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Examined Life Counseling

Couseling and sports psychology in Issaquah, WA · Redmond, WA · Bellevue, WA · Kirkland, WA

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Mental Performance Consulting

Helping your best become better

How much is your mindset costing you? This can come in the form of time wasted due to lack of focus or poor prioritization. It comes in the cost of emotional capital spent on additional stress, anger, sadness, or anxiety. It can also come in the form of strained or broken relationships, feeling misunderstood or alone.

What if your mindset, how you see and interpret the experiences in your life lead to greater personal satisfaction, growth and attunement with those around you? What if you could gain the skills to focus on your goals with clarity and conviction and had the psychological tools to grow from challenges and setbacks? What if pressure and stress were not something to avoid, but valued and used to develop and grow stronger? What if you had a deeper sense of who you are and your actions aligned with who you want to be?

Performance psychology is designed to help you develop greater self-knowledge and improve your ability prepare for challenges, grow from setbacks, and embrace the moment. I use a variety of mental skills to train your mind to be stronger, better suited to adapt to challenges all for a purpose just as an athlete would train his or her body.

Common issues performers face:

  • Getting overly anxious/overwhelmed in the moment 
  • Holding onto mistakes
  • Lack of motivation because of: setbacks, boredom, lack of buy-in, etc.
  • Focusing on unhelpful signals (fear of others’ opinions, ego, negative thinking)
  • Struggles to be grow, adapt, or be “coachable”,
  • Internal conflicts on teams and communication issues
  • Transitions within the field (promotions, re-org’s, changing roles, retirement)
  • Challenges with identity and association with performance

Working with a trained mental performance consultant can help you address these and many other struggles you may be having, whether you are relatively new to your field or a seasoned veteran.  With my crossover training in counseling, I am also equipped to help performers address “off the field” issues with family, relationships, and other issues that might interfere with your ability to improve and perform. 

What I offer:

  • Performance analysis and mental skills assessments using tools and interviews
  • Personalized lessons and courses for individuals and teams based on the specific context and needs
  • Team workshops to address team culture and goals
  • Psychological evidence-based Coach and Leadership support
  • Workshops for those supporting performers to reinforce positive and beneficial mindsets
  • Strengthfinders 2.0 team workshops

Who is this for?:

This is for athletes/players who want to perform better. This is for leaders and coaches who want to lead with greater effectiveness and enjoyment. This is for parents and mentors of performers who want to better understand and guide others through the challenges and opportunities sports and performance offer. This is for anyone who wants to build better psychological skills and tools in order to be able to do hard things, to challenges themselves to grow and be who you’ve been called to be.

How do I start?

3 Easy Steps:

  • Hit the contact button to contact Dr. Steel to get an initial intake assessment for your specific needs.
  • Dr. Steel will design a plan to improve identified weaknesses and enhance strengths based on your context and desired outcomes (individual vs. group, ongoing support or a one-time workshop, etc.)
  • Dr. Steel will then guide you through implementing the mental skills to change your mindset and improve your performance.

“It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable”

– Seneca the Younger –


Testimonials

Strength Athlete
With a massive stone lifting event coming up, I was starting to stress out. While I felt strong physically, mentally I was a wreck. I spent a lot of time worrying about not being able to lift the weight due to injuries, but even more I worried about disappointing others, and letting myself down. Did I have what it took? What if something went wrong?
After a couple sessions with Ben (Dr. Steel), I felt ready, and indeed lifted the weight!
Ben helped me focus on what I could control, walked me through the mental and psychological focus I needed the day of the event.
Without his words and guidance, I’m not sure those stones would have come off the ground.

Attending the sessions helped give me and my athletes common terms we could use to discuss the various skills and tools you taught the kids. I felt like most of the athletes learned that there was a whole other aspect of improving as athletes that many of them had not really thought was important enough to spend time on. Discussions about positive self talk, visualization and how to do it, building one another up took place naturally in practices. I think for my high schoolers, the most helpful skills were goal setting and visualization.

High School Coach

As I attended Ben’s mental performance sessions, over time I saw an improvement in my mindset that better equipped me to continue to push myself and improve my training. One thing he helped with was recognizing group dynamics, and how to create a stronger, more unified team through employing smarter problem-solving techniques and holding our teammates accountable. What I find myself using the most since working with him is ensuring that I am maintaining a positive outlook during practices as well as competitions, and that my mindset is constructive- acknowledging what is in my control, my weaknesses and my strengths. I think Ben helped us address the aspects of being both a strong team and strong individual that are oftentimes overlooked, but are necessary to success.

XC runner

I worked with Ben over a period of about one year and in this time my mental resilience and ability to focus in times of fatigue and stress significantly increased. I learned new habits, practices, and techniques that helped me run farther and faster than ever before. I would highly recommend Ben to anyone looking to seriously pursue their goals and find their greatest potential in any endeavor.

Endurance athlete

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