Set your Mind

Dr. Stephen Ginsberg

5.0 (13)
Mental Health

Set Your Mind is a sport and performance psychology podcast about training the mind with the same intention we train the body. Hosted by Dr. Stephen Ginsberg, each episode explores mindset, courage, resilience, and the mental processes that help performers show up on the playing field and in life with courage, clarity, and commitment.

2d ago

Episode 45: Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? Mine was simple: Leave it cleaner than you found it. My college coach said it to make sure we respected Julio, the man who cleaned our locker room and became a critical member of our team. It’s about responsibility, accountability, and improvement of yourself, your relationships, and the environment around you. In this episode, I share Julio’s story and what it means to clean up the messes in sport and in life, from a toxic team culture to a struggling teammate to the negative self-talk in your own head. I’ll leave you with three questions: What have you left cleaner than you found it? What mess still needs cleaning? And what needs some cleaning in your own mindset? Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Nov 2

Episode 44: Singular Identity Syndrome

Singular Identity Syndrome: Who Are You Beyond the Scorecard? Ask most competitive golfers who they are, and you’ll hear one answer: a golfer. Dr. Stephen Ginsberg calls it Singular Identity Syndrome (SIS), and it’s costing athletes more than they realize. In this episode: Why grind culture tells athletes their other interests are distractions, and why that’s a lieThe four costs of SIS: slumps that feel like personal failure, injuries that take your identity with them, retirement that brings two losses, and values that get neglectedThe questions Stephen asks athletes to uncover who they are beyond their sportThe paradox: why a broader identity often leads to better performanceMichael Phelps on learning that swimming is what he does, not who he isHow to use the walk between shots to reset: remember your other roles, and return to your values as home baseKey takeaway: Your score is a result. Your values are home base. Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Oct 26

Episode 43: When They Turn Right, Turn Left

When everyone turns right, what would it take for you to turn left? Dr. Stephen Ginsberg opens with the story of a secret ski resort parking lot at the end of a dirt road that looked like a dead end. From there he explores what it takes to do things differently when everyone around you is following the brake lights. He looks at Steph Curry, Tiger Woods, Dick Fosbury, and Billy Beane. Each one was doubted, and each one changed their sport. Their choices weren’t contrarian. They were strategic. Dr. Ginsberg then turns to golf’s most overlooked left turn: the mental game. Nearly everyone agrees it matters, but few golfers invest in it. He unpacks the myths that keep golfers from working with a sport psychologist and makes the case for treating mental training like golf’s version of on-base percentage. In this episode: Why the best left turns are strategic, not contrarianHow Curry, Tiger, Fosbury, and Beane bet on a better wayWhy regret tends to come from what we avoid, not from what we tryThe myths that keep golfers from training their mental game90 seconds of swinging vs. four hours in your headMusic Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Oct 19

Episode 42: From Don't to Do

Don’t hit it in the water. Don’t turn the puck over. Don’t think about the purple elephant. Too late. In this episode, Dr. Stephen Ginsberg explains the ironic effect. This is the well-documented tendency to do exactly what we’re trying to avoid, and it is strongest under pressure. He walks through a 1998 putting study by Wegner, Ansfield & Pilloff, explains why the brain treats a missed putt like a charging lion, and shows why trying to erase “don’t” thoughts backfires. The answer is a plan for when those thoughts show up. Stephen covers how to acknowledge them, let them pass, and replace them with a clear, specific “do” commitment. He also introduces Dr. Bhrett McCabe’s Funnel of Focus, a visual for moving from awareness to strategy to execution, instead of letting fear flip the funnel upside down. In this episode: The ironic effect and the research behind itWhy your brain mistakes emotional threat for physical dangerHow to turn “don’t” thinking into “do” commitmentsThe Funnel of Focus, upright vs. flippedA 10-ball range drill to rehearse the don’t-to-do shift under simulated pressureReferenced: Wegner, D. M., Ansfield, M., & Pilloff, D. (1998). The putt and the pendulum: Ironic effects of the mental control of action. Psychological Science.Dr. Bhrett McCabe, the Funnel of FocusMusic Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Oct 12

Episode 41: Know Your Puzzle Pieces

“Doc, do I really need to meet with you when things are going this well?” Dr. Stephen Ginsberg hears this question all the time, and his answer usually surprises clients. Some of the most productive sessions happen when nothing seems to be wrong. Athletes and high performers tend to study their failures closely and let their successes pass by unexamined. In this episode, Stephen explains how to reverse engineer a good stretch. You identify what you’re doing, thinking, and choosing that’s working, so you can come back to it when you drift. The goal is to fireproof instead of putting out fires. In this episode: Why the sessions clients want to skip are often the most valuableReverse engineering success: treating a good stretch as dataBenjamin Franklin, fire safety, and the case for preventionThe Puzzle Pieces exercise: listing the habits, routines, and mindset behind your best performanceA visual version of the exercise for visual learnersWhy your puzzle is personal and why it has to change as you doTry this: Grab a pen and think back to a time you were at your best. Write “Puzzle Pieces” at the top of the page, then list everything that contributed. That page is your roadmap for the next time things fall apart. *Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Oct 5

Episode 40: Bucket Fillers and Spillers

You’ve probably heard the saying: everything you need to know in life, you learn in kindergarten. This episode makes the case that it might actually be true. Inspired by a lesson from my oldest son’s kindergarten classroom, we explore the simple—but powerful—idea of bucket fillers and bucket spillers: the people and behaviors that either add to our energy or quietly drain it away. Because your energy, emotional and physical, is finite. And learning how to protect it is one of the most important performance and well-being skills we can develop. What This Episode Covers The kindergarten concept of bucket filling—and why it holds up in adulthoodHow the people around you influence your mood, behavior, and sense of selfThe difference between energy-generating and energy-draining interactionsEveryday examples of bucket-filling and bucket-spilling behaviorsWhy your body often knows the answer before your mind doesBucket Filling Might Look Like: Checking in on someone who seems offSitting with someone in the struggle instead of rushing to fix itCelebrating others without comparison or egoHelping people feel seen, heard, or understoodBucket Spilling Might Look Like: Dominating conversationsGossiping or excluding othersMaking every interaction about yourselfCutting people down—or “yucking someone else’s yum”Reflection Questions After spending time with someone, ask yourself: Do I feel more energized or more depleted?More grounded or more anxious?More like myself, or less?That information matters. Applied to Performance Executives: What kind of energy does each person on your team bring into the room?Athletes: Are the people on your personal performance team filling your bucket, or spilling it?Coaches: Is your culture designed to generate energy… or slowly drain it?Final Reminder You are responsible for protecting and refilling your own bucket. That doesn’t mean isolating. It doesn’t mean being selfish. It means being intentional. Because the fuller your bucket is, the more you’re capable of giving, without burning out, hardening, or losing yourself along the way. *Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Sep 28

Episode 39: The Weight of Hiding

In 1989, a 19-year-old Andre Agassi looked into a Canon camera and said, "Image is everything." What nobody knew was that his famous hair was partly a hairpiece. A year later it nearly fell apart the night before his first Grand Slam final, and he spent the match playing not to lose it. In this episode, Dr. Stephen Ginsberg looks at the hidden cost of protecting an image: the energy it takes, the joy it steals and the performance it limits. Drawing on Charles Cooley's "looking-glass self" and Brené Brown's research on shame, he explains why we hide, why hiding makes shame grow, and what happens when athletes finally stop. In this episode: Agassi's hairpiece and the 1990 French Open finalWhat the word "image" really means, and why it mattersThe looking-glass self: living by how we imagine others see usWhy shame is at the root of hiding (even if you think "that's not me")Brené Brown: shame needs secrecy, silence and judgment to growKevin Love's panic attack and the essay that changed the conversationHiding as a weighted vest you forget you're wearingVictor Wembanyama, Gary Woodland and Lionel Messi on putting the weight downWhy you don't have to take the vest off aloneMentioned: Andre Agassi, Open (2009)Charles Cooley, the looking-glass selfBrené Brown's research on shame and vulnerabilityKevin Love, "Everyone Is Going Through Something," The Players' Tribune (2018)The question to take with you: Is your hiding protecting you, or costing you? If you're struggling, talking with a licensed psychologist or sport psychologist can help. You don't have to carry it alone. Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Sep 21

Episode 38: The Space Between

In 1942, Viktor Frankl was taken to a Nazi concentration camp. He lost his father, his mother, his wife, but he never lost his freedom to choose how he responded to what happened to him. In this episode of Set Your Mind, Dr. Stephen Ginsberg unpacks Frankl's discovery: the space between stimulus and response, and why filling that gap with awareness, not instinctive reaction is where real performance freedom lives. You'll learn the difference between a reaction and a response, why golfers (and humans) collapse that space without noticing, and a simple driving-range drill to start creating it on purpose. This isn't just about managing bad shots. It's about learning to savor the good ones too. Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records

5

out of 5

13 Ratings

Nice change!

Jan 26

Lulsla

So impactful to receive this kind of information in so little time. Love it..

Set Your Mind is a sport and performance psychology podcast about training the mind with the same intention we train the body. Hosted by Dr. Stephen Ginsberg, each episode explores mindset, courage, resilience, and the mental processes that help performers show up on the playing field and in life with courage, clarity, and commitment.

Creator

Dr. Stephen Ginsberg
Years Active

2026
Episodes

45
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Stephen J. Ginsberg
Show Website

Set your Mind