In this brief motivational talk, the speaker shares a recent experience speaking to an elite high‑school volleyball club in Boulder, Colorado. He uses the setting to illustrate key ideas about mental toughness, team dynamics, and handling pressure. The central message is to avoid "when‑thinking" (future‑oriented) and "then‑thinking" (past‑oriented) that pull attention away from the present moment. By recognizing these patterns and returning to the "now," athletes—and anyone facing challenges—can adopt a "yes‑and" improvisational mindset: acknowledge the current situation, accept it, and decide how to respond without fixating on outcomes. The speaker ties this approach to Monday motivation during the pandemic, urging disciplined awareness of present‑focused thinking as a way to start the week strong.
Chapters
Good morning, everyone. Here is your Moment of Yes for Monday, March 8th. And let's get this week going. Let's get it going with a little enthusiasm, a little joy, a little yes and. So Hollister and I got to spend the weekend in Denver, in Boulder actually, staying with a good friend of ours. We're still actually still here, so we're coming home today. But I got the opportunity to speak to a volleyball club, this high-level volleyball club in Denver that really competes, their club teams compete on the national level. So I got the opportunity to speak to some really high-level high school volleyball players about mental toughness, about team dynamics, about dealing with adversity. And one of the ideas that I shared, because one of the temptations in all sports and in life, but especially volleyball, is there are specific points and specific games that seem to mean more than others, right? Those high-pressure points where what happens if we don't win this point? What happens if we don't win this game? What happens if we don't win this match? And so there's a hesitancy in our play. There's a temptation to become tight. And so how do we deal with that? And so one of the ideas that I shared, that's one of my favorite ideas, And it is definitely a yes-and idea from improvisation, but it applies to every aspect of our life. And I've probably shared elements of it before, but it's to avoid what I call when and then thinking, right? Whenever we catch ourselves in when or then thinking, we are no longer in the present. When thinking is in the future, then thinking is in the past. Remember, Back then, the past. I wonder when, the future. So whenever we catch ourselves leaving the present, which is now, which is yes and now, what is happening now? Oh, I just have to, I just have to play this point. I just need to be at my best. I need to pass the ball. I need to receive the ball. Bringing our attention to the present moment, we become tight and we make mistakes when it goes, oh my gosh, You know, if we don't win this point, now we're thinking, we're projecting, we're thinking outcome over the present moment. And so for each of us today, especially on a Monday, especially during the pandemic, there's a, I think, more of a greater temptation on Monday to think about what is coming in the week ahead, maybe what happened over the weekend. You now need to deal with that, you know, moving into the week. So can we Can we be disciplined today about noticing that when and then thinking and always bringing it back to the now where we get the opportunity to say, yes, this is what I'm being confronted with. We're not avoiding it. We're not denying it. Yes, this is what I have to deal with. And here's how I'm going to respond. Not focused on the outcome, not stewing about the why you have to deal with it in the first place. Yes, this is happening, and here's how I'm going to respond. There you go, guys. Go out there, crush it. That's your idea for today, March 8th. Have a great day, everybody.
