The Genius of Athletes with Dr.Noel Brick

🏃‍♂️ Dr. Noel Brick is a professor, ultra runner, and most recently a published author.  Co-authored with Scott Douglas, The Genius of Athletes focuses on successful athletes who have a toolkit of mental strategies that help them to perform at their best. The book expounds on how, once learned, these techniques can be adapted to overcome challenges in everyday life. Currently, Noel is working on his second book and is a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Ulster University. He completed an undergraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Limerick in 1997, an MSc in Sport and Exercise at Ulster University in 2003, and an MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University in 2017. In 2016 he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Limerick. Alongside his academic and research activities, Noel is also a long-distance runner and has completed more than 30 marathons and ultra-marathons including the Marathon des Sables in 2012 and the Irish 24-hour Championships in 2013.

→IN THIS EPISODE…Joe talks to Noel about his incredible book, The Genius of Athletes. We start the episode strong with Hoe asking Noel why learning to think like an athlete is so important, and the conversation just explodes from there. Noel provides tips for not just the athletes in the audience, but for everyone looking to help win in their everyday lives with goal setting, confidence building, and controlling stress levels. 

🔍 Breakdown with Noel Brick Ph.D.:

Chapter 1 (0:00) Intro

Joe introduces Noel Brick, author of The Genius of Athletes

Chapter 2 (1:12) The importance of thinking like an athlete

There is so much that happens in sport from emotions to pressure/stress. These themes can mirror in our lives

Chapter 3 (3:38) Getting into the psychology of athletics

Noel is a lecturer in sport psychology, research is his hobby. He is an ultra runner and athlete himself, and his experience and studies have brought him to interesting discoveries

Chapter 4 (12:23) Kikkan Randall mindset

Kikkan Randall is an Olympic athlete that was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a great example of putting voice to her emotions in a healthy way is a great strategy.

Chapter 5 (20:38) Emotion regulation and expression

Emotions have such a high impact on your daily plans. It is important to implement strategies to mitigate the effect high emotion can have.

Chapter 6 (28:32) Journaling and other strategies

Planning time to worry and allowing yourself time for feelings of stress and anxiety helps to limit the control said emotions have over you. It also minimizes the moments of surprise panic, because you allowed time for those feelings.

Chapter 7 (39:12) Pre-event rituals

Noel shares some of his most effective pre-event rituals, and how you can get yourself in the right headspace before an important day.

Chapter 8 (45:22) What you can control

The theory of threat state is an idea about how you can view a situation. Noel goes into the psychology of threat and control.

Chapter 9 (48:29) Be your own coach

It is important to self-analyze and give yourself tips and strategies to be better. Set your own goals. No one should be more invested in your success than you!

Chapter 10 (52:56) 5-4-3-2-1 Method

This is a grounding method that Noel advocates for to help bring you back to the present moment.

Chapter 11 (55:37) Failure to achieve

Failing to get started can be a number one reason for failure when people set goals for themselves.

Chapter 12 (58:22) Putting thoughts to action

Having a plan to not allow your thoughts to be stagnant and not come to fruition. It is important that you put your thoughts to action.

Chapter 13 (1:05:03) Off days

You can’t allow your off days to derail your training/ambition. Everyone has off days, Noel gives examples of who to minimize your off day and how to keep your momentum going.

Chapter 14 (1:11:22) Creating new habits

Great tips on starting new habits in your everyday life. This doesn’t have to be just for your athletic goals, but for your daily goals as well.

Chapter 15 (1:28:03) Ending

Joe thanks Noel for being a part of the show, and wraps up the interview

Material Referenced in this interview:

→The Genius of Athletes

→World Class: The Making of the U.S. Women's Cross-Country Ski Team (Kikkan Randall)

📞 Connect with Noel Brick

→https://twitter.com/noelbrickie

→https://www.facebook.com/noel.brick

→https://noelbrick.com/contact-me

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