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This week\u2019s guest is Dr. Karen Cogan, a Senior Sports Psychologist for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) who has attended 4 Olympic Games as the Sports Psychology Consultant for several Olympic medalists and their coaches. Dr. Cogan has a special set of skills, and she most certainly \u2018knows her stuff\u2019.

In today\u2019s episode, Laura and Dr. Cogan cover an incredible amount of territory including the Doctor\u2019s journey to sports psychology, her direction for athletes dealing with the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the benefits of implementing mindfulness techniques in both sports and life in general. They also look at the causes of burnout in athletes, some reasons behind athletes seeking Dr. Cogan\u2019s assistance and what it means to honor their feelings, as well as some common characteristics of successful and struggling athletes. Finally, Dr. Cogan offers her advice on a number of topics ranging from helping struggling athletes to managing distractions, routines, and pressure, and she also shares some words of wisdom for parents and young athletes. This is an episode overflowing with amazing insight, unique perspective, and powerful \u2018truth bombs\u2019 from two highly accomplished experts in their fields. There truly is gold in your future, and today\u2019s show marks the first in a series of formidable steps to help you pursue it.

Episode Highlights:

Dr. Cogan\u2019s background and her journey to sports psychology\nHer direction for athletes trying to cope through this pandemic and who are preparing to get back to full swing when this isolation ends\nMindfulness training for sports and life\nThe causes of burnout in athletes and how to avoid it\nReasons that athletes have for talking with Dr. Cogan and how she honors their feelings\nCommon characteristics of both successful and struggling athletes\nDr. Cogan\u2019s advice regarding helping struggling athletes, overcoming \u2018fear of success\u2019, dealing with pressure, managing distractions, routines, community, and technology\nHer advice for young athletes and parents of athletes

Quotes:

\u201cWhat I have encouraged athletes to do is to really honor the feelings that they have, whatever those are.\u201d

\u201cIt\u2019s okay to grieve dreams or hopes and things like that when it doesn\u2019t play out like you want.\u201d

\u201cWhen we try to push down those things we\u2019re afraid are going to take over, we\u2019re actually giving them power to take over, and that\u2019s when they end up exploding in our face.\u201d

\u201cEverything is a performance issue when it comes to the Olympics.\u201d

\u201cAn athlete has to be able to talk openly.\u201d

\u201cNow\u2019s the time to get rid of the bad habits and establish the good habits.\u201d

\u201cWinning and losing does not define you as a person or an athlete.\u201d

\u201cWhile the gold medal is awesome, and it\u2019s a great goal to strive for, it\u2019s that pursuit that\u2019s going to make you who you are in the long run.\u201d

Links:\nThe Pursuit of Gold homepage: http://thepursuitofgold.com/

Dr. Karen Cogan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-cogan-93440a24/