In this Healthy Mindset AI podcast episode, host Mike Hartman answers a listener’s question about whether athletes and professionals should abandon positive thinking in favor of purely productive thinking. Hartman argues that top performers in sports and business do not choose one over the other; they integrate both. He outlines ten reasons why productive thinking alone is insufficient, highlighting how positive thinking fuels confidence, resilience, optimism, creativity, motivation, stress reduction, and stronger relationships, all of which enable productive action. He shares personal anecdotes (hospital recovery, hockey scenarios) and references research and a Major League Baseball friend to illustrate how belief and positivity translate into effective planning and execution. The episode concludes that elite athletes and leaders combine positive mindset with productive strategies, avoiding a robotic, over‑analytical approach.
Chapters
Welcome to the Healthy Mindset AI podcast, where host Mike Hartman, a performance coach and former professional athlete, brings his passion to help athletes and workplace athletes achieve their dreams and goals while being mindful of everything else in life. Mike also uses this platform to share his targeted assessment application, Healthy Mindset course, meditation, and goal-setting technique for the athlete and workplace athlete. We're glad you're here. Now let's dive first into this episode of the Healthy Mindset AI podcast. Here's your host, Mike Hartman.
Today I'm going to read one of the questions that came in. I'm a hockey dad. I recently heard a coach say, don't think positively. The best way to think is productively. Is that really the best advice? Should we stop thinking positively and only focus on productive thinking? I'm gonna say I don't believe so. I believe the highest performers, especially in sports or even in corporate America, they don't choose between positive thinking and productive thinking. They use both. Positive thinking gives you maybe the confidence that you may need or some hope to it, resilience, and the belief that you can overcome obstacles. If I went into a situation and I'm only gonna think productive, I would say, well, this is what I have to do. And sometimes we overthink things. I was in the hospital and I was recovering. I'm not gonna think negatively. I'm gonna think positively, but also I'm gonna be productive. The productive thinking takes the belief and turns it into action. And I think that's maybe the real answer that you're looking for. It helps you create a plan, solve problems, make adjustments, and keep moving forward. So it's not about positive versus productive. I think a lot of it could be people that maybe had never been at the highest level. I mean, in professional sports, we always did everything we can to think positively. It wasn't positive against productive. It wasn't that. It's not positive or being productive. Today I'm going to share 10 reasons why productive thinking alone isn't enough and why positive thinking or even the positive mindset is still the essential part of long-term success. So some of the reasons here I, I really believe here is without belief, it's hard to take action. So, positive thinking helps you build that confidence. It really does. If I'm getting the puck around the boards as a hockey player and I'm only thinking about being productive and I'm not even talking to myself a little bit and saying, "Okay, I got this. I'm going to get this puck out." But I know what I have to do productively. I have to keep my stick down. I have to get myself ready. I have to think about being productive with that next play. Those are some of the steps needed and But sometimes, nothing against your coach or any person that may say this, maybe they're just uneducated in that area. So, productive thinking can become over-analytical. So, if we're always thinking productive, productive, to me a lot of the athletes struggle. They may have struggled when they were younger thinking, "I gotta be productive. I have to be productive." No! You can spend so much time analyzing problems. And that helps athletes, what, lose motivation. Positive thinking helps you maintain optimism while solving some of these challenges. Another one, it becomes easier to quit after setbacks. So, every athlete, leader, entrepreneur experiences failure. Positive thinking reminds you that setbacks are temporary and then you can bounce back. I'm not going to think negatively going into any situation. It could be the purchase of a home. "Oh, we're not going to get this. There's no way." Well, that's thinking negatively. Of course, you're going to think productively. You're going to do your due diligence. You're going to look at things, but you have to balance both of them. And I really believe another thing is I learned this as an athlete at the highest level, that confidence fuels performance. There's been so much research on this. People that have been at the highest level, One of my best friends from Major League Baseball, he consistently told me about the research that was done about positive thinking helps create belief that supports the productive actions. I hope this is helping you. I don't want to say the hockey dad's name. I appreciate you leaving your name here, but I'm going to give you a few more nuggets you could take with you. And I also believe in being creative. It comes from possibility. When you believe something is possible, you're more willing to explore new ideas, have that solution in your mind instead of only focusing on limitations. Oh, I have to be productive. No, you don't only have to be productive. You have to bring some positive energy to it. So productive plan requires emotional energy. A great plan means if you have no enthusiasm, you may not follow it. Well, okay, I'm just gonna be productive today. No, you want to be positive. Positive emotions, positive energy. I played with a lot of energy players at the highest level. We don't just think being productive. We thought it's important also to be positive. Our emotions are involved in it. It increases your motivation and helps you become maybe a little bit more persistent in things. And I also believe in relationships thrive on positivity. They don't thrive on negativity. I've met some of the best relationships in all sports. We've had hundreds of baseball players, hockey players, football players, business professionals. We didn't just say, "Oh, you have to be productive today." So whether you're leading a team or you're playing a sport, people naturally respond better to those who communicate well. Encouragement helps. It's not the robotic days. Years ago when athletes were playing, a lot of it was the robotic place. We have to be productive today in practice or it's not going to work. Well, of course you do, but you also have to be positive. Like for me, when I was in the hospital, positive thinking reduced my stress levels. Same thing could happen with an athlete or somebody in corporate America. A more positive outlook can lower your anxiety, helping you think more clearly and make better decisions under pressure. Also, being optimistic about things. Optimism, optimism to me strengthens your resilience as an athlete or even a workplace professional. A more positive outlook to me, it is so important. Believing tomorrow can be better. That's positive, right? That's positive thinking. I'm always thinking, okay, we can get better every day. Of course, we have to be productive, but we also have to think positive. It's easier to recover from disappointment and keep moving forward if we say, okay, we had a bad practice today because Derek Jeter said it best, that you're going to fail. You will fail as an athlete. I love when I saw that interview that he did. Most big leaguers understand that. And I think you— it's maybe you have to have that trained eye to understand this. So I'm not taking anything away. Our coaches do our best, or our performance coaches, or maybe a therapist. They, they may do their best, but they may be a little uneducated when it comes to this because maybe they haven't lived it. And maybe they've lived it in their mind, and I'm not trying to be rude, but I really believe that you just There isn't just one way. So, I'm gonna conclude with this: the best performers combine both. I'm not saying just one or the other. Elite athletes, successful leaders, or high achievers don't simply think positive or productively. They believe in themselves. They prepare thoroughly. They take action. They learn from their mistake and they keep improving. If it's your son or daughter that plays hockey and they're hearing so many different things, and I think the problem today is I'm a big believer in this, that there's so many different things out there on the internet. There's people trying to sell, everybody's trying to tell everybody, well, I, I've been there, I've been at the highest level, and Listen to me. And then you get a lot of uneducated people as well that just want to throw ideas out there. Everybody likes to front themselves. I shouldn't say everybody. A lot of people like to front themselves. So I'm going to give you my honest opinion on how I feel about this. Or maybe people that feel, you know, it's good just to be productive. But through a trained eye, I'm going to say don't be robotic. Think both. Think positively and think productively.
We're so glad you joined us for this episode of the Healthy Mindset AI podcast with your host Mike Hartman. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe, and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That helps others find the show. And we greatly appreciate it. To dive deeper and learn more about the Healthy Mindset Program or to get in touch with Mike, please visit our website, healthymindset.ai. Thanks again for listening, and we hope you'll join us again on the next episode of the Healthy Mindset AI Podcast. Until then, be well.
