, because a hazard at least I would have been able to play from those different places and take an extra stroke. I understand why they were OBs was to get you back into these specific areas. However, had they been hazards, we could have moved on instead of it, got to the point where it's like, wow, every disc that I would have thrown is already out there. It's already in the lake. Where I I didn't go in the lake once. You didn't go in the lake? No, I just didn't cross the the boundary. The boundary.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, gotcha.
SPEAKER_02:So I didn't go in the lake once. Gotcha. And I came back with all my discs, even though I thought I lost one, it was in my bag. So we're not gonna talk about that. Uh thank you, Dr. Christie Disc Dye, for your uh awesome disc.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, thank you, husband, for going and looking for the disc that you already put in your bag, and we found it two rounds later.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, this is just an example of how exhausted I was at the end of this round that I couldn't find my disc in the top pocket of my bag instead of where I had it normally.
SPEAKER_05:And how exhausted I was from looking for it.
SPEAKER_02:You weren't looking for it.
SPEAKER_05:She calls me in the middle of the tournament. Text me. Text me, hey, can you go look for my disc? It should be over here. Yeah, that was fun. But you know, this is you know, that is what we play for, you know, get amped up and we get out there and in bad weather and whatever, and you know, you can you can easily take that in and turn it into a motivating moment.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and it what made it extra hard for me, and I don't know if how many of you can relate to this, but I'm intentionally as a female player trying to play the men's divisions, the same divisions that Brandon's playing. And so I had that extra stress in like trying to prove myself by playing because there weren't many other females, like I think they all dropped out. I can't remember if anyone else played.
SPEAKER_05:There's maybe a handful, but not a lot.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So um, because I'm also trying to see if I can get more points by playing men's divisions and women's division, but anyways, like I had that extra pressure on top of it, and then the weather and just the awful 12 like it was uh it was fun. Yeah, the it was so terrible it is fun. Right. Well, the tournament the tournament director, like the next day or two, he he was like, I was checking through the scores for uh aces and uh what happened on that hole? I'm like, oh and he's a good friend. I'm like, well, I think that was my lesson. He's like, Well, yeah, sometimes we have those.
SPEAKER_05:We're taught. We learned. That's one thing about about disc golf is it it will humble you. You know, the the minute you think you're getting good at something, uh nope. But uh you mentioned in an earlier episode, uh bouncing back to uh study number three here, is that one of the things is that keeping a neutral and optimistic inner dialogue uh can help help you stay consistent and conserve that energy for you to make it through those tough rounds. And Jenny, you mentioned earlier in a in a different episode that your m MO is to like stay woo-saw and stay kind of neutral and in the middle and not get too excited, not to get too run down, but just kind of blah.
SPEAKER_02:Well, it's not blah. It's I really I'm I'm gonna need to come up with a phrase for neutral. Like the teeter totter's just right here, you're just hanging out right there with your feet dangling, you know, you're not up in the air, you're not getting that woo of going down, you're just neutral, hanging out there.
SPEAKER_05:No roller coaster, you're on the straightaway.
SPEAKER_02:Sure. I don't know. You're still accelerating. Like there's no acceleration when you're on the teeter totter and it's balanced. Like I'll have to come up with a phrase because I also don't like the phrase of the woo-saw, but Yeah, we know.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. We know. So So moving on here, we'd like to help you identify that there are two basic types of self-talk. There's constructive and destructive.
SPEAKER_02:So before we talk about self-talk, because sometimes it's hard to think about your internal dialogue, this might be a good time to discuss that we see self-talk as a reflection of actual dialogue between people. So think about those people that are really constructive and help to bring people together. I'm sure you can picture someone like that. Now think about someone who's really destructive and tends to tear people apart. So that's kind of a uh uh outward example of what we also see as the inner dialogue.
SPEAKER_05:Well, and I think Eric Oakley said it uh last season when we were interviewing him, that it's like, would you talk like this to a friend? Would you talk like this to a family member? No, probably not. So why are you talking like this to yourself? That that's a the really good thing that is uh stuck with me. So thank you for that, Eric. Yeah. So um kind of how you define the difference between constructive and destructive is often constructive is solution-oriented, problem solving, also growth-oriented, helping you to expand your skill set or expand your perspective subti uh somehow. And destructive is usually something that's pessimistic, mean spirited. Um oftentimes it's unfairly critical, like overly critical, um, and not, you know, that that's not necessarily based in reality, so to say, because you can you can be way over the top and exaggerative with it.
SPEAKER_02:And so one thing that's just clicking with me though, is that I can get to that point where I I get to that negative and I'm so frustrated over bad shot after bad shot, or just not as good as I thought it could be. And once I say I give up, I'm done with this, I'm over it. Then like that's like a big release, and then all of a sudden I'm able to go back to neutral.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, so you're saying like you're letting it go? Like I'm giving it back.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but I don't mean it like that. I mean it like I'm gonna storm out of here, I'm gonna pack up my stuff, I'm gonna head to the car. But as soon as I say that, my mood tends to get better and I tend to do better. So that's just a weird realization I made when we played uh Evergreen a couple weeks ago.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, Evergreen's a great course. Love it. Um one one thing about destructive self-talk, and this is the downfall of many, is that destructive self-talk often is hand in hand with rumination. And rumination is just when you're you're stuck on something and you can't get out of it, like, oh man, I missed, you know, I missed all of my circle one putts today. I can't putt. And then you go up to your next putt and you have that loop going on in your head, and you're almost like making it happen because you're you're selling yourself on that confidence that this it's kind of like anti-confidence that you're going to miss this next putt. I kind of touched on it earlier, is uh on the uh unfairly critical, oftentimes these statements that you're making to yourself are a bit detached from reality. I mean, you can be incredibly harsh on yourself, but in in deep down inside you know it's not true. But the problem is that it's the story you tell yourself, your your perception, and you're making it true just by saying it. And I don't know how it works, all I know is that it it just works. So moving on, there is also some neutral self-talk. Um give a little bit of feedback. It really doesn't have any kind of discernible effect either way. It kind of hovers around there in the middle. But uh what we're look what we're examining is the different types of self-talk that kind of sway you uh left or right of center.
SPEAKER_02:So I'm gonna jump in on that too, because some new learning that I have that I don't know that we have for this episode um is that disassociating yourself in your self-talk. So you I'm I'm sure we all know somebody who's like, Oh, oh, Brandon, way to go, Brandon. Like, why do you do that, Brandon? Let's go, Brandon. And no, how you, Brandon, would be like, way to go, Brandon, way to mess this up again.
SPEAKER_05:Kind of sarcastically.
SPEAKER_02:Well, no, it's not sarcastically, it's you are disassociating yourself from the task by speaking in third person, by talking about yourself in that way. Keep going. So Sarah Holcomb did a video about this, I believe. She was talking about how she changed her inner dialogue. So whenever, like, we've all heard the negative Nancy or whatever turn, whatever, whatever uh name you want to give that negative talk, you can be like, Cheryl, stop talking to me. Like, I don't like that Cheryl, or I can be like, hey, Jenny, okay, that's great, leave that aside. But it's a it's a form of um dissociation to dissociate yourself from the self-talk or the actions that you're actually having.
SPEAKER_05:So almost, I mean, in layman's terms, almost like a split personality of like, no? Nope, not at all. No.
unknown:Nope.
SPEAKER_05:So well, I mean, maybe I'm not saying that right, but you're you're you're separating one aspect of yourself from a different aspect of yourself. And you're you're giving it a name so that that can live out here in the atmosphere rather than internalize it.
SPEAKER_02:It's like it's hard for me to be on a card that's near Jen Rice because she's always yelling out, Jennifer, why did you do that? And it's hard for me because I'm a Jennifer. And when I hear that, it's like I didn't do anything yet. Oh, that's right, you're talking to yourself.
SPEAKER_05:We love Jen Rice, just for example. She's so super nice. Yeah. Yeah. But uh, no, I think the same thing. You know, Brandon, what Brandon, what are you doing? Like, Brandon, yeah, I I get what you're talking about.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I just want to say uh Jen killed it this year at USW D G C by the way.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, she did. Yeah, yeah, she did. Yeah. But um back to new neutral self-talk, I just want to touch on that real quick. Is I I personally don't believe it exists. Because anything that you do is gonna move that needle one way or another. And the more in tune you are with that, the better you can control it, and the better that you can uh foster the outcomes that you want. So I I personally don't think that neutral self-talk exists because that's saying like you're having an action without a result. Well, no, that's not how nature works.
SPEAKER_02:I disagree with you.
SPEAKER_05:You disagree, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02:Well, uh neutral self-talk could actually be uh what did we just talk about with the um associative? No, um, instructional self-talk. Okay. Because it if I'm leading with my elbow, that's not positive, it's not neg negative, it's neutral, it's instructional in nature, so it doesn't it doesn't necessarily cause a negative or a positive. So that in itself, the instructional things, is more of a neutral self-talk.
SPEAKER_05:And this is worth discussion. What now the way I interpret that is like say an instructional surf self-talk, lead with my elbow. The way I interpret that is, you know, this is something that maybe I'm struggling with or I'm not doing, and I'm reminding myself I'm moving that needle towards a more positive outcome.
SPEAKER_02:Not necessarily.
SPEAKER_05:Whether it be technical or uh or emotional.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you can also always tell yourself to uh lead with your elbow and then you biff it. That doesn't necessarily mean it went towards a positive outcome. Like I can tell myself to stand up straight. Doesn't mean I don't reach down back wherever when I have my shot.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, but your in your intention is to move that needle. Whether or not your body follows suit, that's a completely different story.
SPEAKER_02:My in my intention's not to move the needle, it's to have good form. And that's not necessarily a negative or a positive, it just is.
SPEAKER_05:Just see, and see, when I when I talk to myself like that, you know, doing giving myself technical feedback, is I'm usually doing it to try to solve a problem that I'm having.
SPEAKER_02:Right. And I usually tell myself that there is no problem. I'm just working on my my having good form. Huh. Because I'm focusing so hard on keeping it from being excited Chihuahua to negative Nancy that I d I do as many things as I I do as many things as I can to keep my instruction my inner voice probably more instructional and more neutral. Because one of the things um I'm trying to remember what it is. Uh there was something that you used to say all the time, like throw it easy or throw it um, all I can let the discs do the work? No, not even that. But like one of the things that I'm starting to do that is at neutral is just remember to clear the table with my uh arm when I throw, but also for me, the counting, the rhythm of my heartbeat and counting my steps, my process, also helps me to remain in that neutral area. But there was something he used to tell me all the time, and I know that if I think it in my head, I'm gonna have a bad shot because for whatever reason I've associated those comments with messing up my shots. So once it comes in, even though it was positive and instructional, I'm like, nope, clear the table.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, so that there's there's an association problem there.
SPEAKER_02:But again, it's not a problem, it's just an association.
SPEAKER_05:And I think as we move forward, it's important to remember that these different modalities of self-talk, it's not just mental, it's not just a mind game. You are actually changing your physicality in your body, you're changing things uh like cortisol production. So, like if you're um if you're using constructive self-talk on yourself, so things that are gonna encourage you and help you, it actually reduces your cortisol production and your stress and stress response. Now, cortisol is a uh obviously a stress hormone that causes your body to it's produced when your body's in fight or flight. And so, and it's based around survival instinct. Um, it also improves your heart rate and your breathing. So your heart rate would slow down, your breathing rate would slow down. Those two things go together, heart rate and breathing. If you want to slow your heart rate, control your breathing. Um, it also lends itself to improved motor coordination. So those open and closed loop movements with like doing your walk-up or getting into your putting stroke, it helps with that. It also can increase your energy levels because it takes a lot of energy to fend off negativity and fend off all these, you know, bad thoughts and anxieties and things, and it literally will zap your zap your system. Um, also, if you're in a good mood using positive self-talk, you become less prone to injury and you have less perception of pain. So if you stub your toe on that tree root in the middle of the fairway and you're in a good mood, it's not gonna hurt as bad as if you were in a bad mood and not being very nice to yourself. And it's also very much tied to improved immune responses, which is very important because we play outdoors, well, the game is played outdoors, and different regional allergies and sicknesses, and in just even weather, and trying to deal with the snuffles when you're trying to get through a round.
SPEAKER_02:Or getting a double ear infection when you're on the lead card of an A tier.
SPEAKER_05:That sucked. That sucked. And it also helps uh the positive or excuse me, constructive salt off also helps with reaction times. So when you're in that when you're in that form in that walk-up and you can you can feel something happening in real time and make the adjustment and correct it and get a good shot, then uh it also helps with that. And also greater range of motion and mobility. So when you're using positive self-talk, uh constructive self-talk, you can actually um stretch you can actually like move easier, it's easier on your joints, it's easier on your muscles, like I said, less prone to get hurt. And it it just it kind of feels like you're just in that flow state and everything's easy. Now, adversely, you have destructive self-talk, also not just mental. And destructive self-talk has far worse, you know, undesirable effects. Uh, some of these would be things like rapid heart rate, palpitating heart, you have shallow breathing, so hyperventilation, uh excessive sweating, muscle tension, and cramps, uh you know, prone prone to injury because your muscles are so tight and everything, they're not able to perform at the level you need them to perform. Feeling restless or on edge, difficult difficulty concentrating when you're worried about everything around you instead of the task at hand. Uh upset stomach, headaches, decreased energy level. It like I said, it takes a lot of energy to fight off all those negative emotions, and it zaps your energy levels. It can also uh cause changes in your appetite and sleep disturbances, such as insomnia or excessive sleeping, even. Excessive sleeping is actually a sign of destructive self-talk patterns. Um aches and pains, uh, slowed movements, so you don't have that fluid fast movement when you're going in to rotate into your shot. It also also can uh contribute to um weight weight changes, uh, decrease in drive and uh elevated blood pressure, increased cortisol levels, weakened immune system, digestive problems, skin problems. Uh it there's just a whole whole list of these things. And you kind of think like, why would anybody do this to themselves? Because it is actually like I don't know, as this reads, negative self talk, destructive self talk seems like kind of a self inflicted disease.
SPEAKER_02:Well, but here's some more of the The actual research on why we have that negative self-talk is that we still have that lizard brain that's trying to protect us. And so a lot of the negative self-talk is our brain's way of trying to protect us in this world where we are inundated constantly with information, especially when it comes to our social structure and people that we spend time around. And wanting to, you know, uh be the best person that we can and always be Instagram ready of showing our best selves.
SPEAKER_05:You know, and I think that's that's wisely said because you know we our brain can only process so much information uh at a time, and and when it gets overloaded, it causes things like anxiety and depression and things like that. And you know, when you think about like caveman days, because the human body, the human brain really hasn't developed much over the last 10,000 years, we're pretty much the same uh that we were back about 10,000 years ago, just we have cooler toys these days. But uh physiologically, if you're if you're you know ape man, if you're a Homo sapien, you know, out there on the African savannah, just hanging out, eating berries or whatever, and your only concern is you know to stay away from the lions because they're gonna kill you, like that's a lot less information to deal with than what we deal with today. I mean, we're dealing with cars, planes, trains, automobiles, politics, you know, work, family, social media, stress, stress, stress.
SPEAKER_02:And not to mention just all the radio waves, all the stuff from our electronics, just we're inundated with waves and rays and lasers going through us all the time that we're not necessarily aware of. Like my smartwatch, I was thinking about it this morning. I have a little laser that's going through my wrist all day long. I wonder if that's really like a good thing for me or not. Like, I don't know. Probably not. These are the things I think about when I'm staring at a green light on my wrist. Oh, nice in the middle of the night. That's good.
SPEAKER_05:Is it good?
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. But I will tell you, when I'm down this negative self-talk, I keep talking about right before a big putt or something when I'm trying so hard not to think about man, I get this putt, I'm gonna get the birdie, like this person's not so close, like I'm I I got a little bit, I gotta go. I have to remind myself, like what I've been starting to do is say, yes, I know you're trying to protect me, and I don't need protection right now. And that helps to shut it down.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, that and that's that's a good part of it. I mean, we're just we're dealing with so much information and hormonal response these days, it's really easy to get locked into that lizard brain, uh, which is quite literally there to try to keep you alive. And so, or or it doesn't take you much to push you over the edge and get into that lizard brain. But like Jenny said, um, she's been doing that a lot, and it's I've noticed that it's been helping her. So uh if it helps her, maybe it could help you too, is that we don't we don't need to be protected right now. I'm safe, I'm good. We're playing disc golf, and that's that's okay.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, just acknowledging, you know, a lot of times when these negative thoughts come and take over our heads, it's we just need to dissociate and say, I hear you, I am having these thoughts right now, I recognize it as a thought, yep, move on. Or even, hey, I just had an amazing drive. Everyone just shared for me. I made a big putt. Okay, I'm excited, I recognize it, yay, move on.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, so it give it give it its moment and then next moment.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, like people always say, like, I'm gonna give my fear five seconds and then move on.
SPEAKER_05:And I I really like that because it's it's a lot of problem solving goes in, you know, you're identifying the problem, you're hearing the problem, you're examining the problem and taking it apart, and then you're solving the problem by saying, Okay, I can just release this and let it go.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but these are since I've been doing this this work to really focus on my self-talk, it is a whole different level of mental and physical exhaustion that if I wake up in a bad mood, I don't get whatever you know, my breakfast or whatever it is, if I don't have the strength that day for that tournament to go through and keep myself in that focus space, I can feel it now. Like, and I I will say this is for tournaments only. It becomes real. Well, if you know, if we're playing a practice round and I hit three or four bad trees, there's nothing stopping me from just losing my mind out there on the course. I will do that in practice. I'm not gonna do that in a tournament, and it's because I can recognize and let it out there, and I I'm not stressing my brain so much to try and hold it in that I can maintain that during a tournament.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I would say that, you know, I I'm not a doctor or anything, but I would say it takes a lot more resilience and energy to keep the bad stuff out than it does to keep the good stuff in. Jumping back to the effects of negative self-talk, it can also have social effects. So talking about like reduced social participation where you have a fear of being judged or being in situations where you can have that negative so uh self-talk and in oh you know, fear of being overcriticized, which can lead to social isol uh isolation. You'll see this a lot when people like call out of like special events and stuff all the time, like, oh, suddenly they're sick, or suddenly they don't feel good, or they have something else going on, and then they just sit at home on the couch eating ice cream, which isn't bad sometimes. It's not not bad. But it can become detrimental if it becomes uh a habit. One who constantly criticizes oneself internally can make individuals hypersensitive to potential criticism for others. So that feeling of constantly feeling like you're under attack, like somebody's out to get you, like you're constantly backed into a corner, and that can cause uh anxiety in social situations and cause the hindrance of open communication, such as sharing your feelings or talking about difficult subjects. And it also can cause a lot of anger, too, because anger is kind of a side emotion of feeling trapped in the corner and backed in, you know, it being under attack. Some people react with anger.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I just wanted to say that um I'm seeing a lot of so I in my job I deal with a lot of discipline issues and disagreements between kids on a near daily basis. And just a lot of the kids that we know have that extreme negative self-talk are the ones that are also incredibly influenced by the things said on social media.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, and I think I think it was said best is that we have a whole generation of people, a few generations of people, because of the advent of social media, that all they do is they are stuck concentrating on themselves all day, all night, they're concentrating on themselves, like you said, being Instagram ready when really the experience of life is outside of yourself. Yeah. And if you can if you can tap into that, you become way less anxious, way less depressed, way less narcissistic, and you find your purpose in life by serving others, really.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Um a point I want to make on uh this negative self-talk, um talking about so I discuss the the people who dissociate with themselves by talking out loud to themselves about things that they've done. It's very difficult to play with somebody who does that negative self-talk outwardly. And I don't know if some of these people, it's an intent to dissociate in the way that you know, some people just talk through everything they're doing, they're mumbling, and and it's actually a really good strategy to help you learn and remember things. However, if they're also doing it for the sympathy and so that they're in control of protecting themselves and their ego of, oh, well, that was another really bad shot. I guess we're not gonna do that again. Oops. Like those types of conversations, too, it does become apparent to people that you have that negative internal dialogue. And it does tend, uh, it can rub off on the other people that you're playing with or the other people that you're associating with.
SPEAKER_05:Well, and that that kind of ties into the low self-disclosure where you're talking about where people will build barriers and things around them, even if it's sarcastically like you were just talking about. It's like, oh, well, I'm not gonna not do that again. That's not a bit and these barriers and not being able to share your vulnerabilities uh because you constantly feel you know, if you're feeling under attack, you're not gonna want to say, hey, come come get me here. Here's the here's the weak spot. You're not gonna show your vulnerability to anybody, and it really blocks you from building deeper connections and having deeper connections with other people, as well as difficulty asserting needs. And if you have if you suffer from low self-esteem or negative self-talk, you may struggle you may struggle to express your needs or express express your boundaries in relationships, either you know, friendships or romantic relationships or otherwise. And you can it that can lead to self-resentment and a lot of unhealthy dynamics within that relationship, feeling unfulfilled or feeling like uh incomplete or somehow, and and can lead to a lot of unhappiness. And uh that that's it's you know, unhappiness happens, but it's not good to constantly live in that state. And it can also impact your career, and negative self-talk can limit your willingness to take risks or pursue a career pursue a career opportunity, take that next step. And uh, especially with disc golf, if you you know have that negative self-talk of oh, I can't do something, I can't do something, or this is beyond me, or whatever, you're gonna be less likely to take that next jump in your skill progression and uh advance to the next level.
SPEAKER_02:So I want to jump in and uh briefly discuss a situation where there was a lot of criticism coming from the external people. So we're talking a lot about how negative self-talk can really affect you. I also want to say that um I was in a situation at an event where there were a lot of rumors being spread about both of us, and going into that event the final day when people are looking at you side-eyed, people are whispering at you, uh, people just straight up don't want anything to do with you. Going into an event like that and the amount of mental strain it takes to maintain that positive self-talk when it just seems like everyone around you has that negative impression of you because somebody else has been spreading that, this also can then lead you into that negative self-talk. So I just wanted to it felt very connected.
SPEAKER_05:Very pertinent.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. So moving on, um, some practical applications, uh, ways that you can deal with that destructive self-talk. So I discussed it earlier. Refer to yourself and that third person for a more objective and dissociated perspective. Give yourself a name to move them from the amygdala, which is the emotional area of the brain, that's your lizard brain, to the reasoning part of the brain, the free the prefrontal cortex. I still haven't come up with a really good name for my negative thoughts. And I don't want to use Jennifer. So, like, I'm still trying to figure out like I've tried a couple of different names in my head, none of them tend to stick.
SPEAKER_05:Um, the the change when that happens, when you move when you move that emotional out to your reasoning portion, they've actually measured that through brain scans. So that's like that's like a real deal thing. Like it has a physical change to the the structure of your brain.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and we've worked with a couple of uh therapists in the past, and they talk about, you know, uh moving your brain to the wise brain, and it's usually uh an owl when they're working with kids, and I forget what the emotional brain looks like, but I just I just always remember them talking to our kids about, well, are you in your wise owl brain right now?
SPEAKER_05:Well, and and golf is so you know, disc golf and golf type sports are so is so weird because you kind of have to live in both spaces. You have to live in that dinosaur brain because that's the the physicality of it, but you also have to live in that executive reasoning portion of your brain because that's your decision making, your disselection, your route taking, all of that type of stuff.
SPEAKER_02:And that's why we strongly recommend that you make as many decisions as possible ahead of time so that when you if you do get into that emotional state, you already have done the hard work, you have a plan, you can go back to the plan, get back into that prefrontal cortex thinking quicker because you go back to okay, well, I have this plan, I'm gonna follow the plan like I thought about it earlier. Yeah, I'm feeling emotional, but I'm gonna go back to the plan.
SPEAKER_05:Well, and it and it's it's kind of like uh yeah, just recently got back into playing ice hockey. You know, when I'm hold on.
SPEAKER_02:Say that again like a true hockey player.
SPEAKER_05:Well what what do you mean?
SPEAKER_02:If you say ice hockey one more time, you are not a hockey player.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. Why? Hockey?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Hockey.
SPEAKER_05:Well, well, okay. Well, I just got recently back into playing hockey, and uh, you know, it's an it's an interesting difference because when you get back on the ice and you're in there doing your thing, it's uh it's almost like med meditative. Because like my brain shuts off, I don't really think about anything, I just go into this automatic mode, and I'm not I'm just pretty much operating off of that dinosaur brain instead of trying to reason through things and think about things, and uh it's it's relaxing in a way.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so um you you have to work through, I think you were just discussing the remapping of your emotions and experiences. So we talked about it before the nervous sided, that's uh being anxious is the same as being excited. So you can be nervous sided. I get really nervous sided before I do a presentation, or like when I was doing a lot of uh performing arts, doing a lot of singing, uh, that's when I really started. Well, you're just nervous sided, like you'll be fine. Um we uh everyone in the house has done this. Uh, we have uh received therapy in the past when those times when we need it. Uh CBT therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy is a great program. It helps you to reprogram um and desensitize yourself to some of these really big extreme emotions and has you actively practice some of the uh like physical movements to help you deal with those emotions. So actually playing disc golf, I am finding that disc golf is a really great way to use cognitive behavioral theory by going out there, throwing out your emotions when you throw a disc and um being able to work through that.
SPEAKER_05:Well, and on that note, I want to say to the audience at large here is that you know my personal belief is that everybody should go to a therapist. Everybody, whether you think you need it or not, because you go to a doctor once a year for a physical to make sure your heart and your lungs and everything's working right. When you get a cold, when you get injured, you go to a doctor, right? Well, your your emotions in your brain, your brain needs a doctor too, sometimes and needs that medicine. So even if it's just like a check-in every six months, I would at least encourage you to go consult with a therapist or touch base with one every once in a while, just to you know keep yourself regulated, keep make sure your brain is operating healthy because the psyche is not apart from the physical body. It's just like the matrix. You can't have the brain without the body. If you separate the two, it's no bueno.
SPEAKER_02:Um, and nobody else has your psyche, like that is the little critter inside of you that only you have, and that's creates your world around you. Um and the most successful people, they have that person that they have hired to help them reach their goals. And sometimes being okay is your goal. Yeah, just to be okay. Um, so uh I'm saying this with a grain of salt. Uh I'm on medication. Uh I live in Washington. I'm on medication. I've been through some things. Um, there are some instances that do require medication to regulate anxiety and depression symptoms. Not medication doesn't always work for everybody. I'm not saying go get on medication, but you know, it is okay to take medication for a time to help you get to that point where I am now okay and now I'm working on getting to good. So the best medication out there is actually exercise. There is no way to replicate the um endorphins, the hormones, everything that you get by exercising.
SPEAKER_05:Absolutely. You know, medication, it is a form of treatment. Um, and it's like she said, it's probably not right for everything everybody. Definitely check with your physician or your mental health provider before you know taking any kind of advice around medication. But you know, I also take some medication for anxiety, and what I find for just my own personal anecdotal experience is that it kind of takes that edge off to where you know where you have your emotions that are like completely off the spectrum, completely. out of control and you can't you you really can't get a handle on them and it kind of dials those back a little bit so that you can say maybe maybe I can get a handle in this maybe I can control this and with the combination of medication therapy and practice you you can rein those things in and have a much better healthier life that is a lot more peaceful and fruitful.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah and I just want to add in the note that I um uh there is a history of mental health concerns within my family and from um experience with family members and personal health if you get to a point where you know you're feeling good and you're feeling like hey maybe I can get off my medication you also need to work with your physician at that point as well because there are uh we can go in a whole bunch of stuff about medication again neither of us are doctors just things that we have practiced but if you're also at that point where you're like meh maybe I don't need them um talk to your doctor as well.
SPEAKER_05:Well and we talked about that kind of plateau stage. You know your body does go to homeostasis and so a lot of people they will take the medication and they oh it's working it's working it's working and then they feel it working and they say okay I'm good I don't need it anymore and then they come off of it and they end up way more anxious and way more depressed than before and they send them themselves on this roller coaster of like medication induced trauma. Don't do that. If you're on a therapeutic medication like I said I'm not a doctor or anything like that. Don't take this as medical advice but I had a doctor tell me like you can't you cannot do the roller coaster deal. You have talk to your physician if you need to go on it, if you need to go off of it but you know I can't reiterate enough like it helps in some circumstances but do not take our advice for it. We're not medical doctors or licensed professionals.
SPEAKER_02:And I do also want to put a plug out there because of a lot of the uh belief of the disc golf community um you know if you are choosing to use additional substances and medicate yourself that way uh possibly through med uh marijuana or alcohol um there are people you can reach out to for help or even nicotine if that's something you want to get off of there are lots of resources out there for you and also I would consult your doctor if you are looking at going on a um prescription medication routine and if you're looking at considering any of those other substances as well because they do have interactions. So um I'm just putting that out there because the educator in me just wants to say you know hey there's there's things that you can do there's supports you can get if you are looking at either of these.
SPEAKER_05:Well and I I maybe we can add to that and say you know there's also other natural pathic methods that where a natural pathy doctor or something like that could prescribe certain vitamins and certain modalities there. If if you're not if you're not uh so comfy with uh prescription drugs and such there are natural pathic methods such as vitamins and exercise and things like that. But again this requires the con the direction of a physician or a licensed medical health professional but you know just discussing some of the options that are out there for people because we really want to help people feel better and do better and have more complete lives and sometimes medication is a part of that.
SPEAKER_02:Alright so going back to some applications of mindful mindfulness um there's meditations you can do and no you don't have to do a meditation sitting in a chair with your eyes closed I do meditations I listen excuse me I listen to affirmations all the time in my car um not the ones that say don't drive it those bedtime ones don't drive while you're listening to those I listen to them before I play. I'm hoping to get some out there for you guys too that are disc golf specific uh self-awareness so being aware of where you are what you hear what you're tasting maybe you have that thing that just uh maybe you ha eat some sour candy which also tends to calm your nervous system as well and that's kind of your thing.
SPEAKER_05:Break it down to like small details in that the smaller the detail like you know the the hair on your chin like that could be a you know small or the the breeze blowing through your beard because I have a beard.
SPEAKER_02:So this presents very different things for you and me because when I feel hair on my chin I am instantly self-conscious angry upset you think it's beautiful like your beard you're like so beautiful. You got the man man okay uh grounding exercises there are quite a few people that you see them touch the ground like to get dirt on their hands whatever it is but also any time you can spend with yourself actually touching the ground like take your shoes off touch the ground uh if you're in a place where you can putt and try putting without shoes on it's a crazy grounding experience. Really? Yeah I used to I like to do that in the summer.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah and I I go putt up there not since we put all the wood chips but I used to oh okay yeah I know that uh in in my chalk bag on my cart I have a special rock that when I'm feeling kind of disconnected discombobulated I go and I I grab that rock and it kind of reminds me to you know stay in the moment and stay present.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah I like to um touch a tree uh but I've learned to touch tree with my left hand just in case I get sap on it. That's fair. So that's fair. Um and also journaling there's lots of apps for journaling strongly recommend journal not on social media if you can actually journal on paper with a pen because it actually does there's studies that show that uh writing actually gets it out of you more than say typing or voice uh texting.
SPEAKER_05:Well because it it's it's you have to make that reasoning connection like so you have the emotional and the dinosaur brain and you have to move it out to the executive functioning brain so you can actually make the decision to move your hand and get that stuff out of you.
SPEAKER_02:Right. It's like the disconnection we have by using uh virtual pay now versus a credit card from cash like we're losing our connection with money too. Anyways um another thing is your self-care your self-care is important take a shower I love my hot tub uh read a book I swear there is a video where Sarah Hokum is reading a book that is on her cart. I swear yeah you think we're gonna have to ask her about that I think there is a video where I see her like reading a book I could be wrong. If it's your thing get a massage get your nails done I've taken Brandon to get a pedicure he loved it he did not want to leave the chair the chair was good.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah you did not want to leave the chair my feet were all greasy and it felt weird though for for some people you know if you're out there brushing your hair messing with your hair uh kind of helps uh as well and then again I said that exercise really is the best thing well and I think it's important to emphasize on self-care is you know it's not it's not selfish it's not anything you it's about increasing the quality of the time that you have in that moment or with other people and or performing a disc golf function or something and I I've found just personally as I advance like in my life and in my career and in my leadership role that self-care has become so much more important because I have to be on the top of my game. I have to have all my act together because other people are depending on me to take care of the more and most important decisions.
SPEAKER_02:Another thing about self-care what you were talking about reminded me that you know um as a mom as a mom of five kids I went from two to five in a matter of poof uh it's about you taking the time to be your best self present your best best self and be your best self that you can for your family. It's not selfish to go get a manicure every once in a while if you're doing it like every week you know and it's it's you're losing your rent money maybe you have to reconsider. But it's about you presenting your best self and um both of us this year I have noticed a huge change in uh when I wear my tournament gear versus I just wear whatever I want to be out on the course. Oh that's a good point. When I wear my tournament gear it's like I'm in the mood I know exactly how I'm gonna feel in this skirt by Salty Unicorn or this shirt from Salty Unicorn that I went through and I put all of my uh sponsors on it.
SPEAKER_05:I know if I'm gonna act um I typically save my blue stuff for uh Championship Sunday uh so you know some of those little routines and I know that Brandon when you wear your nice gear right now you have some stuff from uh uh grit discs that you really like to wear you also have some salty unicorn stuff salty unicorns yep yep I just you know when I wear that stuff I feel better I feel like I started out better and I feel I feel like people look at me different because I'm I'm you know well put together and it you know not only does it keep my round going in the right direction but it kind of starts me off on the right foot. And even if I have a crappy round and I still look good like you know it's still like I can feel good about myself going out to like have dinner with my lovely wife or something. And uh we we get a lot of compliments on our very loud disgulf apparel.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah when we go to get breakfast foods because I love breakfast. All the bacon in the restaurants I just found that he is coming to Seattle actually on the 15th Ron Swanson was Nick Offerman. Uh-huh Nick Offerman So alright so we're gonna talk about some questions that you can use to help you think things through and honestly if you're like me you're having a moment uh maybe you have an electronic journal or something you can use these as journal prompts if you have the time and space so here are some journal prompts you can use okay am I overreacting? Is it really that big of a deal? Is it important in the long run? Am I overgeneralizing? Am I coming to a conclusion based more on opinion or experience than facts? Am I mind reading? Am I assuming others have specific beliefs or feel a certain way? Am I guessing how they'll react? Am I labeling myself harshly? Do I refer to myself using words like stupid, hopeless or fat? Is this an all or nothing thought? Am I viewing one incident as either good or bad without considering that the reality is rarely black or white the answer usually lies in the gray area between the two. How truthful and accurate is this thought?
SPEAKER_05:Step way back and consider the accuracy of the thought as a friend might so a little commentary on some of those is that uh on the first one when you're overreacting or making something a big deal it's human nature. We want to feel important. We want to feel meaningful, valued we want to feel like we have a purpose and sometimes we will blow things out of proportion so that we can derive that purpose artificially from an event or a situation and that's really what this is talking about here is don't over exaggerate things and try to bring it back down to earth as suppose that you know you're just another human being just like the rest of us. And that's kind of that over exaggerating and um you know that mind reading thing is a big one too because like we talked about it with Debbie O'Connell is that a lot of times people are so locked into their game and what they're doing they're not even thinking about you. They don't care about you. They don't care about what you're doing, what you're saying, whatever. I mean maybe maybe a little bit but not as much definitely not as much energy as you're giving it and what they're thinking about you is none of your business. And we talked about it earlier is that you know you wouldn't go up to your wife and call her stupid right that's that's like asking for a fight. So why would you say that to yourself if you're supposed to be your own best friend like you definitely wouldn't call her fat, that's for sure. That's definitely a fight. That's like couchworthy but uh you know why would you say that to yourself? Why would you why would you do that? If you wouldn't say it to your wife, if you wouldn't say it to your husband if you wouldn't say it to your best friend then why would you say it to yourself? Because you treat I keep saying this to people is that people that don't understand it's like you teach people how you want to be treated by the way you treat yourself. I'm gonna say that again you are training others you're teaching them how you want to be treated by the way that you treat yourself. So treat yourself with a little respect and ease once in a while. Treat yourself well do that self-care take that extra step make sure that they know that hey I'm a person that's worth it and I'm not gonna be treated that way.
SPEAKER_02:Have that healthy boundary let's talk about a brand that's bringing some serious fun and personality to disc golf salty Unicorns apparel. That's right salty unicorns apparel they started because disc golf fashion was seriously lacking in style especially for women what began as a simple search for better apparel turned into something bigger and in just a few weeks they were outfitting Own Skoggins and now they've got Jessica Olesky Lucas Carmichael and Trinity Bryant rocking their gear too salty Unicorns is different because they actually prioritize women's apparel something most brands don't and they're not stopping there. Pretty soon they're launching their own salty unicorn bags bringing that same energy and creativity to the gear you carry. So if you want to stand out on the course and support a brand that's shaking things up check out Salty Unicorns apparel because disc golf should be fun and so should what you wear. Find them online follow them on social media and bring some color to your game. Use the code SALTY10 for a 10% discount what's up everybody this is Brandon from the Intentional Disc Golfer Podcast.
SPEAKER_05:By night I'm a disc golfer slash podcaster by day I'm a general contractor that's right I build houses and if you're looking to build smarter faster and stronger look no further than builders per stores your one stop for building materials, expert devices and innovative tools they have a dedicated team of professionals that know exactly what they're talking about. From trading to finishing BFS has the inventory and support you need to get the job done right with locations nationwide and a team that knows the trade. Builders first is built around you builders first source build better build without you can find them online at www.bldr.com that is the letters bldr.com if you want to know how disc golf allows you to practice the ultimate skill of the human being you should listen to the intentional disc golfer this is Joel Turner with ShoutIQ and MindIQ.
SPEAKER_02:Get loud my friends all right so how can I apply this to improve my disc golf game? Well focus on your strengths instead of dwelling on mistakes remind yourself of what you're good at. For example after a great throw say I have a solid drive or I'm really good at approaching the basket acknowledge your strengths to build confidence.
SPEAKER_05:That's one thing that I use when I'm out there is that you know I'm you know I'm very confident in my putting game and I can rely on my putting game if even if I'm having a bad round and I tell myself that that oh I can make it up on the green.
SPEAKER_02:Reframe mistakes as learning opportunities. When things don't go as planned change your narrative from frustration to learning instead of saying I can't believe I missed that putt try that was a great learning experience. Next time I'll adjust my stance this makes me think of Kayla.
SPEAKER_05:The times where she's like what a wonderful learning opportunity I have here well I mean I've said it out there too is that you know if I keep making the same mistake over and over I say you know this is what the universe wants me to learn today.
SPEAKER_02:I always say well at least I'm consistent so I mean if I throw change one thing I'll be consistent throwing it you know better.
SPEAKER_05:See the problem with you is that you're the problem with you oh yeah yeah we're not gonna call each other stupid and fat but the problem with me the problem with you is and your consistency is that you're too consistent. It's like you throw the thing and it goes over to there and then it's like okay make this little tweak and you throw it again it does the exact same thing.
SPEAKER_02:And it's like I've noticed though is that I throw one kind of disc and then I make a tweak and a change but I'm throwing a different disc so it ends up in the same spot. Yeah so I never actually try it differently.
SPEAKER_05:No matter what you do you hit the same spot no matter what changes we make or whatever. So Jenny that is your major character flaw right there.
SPEAKER_02:My consistency your consistency great yeah won't call me fat or ugly but you'll tell me what my major character flaw is I didn't say ugly I said stupid.
SPEAKER_05:Oh yeah so smart and funny.
SPEAKER_02:I knew that was coming up yeah you did use encouraging language use affirmations and positive phrases to reinforce your belief in yourself for example I am capable of making this shot or I trust my form and technique the more you repeat these phrases the better the more they can impact your performance stay in the moment in this golf in any golf it is easy to dwell on past mistakes or to worry about future shots. Focus on the current throw with a phrase like one shot at a time or I am focused and ready for this shot. So this goes back to the idea of being in the moment I try so hard to not think about my putt that's coming up. I try not to stand on the line Because I don't want to overthink it. So that is one thing I try to keep myself that one shot at a time.
SPEAKER_05:Or like that verbal linguistic programming where it's you find that rhythm. I know that my rhythm for the walk-up is drop step one, two, throw. So every time I go up and go into my walk-up, I do drop step one, two, throw. And you'll I'll whisper it to myself. You might actually catch me doing it sometimes.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, after that Joel Turner episode of Say It Out Loud. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Get loud.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Alright, visualize the success before each throw. Visualize a positive outcome. Imagine the disc flying perfectly and landing exactly where you want it to. Say to yourself, I can make the shot, or I'm executing my plan perfectly. Or this is a great idea.
SPEAKER_05:This is a great idea.
SPEAKER_02:As soon as I hear Brandon say, I'm gonna try something. I'm gonna try something. We know it's not gonna work.
SPEAKER_05:That's gonna be well, I you know, if I had to compare my game, and I'm sure there's lots of my constituents out there that would probably second me on this to a pro player. If I had to compare my game to a pro player, I think I'd be pretty close to Simon Lazat. Because I like to do all these really fun, creative shots and take the path less traveled. Uh, because it it keeps the game interesting and keeps the game fun.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so Brandon plays golf for show, not for smart.
SPEAKER_05:I play golf for fun. And doing crazy stuff is fun for me.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, smart golf.
SPEAKER_05:Smart golf. Yeah. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02:All right, and practice self-compassion. Be kind to yourself when you don't perform perfectly. Remind yourself it's okay to make mistakes, or I'm improving every round. This helps you stay calm, focused, and even when things aren't going your way. Golf is a game of repetitive failure. Alright, so here are some common questions and misconceptions uh in dealing with self-self-talk. So, some common errors that we have with self-talk is we need to uh uh we avoid reciprocal thoughts. So I've got this originate subconsciously from I don't got this. I tend to have a lot of I'll go up to my shot and it's like I've got this, and then I hear, no, you don't.
SPEAKER_05:Right before you release the disc. Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Uh the brain does not recognize negative qualifiers. So a lot of times, you know, the people who do their self-talk out loud, uh, it's like, Jenny, don't miss this shot. Um, or we like to say, don't f this up, Brandon. And uh you're actually saying to them, mess this up because our brain doesn't understand those negative qualifiers.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, so take out whatever comes before that, and that's what you're actually thinking.
SPEAKER_02:Uh relying too much on that negative self-talk. So when you go up to those teapads where it's got the two trees right there, right in front of you, basically right off the teapad, and everyone around there's like, oh, well, don't hit this tree, don't hit that tree. Well, I hit this tree, so you have that tree left to hit. Like, that is actually causing those things to happen. If you spend so imagine this, you are at a delay, and everybody, two or three card delay, is talking about this one tree right here. Well, of course everyone's gonna hit that tree because everyone's talking about that tree.
SPEAKER_05:You're you're inadvertently shifting everybody's focus right at that tree, whether whether you like it or not.
SPEAKER_02:So a way to actually fix that is to shift the focus to a positive or neutral statement that promote action or confidence, such as I'm prepared for this or I can make this shot. Like, don't even there is no tree. The tree does not exist.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I tend to focus uh like on the gap instead of the tree and like try to aim there because the the minute that that obstacle comes into my mind, the second, and it doesn't even have to be there very long, it's like a magnet and my disc goes right towards it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and it could even be like the last tree down the fairway once you think about it like, oh yeah, that's the tree I was aiming for. It seems to walk across the room. Yeah, somehow it always goes to that free tree.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, it gets right in the way.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. Um, using the wrong type of self-talk. So motivational self-talk is good for endurance and strength-based situations, like keep going, you can do this. Instructional self-talk is better for skill-based applications like keep your eye on the ball or keep your arm straight. You also need to realize that just because the self-talk that you have internally may not be the kind of self-talk that helps somebody externally. It may be in fact the wrong thing to say to somebody. So if you are in that intimate position of really trying to be somebody's caddy and help them improve their game, you need to find a way to have that conversation with them off of a performance-based play and be able to practice. Okay, so if you're in this situation, what can I say to you that is going to help you in this moment, not make it worse?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, because people don't realize this often, but the role of the caddy is actually like the chief tactician and psychologist of your player. You want your player to be out there just performing and operating and not really thinking about much. As the caddy, you're you're the coach. It's your job to make sure that you keep their mindset in check, that you keep them positive and keep them operating in that nominal level so that they can reach their peak performance.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Um, one of the we've gotten to the point between the two of us where I know how to switch my mindset so that Brandon can be my caddy, and um, I kind of go into that into that space where I don't necessarily remember things because I'm just focusing on, you know, he's he's doing all the decision making for me so that I can then like we've talked to the game plan ahead of time. It's not he's actually making the decisions for me, he's keeping me on our plan. Um, but he's he's doing the hard work and I'm doing the execution of the shots. So I get to focus on things differently than say when I'm running a game by myself. Now, adversely, we have not figured out a way that I can caddy for Brandon and have the same level of success. However, I also tend to play most of the tournaments that he's playing as well, so I don't have as much opportunity to be his caddy.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah. I have a lot of practice being Jenny's caddy, but she doesn't necessarily have a lot of practice being mine.
SPEAKER_02:Right, and I will not carry his bag. It is too heavy.
SPEAKER_05:It is too heavy. That's why I have a cart. Now well, yeah. My raffle game be strong.
SPEAKER_02:All right. Uh using vague or generic statements. Mistakes, saying things like, I can do this without any real connection to your skill or situation. While positive, vague statements don't help you mentally prepare or focus. You can do what? I can do this. This what's this? Whatever this is, I got it. Okay. What does that look like? Exactly. So to fix it, you need to be specific. For example, I've nailed this throw countless times before. Or I trust my grip and follow through. Uh specific statements related to your technique or strengths will be more effective. And that one hole that I got that 12 on.
SPEAKER_03:That hole.
SPEAKER_02:That was my thought. I go up there, I'm like, it's a hyzer. I've got this. I have you don't got this. There, there it was, and there it went. Yep, there, yep. Yep. I got this right there on that beach. Uh, inconsistent use of self-talk. So only using self-talk sporadically or in moments of stress rather than making it a consistent part of your routine. Without that consistency, the self-talk won't have the intended effect. You have to practice this. This has to be your routine. Otherwise, it's just another distraction. So incorporate the self-talk regularly in both practice and competition. Practicing positive affirmations or reminders throughout your day to make it more automatic when you need it. So sitting in the car, driving uh on your way to a tournament, practice listening to some of those affirmations. Yeah, it gets it in your head.
SPEAKER_05:And and I I find that the car rides to these tournaments, like, that's really the best time. Like it's calm, it's quiet, you have the sound of the road, or if that's not your MO, you got your tunes turned up and you're jamming. It just all depends. But it's it's you're kind of in that box with yourself or your partner, and you can just really lock into that headspace.
SPEAKER_02:I will say that one of the most vulnerable things that I do is when we're going to these tournaments, and I actually turn on like the affirmations that I regularly listen to, or whatever motivational speaker, like right then and there, because it's I'm very vulnerable because I know Brandon likes to tease me about X, Y, and Z. Like, that's just what he does. So I really take a huge risk when I'm like, okay, we're gonna listen to this. I'm intentionally putting this in our ears, and you know, wait and see how he reacts to my affirmations. There's just some voices we can't listen to, like we've gotten to that point. It's just like the bell. Like a bing. Yeah, the ones I uh You're going to make this putt. I you sound like the guy from that show.
SPEAKER_05:What show?
SPEAKER_02:So the Richard Gear or whatever it was. Ed Gain? Yeah. Don't say it again. No. Oh god, I forgot how you say it. Anyways.
SPEAKER_05:It's kind of like a mix between shortsy and just stop. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Um Yeah, I listen to affirmations in my car almost the whole ride to work unless I'm talking on the phone with Brandon. Like, that's I need that to get through my work day.
SPEAKER_05:Well, and that's probably why she needs affirmations, is because she's talked to me.
SPEAKER_02:There are times where I talk to you and I get off the phone with you, and I turn my affirmations right back on. Yes, you are not wrong. Uh overloading too much self-talk. So trying to use too many thoughts or phrases at once can overwhelm you. For instance, you might try to focus on your breathing, body position, and your swing mechanics all at the same time, which can create mental clutter. I've experienced this a lot when I'm trying to fix one specific part of my game or my walk-up, and Brandon will be like, Well, you need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do that. And I'm like, There are too many thoughts in my head. I need to pick one.
SPEAKER_05:Well, you think I think somebody said it once that there are over 200 complex movements involved in the disc golf swing, probably even more. And to try to remember all 200 plus of those things and do them all correctly, it's just it's impossible. Your brain does not work like that, your body doesn't work like that. So breaking it down to a few simple aspects that you can control, and if you pick the right ones, everything else will follow suit automatically.
SPEAKER_02:Right. So going back to the self-talk, uh, the same idea applies. Stick to one or two key phrases that are relevant to the situation. Keep it simple and clear, like smooth follow-through, or stay relaxed and focused. Uh, still can't remember the one that Brandon said that just I can't use, but uh clear the table seems to work really well for me. Clear the table. Clean the table. Nope, clear the table. I'm not I'm not cleaning anything.
SPEAKER_05:No, no cleaning. Nope. It's traumatic.
SPEAKER_02:It using negative self-talk in response to mistake. So after a poor performance or mistake, many athletes resort to harsh self-criticisms like I'm terrible or I can't do anything right, or of course I miss this putt. Like, that's how my day's been, that's how my game's going. I missed that throw, I missed the approach, you know, I miss the putt. I was right there and I totally missed it. So this actually damages your confidence and your morale and quite possibly the morale of everybody else on your card. If you're saying this out loud. So instead of putting yourself down, reframe mistakes positively. For example, say, I can learn from this, I'll fix that on the next shot. Or for me, it's like, okay, I need to slow down, take my time, do my shot. Uh, self-compassion and constructive feedback are more helpful than self-criticism. Um, if you're expecting immediate results, expecting dramatic changes in performance overnight because of self-talk. It's easy to get discouraged if you don't see immediate improvements. You need to be patient. Self-talk is a mental skill that takes time to develop, just like physical training. Stick with it consistently and be patient with the process. Um, not adjusting to your self-talk situation. Using the same self-talk strategies for all situations, regardless of whether you're facing a high pressure moment or a routine one. What works in one context might not be helpful in another. For example, I'm I keep saying clear the table works really well for me when I drive. If I say clear the table when I'm putting, I uh I don't even know what that would look like.
SPEAKER_05:That's a good point. Yeah? That's a that's a good point. Why would I clean the table if I'm putting?
SPEAKER_02:Clear.
SPEAKER_05:Clear. Clear the table. Clear the table.
SPEAKER_02:I'm not cleaning it. So let me let me have this conversation. Clean traumatic. Could be like pick things up, whatever. I'm clearing this whole bleeping, this whole bleeping table with my arm, it's just gonna go across. It's all gone.
SPEAKER_05:Then there goes the mic stand.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:See?
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna clear the table. Oh my gosh. I'm not cleaning it. It's all gonna break.
SPEAKER_05:It's gonna be lovely. Easy on the equipment, Jenny.
SPEAKER_02:All right. Yeah. So uh how to fix that. Tailor yourself talk it to the context. In high pressure moments, focus on calming and grounding statements like one shot at a time or stay focused. Uh during practice, you might use more technique-focused phrases like solid form or accurate release. Or, you know, you might just come up with some corny kind of phrase that just, you know, makes you giggle a little bit, and that's the thing that helps you get through it. Like do the Taylor Swift. What's your corny phrase? Do the Taylor Swift.
SPEAKER_05:All right, now let's cover some common questions about self-talk. Jenny, when should I use self-talk? Should I use it only during a game or can I use it during my workouts too?
SPEAKER_02:Brandon, you could use self-talk anytime you wanted to.
SPEAKER_05:Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah. It can be helpful both before and during a performance. Before you can use it for mental preparation, confidence building, and visualization. During an event or activity, it helps you refocus, calm nerves, and correct mistakes in real time. Use it before key moments like approaching a difficult hole in disc golf to calm nerves or boost your confidence.
SPEAKER_05:Jenny, how do I know what kind of self-talk would work best for me?
SPEAKER_02:Well, you're going to have to try out different types of self-talk to find out what resonates with you and probably find out what you really don't like. Some athletes use affirmations, I'm strong and capable, while others might prefer cues related to the task. Smooth follow-through. Stay focused. You need to test out different phrases and notice which ones help you feel more focused or confident.
SPEAKER_05:Is there any time that I can use negative self-talk and it can be useful?
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. The negative self-talk is actually there to protect you. It can highlight areas that you need to improve, like I need to focus more on my grip, but it should not dominate your mental narrative. If it becomes overwhelming or too frequent, it can be harmful to your confidence. It's an essential balance that any negative thoughts, you need to have constructive solutions to those negative thoughts.
SPEAKER_05:So it sounds like problem solving.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, it is uh problem solving in your head.
SPEAKER_05:Or or that or that uh the what's the the informational self-talk or whatever it is.
SPEAKER_02:Instructive self-talk?
SPEAKER_05:Instructive, instructive self-talk. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And Jenny. Does self-talk work for everyone? You know, there's not one model that works for everyone. So, no, not all athletes respond to self-talk the same way. Some may find it immensely helpful, while others may not see much benefit from it. It's important to experiment and adapt your approach. For some, mindfulness or deep breathing might be more effective than verbal cues.
SPEAKER_05:I heard somewhere that positive self-talk is really only about like repeating affirmations and things of that nature. Is that true?
SPEAKER_02:Well, uh affirmations are a great way to start and to build your positive self-talk, but it's more than just repeating phrases or a mantra. It's about creating a mental environment where you believe in your ability and focus on positive outcomes. It's also about challenging your negative thoughts and turning them into opportunities for growth.
SPEAKER_05:So, what if I'm having those negative thoughts and those doubts? Does that mean that my self, my self-feedback, my self-talk loop is not working?
SPEAKER_02:No. It's natural to have doubts or negative thoughts during a competition or a practice. The key is how you handle them. Self-talk isn't about eliminating negative thoughts, it's about reframing them and ensuring they don't take over your mental focus. For example, replacing I'm going to miss this putt with I've made this shot before, I can do it again is a productive approach.
SPEAKER_05:So it is self-talk only about motivation, or is it about how how can it help me in other ways?
SPEAKER_02:So uh motivation is a part of self-talk, but it also includes your strategies for focus, your control, and your mindfulness. It can help you stay focused on your technique during a difficult shot or keep calm under pressure. It's not just about motivating you to keep going.
SPEAKER_05:So on the podcast here, we talk a lot about the mental game and how it's like 90% of it. But do I need to develop that perfect mental game in order to be successful?
SPEAKER_02:Perfection's not the goal. But in order to be successful, you are going to need to enhance your abilities in all areas of your game. So that includes your ability to manage pressure and stay consistent. Um, athletes still experience mental lapses, but self talk help helps them recover quickly and stay resilient rather than dwelling on mistakes. So you don't have to have a perfect anything for your game to be successful.
SPEAKER_05:And I I personally use self-talk a lot during my rounds, whether I'm using a practice round or whether I'm doing a tournament round. But can it be can it be a quick fix for like poor performance? Can I use it in that capacity?
SPEAKER_02:Um your self-talk can improve the focus and confidence, but it's not a substitute for hard work. Uh you're going to have to work on your self-talk the same way you do your physique uh or your technical training. It's another tool that you have in your toolbox that complements your physical practice. So to see real results, you need a balanced approach of physical conditioning and mental preparation. And like we've said before, it's not a quick fix, it's something that you need to put into your regular routine.
SPEAKER_05:Gotcha. No, I know when I'm out there on the course that, you know, if I start saying things like, you know, you suck at this golf, or like it's just not happening today, today is not my round, you know, it's definitely reflected on the scorecard. And, you know, I know that my uh, you know, outward uh frustrations have uh have um affected my card mates at times too. So it it has a lot of ruminating or resonating effects outwards.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and um this is definitely one area, this is probably your weakest area of your game, if if I may give that critique, is your mental game. Yeah. And it's something that I really hope that we're going to get to work on together over the next year is my goal. As I build Mindful Flight Stronger, you I'm gonna try it out on you.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:But uh I know that for you, like there's been rounds where I try and give you that 10-second fix or say, you know, hey, you can, you know, you're still doing great, whatever, and you just you're like, don't be condescending to me. And it's like so I know that you're not in a place where you can receive feedback, and that's why it's important if you're also going to be that support person for someone to not take it personally, it's just like, oh, they're not in that place right now. Okay.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, let's go to the next hole. You kind of got to meet people or and then adversely, when I'm having a great round, everybody knows it also.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, everybody can hear you across the course.
SPEAKER_05:Because like I'm cheering, I'm happy, like I'm hitting big shots, and you know, I'm a I'm a very passionate player, for better or worse. I mean, I really put my heart out there on the sleeve, and and sometimes it comes that back sometimes it comes back to bite me sometimes.
SPEAKER_02:So um, I'm gonna ask you uh Brandon, can you explain a scenario where you've been faced with a challenging situation and what are some of the things that you've said to yourself to accomplish your goal or to persevere through that challenging situation?
SPEAKER_05:Well, I mean, it it's not this golf, but in my in my professional life, you know, when walking into a big project or or a you know large task, you know, I can sit there for a long time and try to dissect it and take it apart and not really find how I'm gonna reach that endpoint. Um the bet and the better you get at something, the easier it becomes, but there's still things out there that stump me. And I just have to remind myself just to start, take that first step, and then take the next step, and then the next step. And it's like that on the disc golf course. It's you know, it's it's not your last shot, it's your next shot. And if I go into into the weeds somewhere, off on the side, you know, I have to be like, you know, one of my strong suits is my scramble game, and so I can go in there and I know that I can scramble almost out of any situation because well, we play in the woods, and uh we don't have a lot of those open courses, and so um, you know, I I just uh if I hit a bad shot, I just tell myself, you know what, that's that's gonna be put me in a position where I can use my strengths.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Um, to talk about some of my games. So uh early on this last year, so again, we're recording this. This is December of 25. Uh so back in like February of 25, I kept having to do a it's a turnover, right? The backhand turnover shot.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah. When it goes right, stays right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I was in that situation like every time I'm like, hey, look, I get to practice this again and practice this again and practice this again. This is my favorite shot. And it just got to the point where I'm out there doing some pretty big tournaments, and that's the shot that I'm in. That's the shot I need to do, and no one else has that shot. So I look at these opportunities of I can have a bad drive because, like you said, I know how to get out of that situation because I've spent so much time in bad spots that I have a great toolbox, I know what I can do, I know what my discs do. I now know what all my prodigy discs do. So I'm starting to get some of my game back.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Why do the prodigy discs fit you so well?
SPEAKER_02:Because it was built for prodigy, and Prodigy was built for me, Will. Hashtag prodigy.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, nice, Jenny. Nice.
SPEAKER_02:No, seriously. I, you know, I don't know what it is about the prodigy discs either. I I've never liked ANOV. Don't know why. You love them. I I think it has to do more with the rims of the discs because I have such small hands. Uh, so I spent most of my time throwing MVP and then latitude because they had the lighter weight discs.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:But then with the improvement, that extreme improvement in my technique and uh the belief that I had to go up to a higher weight disc to fix my problems, not knowing that that wasn't the truth. But now I'm throwing full weight discs and I'm relearning how to throw some lighter weight discs. But getting those prodigy discs, that F9, that H7, the H3, like they just changed my game. The PA5, oh my gosh. I'm just waiting for uh an M7, M9.
SPEAKER_05:Put that on your Christmas list, Jenny.
SPEAKER_02:I already put that out in the thing. I'm like, where's the M7? Where's the M9? No, I'm enjoying the M5, but it's too straight for me. Like, I'm loving it. I love the rim, I love the stamps, they're so cute. I love the colors. I just I need that disc that is so understable, like right out of the box because of my game. Because I don't have a reliable sidearm. Did we talk about that? Yes.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, we did.
SPEAKER_02:In the last episode we recorded.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, is that the last one I thought it was? I don't know. It could have been this one earlier. It could have been this one. I don't know. They all just kind of blend together after a while. Anyways. Well, that does it for this episode of The Intentional Disc Golfer about self-talk. Yeah. Hallelujah. I know. Self-talk is a is a deep subject and it's very personal to a lot of people because you know we are the stories that we tell ourselves, and what whatever we tell ourselves becomes true. And uh the the knife's edge between positive and negative is so thin that it can be a word or two here or there. And words matter, and words make a difference because everything starts from an idea, a little teeny tiny idea, and comes out as a word, then comes out to the action, which you know, Microsoft, Amazon, Prodigy, Inova, all of those, the United States, all of those started as an idea in somebody's head, and then a word, and then it became what it is today. So words matter.
SPEAKER_02:So speaking of that, that reminded me of why I stopped listening to music when I play. So we I kept having this one part of Epic in my head, and it was the um that you're not even uh You're not even good, you're great, or something like that. Oh you're so bad because you're not even great.
SPEAKER_05:You're not even you're not even great because you're good, or something like that.
SPEAKER_02:No, but anyways, it's in the Poseidon song. It's it's uh Yeah, anyways, so you're not even good because you're not even great. And I kept that kept coming up in my head, and I remember being in Shelton, and it's like, that's the problem. Everything that keeps coming out of my head is that I'm not even good, I'm not even great. So I need to come up with different words. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. No, that makes sense.
SPEAKER_02:And that's when I stopped listening to music again.
SPEAKER_05:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Gotcha. Gotcha. Alright, well, that that does do it for this episode of the Intentional Disc Golfer Podcast. In this episode, we talked about self-talk, which is a deeply personal subject, and you should always consult a healthcare professional when you are dealing with emotional distress or anything, um, or even just to check in because you know our our mental state and our emotions need a doctor sometimes too. And in this episode, we talked about defining and understanding the different types of self-talk and what they are for. We discussed the studies and the effects of self-talk and what they found in these studies, the impact on performance and stress management. We discussed the benefits of constructive self-talk versus destructive self-talk or the hidden traps that people fall into. And we've discussed the relevance to your everyday mental health and performance, and also your physical physiological health and performance, because these words also manifest themselves inside your body in very physical ways. We uh talked about how to change your self-talk pattern to keep yourself from becoming negative, and we talked about some common disc off scenarios where you give some tips and tricks to try to help you out out there on the course. We answered some common questions to clarify some of the misconceptions about self-talk, and we had a little bit of a host discussion about how we use that out in the field, kind of woven out through all the episode. And if you love us, can't live without us, please go out there, tell all of your friends, please comment wherever you find your podcasts, leave us a nice comment. We appreciate that. You can find us on all of the social medias at the intentional disc golfer podcast. And we can you can also email us directly at the intentional discgolfer podcast at oh excuse me, not the intentional discolfer podcast, just the intentional disc golfer at gmail.com, the intentional discgolfer at gmail.com.
SPEAKER_02:And soon you'll be able to find us on our website site at theidgpodcast.com.
SPEAKER_05:And at the end of this episode, we're gonna have some outtakes and bloopers, so do stay tuned for that if you need a good laugh. We uh would like to thank our sponsors. We have Salty Unicorns, Prodigy Discs, Treasures of the Forest, and Builders First Source. So thank you to those lovely supporters of the show and to the biggest supporters of the show, our fans. We could not do this without you. You are the reason that we keep coming back, that we keep trying, that we keep doing this. So thank you for sticking with us and being a part of the intentional disc golfer family. I am one of your hosts. My name is Brandon.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, wait! I found the lyrics to the song.
SPEAKER_05:Oh god.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, it's you are the worst kind of good because you're not even great.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, yep.
SPEAKER_02:Isn't it catchy?
SPEAKER_05:Did you figure out what the thing that I said that makes you know?
SPEAKER_02:I've blocked it out.
SPEAKER_05:Good. It's gone.
SPEAKER_02:I know.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I am one of your intentional disc golfers. My name is Brandon.
SPEAKER_02:And I am Jennifer.
SPEAKER_05:And here at the Intentional Disc Golfer Podcast, we truly do believe that disc golf has the power to change lives. So go out there and grow the sport. To avoid this, please stop listening and move on to the next episode now.
SPEAKER_02:Psychologist like Vygotsky. How do you say that?
SPEAKER_05:Vygotsky?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:I think it's Vygotsky.
SPEAKER_02:So, psychologists like Vygotsky and Piaget. Vygotsky?
SPEAKER_05:We'll get it.
SPEAKER_02:I might have to Google that. That's how it is, Vygotsky.
SPEAKER_05:Vygotsky. Influence. It is an English word.
SPEAKER_02:I need a drink. Cognitive motivational model. Model. I guess bossing. Yep. So in 2011, also in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, it You totally skipped the name.
SPEAKER_05:What is it? It's Hatzigerdaza.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. You didn't. Okay, so you're gonna edit this out. Because you didn't. There was no name in the other one, so I don't feel the need to explain a name that I will. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. It's it's not just. Do you have a bomb stuff? I know, I need to get one. But um, here we can do this one.
SPEAKER_02:That's not a bomb.
SPEAKER_05:I know, that's not a bomb.
SPEAKER_02:Um, but no, uh. I wish we had video right now. There you go.
SPEAKER_05:I'm pretty damn proud of myself for that.
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna produce one of these episodes. Yeah? Yeah. I'll run it myself. Oh yeah. I am good at running the board.
SPEAKER_05:I'm good at sound effects.
SPEAKER_02:I will not break anything. Expecting dramatic change in performance overnight because of self-chalk. Self-chalk? Self-chalk. I love my chalk. Chwalk, chwalk. Oh. Baker.
SPEAKER_05:Nobody perved.
SPEAKER_02:Good god, dog. Do you need to go outside?
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