Ep. 147: Fear vs. Faith with Dr. Dave Jones: Beating Toxic Motivators with True Mental Toughness

Former pro hockey player, Air Force veteran, and sport & performance psychologist Dr. Dave Jones joins The Mental Mettle Podcast to unpack the battle between fear and faith—and how “toxic motivators” quietly drive so many athletes and high performers off course.
Dr. Dave shares how a brutal slap shot to the face ended his early hockey career, led him into the Air Force, and unexpectedly opened the door to playing pro hockey in Germany while serving as an F‑16 crew chief. That season of pain, identity loss, and rerouting became the foundation for his faith, his work in performance psychology, and his work as founder of the Christian marketing agency MisGood Marketing (misgood.com).
A lot of what we talk about in this episode flows directly into his upcoming book, Plan to Win, which you can learn more about on his site.
In this episode, we dig into:
The four toxic motivators: fear, lust, anger, and pride
Why fear-based and anger-based “mental toughness” can work in the short term but destroy you in the long run
The difference between identity and role (you’re more than your sport, job, or scoreboard)
How faith, vision, and humility create a healthier, more sustainable form of toughness
High vs. low emotional intelligence in sport: calm, confident, team-first vs. reactive, revenge-driven, and self-focused
Practical ways to start shifting from fear to faith, including gratitude, “fruit‑checking,” and choosing the right people around you
How Plan to Win helps you identify which toxic motivators you struggle with most and walk through devo-style steps to replace them with faith-driven motivation
To learn more about Dr. Dave’s work, his Christian marketing agency, and his book Plan to Win, visit https://misgood.com.
If you’ve ever felt driven, successful, and yet strangely empty—or if you’re tired of being powered by fear, anger, or pride—this conversation will show you a different way to be mentally tough, rooted in faith instead of toxicity, and point you toward tools to keep doing that work long after the episode ends.For more information about Mental Mettle Coaching

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