Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais - Olympian Goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé on Deep Focus, Soccer, and Mindfulness

Episode Date: August 3, 2016

Stephanie Labbe is the goalkeeper for the Canadian Women's National Soccer Team and is headed to Rio for the Olympics. In This Episode: -Picking between sports growing up -Why she supports children playing multiple sports -Striving to be a positive influence and avoiding being an “energy vampire” -What it feels like to be her best -Confronting her coach after being left off the national team -The positive qualities her parents instilled in her -The mental battle that comes with being a goalkeeper -The strategies she’s implemented to live in the moment -Understanding which triggers get her in her own way -Stepping away from the game to identify what she’s truly passion about -Being aware of which things she can control in her life_________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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them to follow their path in the most accelerated way while they build their craft. Okay. Now this particular conversation, it's about crossroads. It's about choices and it's about resiliency. It's about, in that context, it's about performing on the world stage, which also means losing on the world stage. It happens. And in this conversation, we learn about the thought patterns that our guest used to accelerate her path back to being on the world stage. is with Stephanie Labey. She's the Canadian national team goalie in soccer. She's also heading down to Rio to compete in the Olympics and goalies just have a unique relationship with pressure. So there's lots to learn here from her. Okay. Quick reminder about the mindset project. If you're interested in asking an Olympian about how they've trained their mind,

send a shout out on social media using the hashtag the mindset project. You can also, if you can include the athletes, Twitter handle the Olympians, Twitter handle, and we'll do the work when we're down there, we're going down Nicole Davis, Trevor, and myself will be down in Rio. They'll be really working the mindset project. And I'll be also spending time with women's national team volleyball, as well as some of the beach athletes. Okay. So hashtag the mindset project, ask questions, and we'll do all the heavy lifting down there to answer these questions for you. I think it's going to be great. Okay. Finding Mastery is brought to you by LinkedIn sales solutions. In any high performing environment that I've been part of,

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Again, it's brought to you by my wife and son. And as they hold down the Gervais TP while I'm down in Rio, I, you know, my wife is, she's just an absolute backbone to our family structure. So I just want to dedicate this podcast to her. What's up, Lise? Okay. So with that in mind, if you want to follow her, check her out. She's also, she just loves fashion. She's got a creative eye. And if you're interested in those two things and kicking ass in life, head over to at show and tell me. All right. So let's jump right into this conversation with Stephanie. Stephanie, how are you? Hi, I'm doing great. Thanks.

Yeah. Okay. I'm so looking forward to this conversation to be able to, to learn from you. I mean, you're right in the middle in the trenches. You're been on the world stage for a long time. You've had an up and down journey and you've got so much to teach. And I want to learn how you've gone through challenges. And I want to learn how you've been able to sort that out. And, you know, not to use an overused word, persevere, but really how you've been able to accomplish and experience what you've been able to do.

Yeah, great. It's exciting to be here and I'm excited to talk with you about this. There's so many obstacles I've overcome in my journey and they've all, you know, kind of thrown different things at me and I've had to deal with them in many different ways. There hasn't really been one, you know, solution for really getting through them, but I'm excited to kind of enlighten you a bit on how I've gotten gotten through that okay so let's start from uh 30,000 feet and if you were just to walk us through kind of the main chapter headings of your your life if you will I know it's maybe a tall order but even starting like in grade school or younger like what

were the what would be the chapter headings going through um so that we can have like a broad a broad swath first yeah um so thinking about when I was younger um a big challenge I guess one the first one I came through was when I was about 11 or 12 really deciding what path I wanted to go through with my life um I was playing hockey and soccer and it's kind of following both and I came to that that crossroads where I had to pick one to start to focus on and I don't believe that you really need to you know kids need to definitely like choose one sport and and go with that but for me it was the trainings were starting to overlap and I just had to put a little more commitment into one or the other so that was

kind of the first one and then um then kind of got to this point where I was maybe 14 or 15 and it was um you know the first uh the first rejection and the first kind of being cut from a team and being told I wasn't good enough. And then from there, it was moving forward. When I was about 17 or 18, it was, you know, being with the national team and doing really well, and then kind of taking things for granted and then getting, I don't want to say punished for it, but I guess, you know, getting put on the bench in a position when I probably should have been playing. I was the more experienced goalkeeper, but taking things for granted and not always giving my all. So kind

of that crossroads. And then to then later in 2012, when I was about 25, 26 I guess, going through a crossroads there where it was my own personal mental battles and the feelings of, you know, feeling like you deserve more than you're getting and focusing on all these uncontrollables and yeah, I guess those were kind of the main obstacles for me. And when you think about main obstacles, are there other chapter headings that would be like, I fell in love, my first this, my first that, whatever, like my first time, whatever it might be. Yeah, for sure. I mean, of course, you know, those were my, I guess, main sport ones.

Yeah, yeah. The first thing that comes to mind for me as an athlete. But yeah, of course, you know, there's so many of the personal life things. There's been family illnesses and sicknesses and being away from that having to deal with that um I guess my own personal um identity crises and going through that and um yeah so those are I guess the main ones would be for me as those two. And do you see like your life arc is being part of challenges? Like the chapter heading seemed to be challenges. And I don't know if like the first part of our conversation set that up in a way, or is that if you were to write a book, that's how you would organize the chapters, like the challenges that you went through? Yeah, for sure. I think challenges

are what makes you who you are. And I totally believe that everything that I've gone through has created, you know, the person I am today. And I look back at the obstacles and the challenges as such positives now. And I'm so happy that I went through them and that I learned something from them. And I've been able to come out stronger and grow as a person from them. So those are the things and those are like the highlights that I look back on because I truly believe that that's, you know, what's shaped who I am today. Okay, perfect. So let's go through some of these really quickly. And then I want to get into the, you mentioned an absolute gem about not having,

so you had to choose because between two sports at a young age, but then you didn't think that early specialization was really the way to go. But maybe I heard that wrong. No, for sure. I totally agree with that. I think that playing different sports challenges your body and your mind to do different things. And I think for kids it's so important, you know, number one, so you don't get burnt out, so you're not constantly just focusing on one thing.

And number two, I think it's great, you know, for developing your body and different types of like muscles and how your body moves and your mechanics. I think it's so important to learn these different things. And for me, as much as I can in my off season, I love to do different sports because I think that it just trains your body for so many different things. And you don't get like so mechanic doing, you know, the same thing. So I think with kids kids it's so important and for trying you know individual sports and team sports I think it just challenges you in so many different ways and can just make you such a better all-around athlete yeah okay and what were your early sports that you played oh I played everything from hockey soccer basketball I did badminton tennis like I did all of the athletics so running high jump javel, kind of did everything that I could get my hands on.

Would people that you grew up with at a young age, like either your parents' friends or your peers or your teachers, would any of them be surprised that you're going to the Olympics as the goalkeeper? I'm not sure if they'd – I think I've always been an athlete. I've always wanted to be around sports. I've always participated in sports from when think, you know, I've always been an athlete. I've always wanted to be around sports. I've always participated in sports from when I was young and I've always been competitive. It's just with an older brother, I always wanted to keep up with him and do things just like him. So I think that with that competitive side to me, I think people, maybe they'd be surprised in terms of coming from a small town, thinking that I'm going to

the Olympics. But I think in terms of who I am and my personality, it's not a super far-fetched idea. Okay. So you identified or they identified you early as being an athlete? Yeah. Okay. Does the phrase identity foreclosure, does that mean anything to you? And it might be the first time you've heard it, but does that ring any type of way to you? Not really, no. Okay. So let me see if I can talk about it. And maybe it's just an acid test, if you will.

Is that if there's a trap early on, if we foreclose our identity too early. And meaning like we say to ourselves at too young of an age, I am an athlete. I am a musician. And like that's all I am. And I don't know if you ran into that or not, if that had any kind of bearing in the way that you have become one of the best in the field. But I just want to talk about that a little bit. Yeah, it's, it's interesting. It's not a term that I've heard too much. But just kind of listening to how you say it and thinking about myself, I definitely when I was young, like I 100% didn't identify myself as an athlete. It wasn't something that I thought about. I, I loved playing sports. I love participating in sports.

I think when I was younger, the biggest thing for me was the social aspect. I just loved being around a group of people. And that's what really drew me towards team sports was I just loved being around friends. I loved communicating and connecting with people. And that's what really drew me towards team sports was I just loved being around friends. I loved communicating and connecting with people. And that was my big thing was, and you know, that's the first thing my parents will say all the time is that I, I never once didn't want to go to training. I never once, you know, said, Oh, I'm too tired to go to practice. But the biggest thing was because I just wanted to go hang out with my friends. So it was definitely the social thing. So I think for me, it wasn't necessarily an identity. Okay. So there was two, two things

that I'm learning right now. One is that you had this natural, maybe genetic or physiological predisposition to want to move and be fast and powerful and strong. And all that stuff came relatively natural for you at a young age, right? And then, so you took that genetic coding, if you will, and you paired it with something else, which is you love people, you love teams. So let's say that we took the first one off and we replaced your physical prowess with, I don't know, music, like you can hear music really well, or sculpting where you can do something with your hands and it's easy. Do you think that, um, if you didn't have that genius in you about movement that you could, uh, the part about

being part of a community would be a necessary requirement for another craft, whether that's the craft you're going to do after your, your goalkeeping or if you had another one from an early age. Yeah, that's interesting. I think for me, it was because I was so connected with connecting with people and I loved to be around people. When I was in that environment, I wanted to do everything I could to be a part of it and really immerse myself into it. So I think, yeah, of course I had the genetic kind of background to be athletic and to be able to do those things.

But I think it's also being in that environment is what also pushed me to further those maybe genetic talents that I had or, you know, wanting to be better and help others around me kind of, I guess, pushed that athletic side. So I think, you know, if I was committing to something else, um, I would have done the same thing, whether it was sports or not. For me, I think I would have immersed myself in the community I was in and done what I could. Okay. That's like a light bulb for me as well. And it, but it's working, I'm working from a framework that, um, it's really important to know our genetic coding, the thing that we like, and it comes somewhat natural to us and invest in those the best we can. And as adults, like say we missed it when we were seven, right? Like you found it when you're nine and 10 or whatever, but say we miss it as adults that figure out the things that we love doing where no one has to say,

Hey, you should read more of that, or you should do more of that because you naturally want to do it and then find how you can be part of that community and then what you just added to it was then help others in the community be better yeah is that something that you naturally do like you you want to see others around you also kick ass for sure i mean i think that the more that you can impact people around you the more that you know subconsciously and in turn it's going to impact you so for me like I mean when people around me are happy I'm happy so the more that I can you know give out energy to that and and I think one thing that I've really learned is where to give my energy and I found that when I give my energy to positive things that I get positive energy back so that's something that I've really learned over the years. And it's for sure something that's kind of driven me to where

I am. I've always been a good teammate. I've always tried to, to make others better around me. And that's something that I've really started to see in turn is that when you give that out, you get it back. And two questions, where'd you learn it? And what do you mean by positive? Where did I learn it? I'm not sure. I don't remember like a specific moment where I learned it, but I think it's something that's been natural in the sense of, like I said, I've always been a people person. I love being around people. I love being around kids. And maybe that's part of it is that kids have this, I guess, positive energy, no judgment,

like they're just happy. They're just kind of who they are and maybe part of that. Um, but I do, I do remember, um, learning at one point from actually our current head coach within women's national team, John Herdman. I remember at one point when he first came in to start coaching us, he talked about being an energy vampire and being, you know, when you're in a team setting, being that person that kind of drags other people down. And we always called it, yeah, energy vampires. And it was just basically people who suck energy from others. And I remember kind of him saying that it really resonating with me. And it's something that definitely is always in the back of my mind. I never want to be that person that's

going to pull people down and that's going to affect others around me. And that's something how I try to live my life is just being that positive influence. And positivity is, I think it's a pretty general term. It's not something that's, you know, you can kind of say with one thing. But for me, it's just like making people smile and making people be better at whatever it is they're doing. And it's pretty broad and generic, but I think it's just like a feeling. You can tell when people are excelling and people excel when they're happy and they're just kind of free. That's really cool. Do you have a moment in time when you can think about what it's like when you're at your best?

Right now, actually, I feel like I'm in that moment right now where I'm at my best. And it's like, I feel untouchable right now. So it's been a long journey. But it's like, I feel like the place I'm at right now is like, I'm, I'm totally founded. And I still believe there's so much more for me to find. But looking at my journey and where I've been and where I've come and where I'm at right now, like, I just feel so happy and so excited about where I'm at and what's to come. Oh my gosh. You know, like the idea that you're completely at peace is what it feels like. That's the word that I would put, like there's a peace and a knowing that you've really understand your craft

and that you're able to adjust and be fluid, whether it's in this conversation or on the fields or whatever, that you've got this groundedness about yourself. Is that close to being right? Yeah, for sure. And I think it's so like, it's crazy for me to think about because I've gone through so many, like what you would say, and and hard times in the past kind of year and a bit but the way that i've kind of tackled them and conquered them and and the way that i've um kind of found what works for me and what what really brings me back to the present moment and and being happy which ultimately helps me to be a lot more successful is is pretty cool okay so teach right and maybe one maybe we can teach that idea through two or three

questions here, which is your first rejection, that was like chapter two, right? Your first rejection at age 15. Can you go back and remember how you did that and some of the decisions that you made when you were rejected, what that was like and how you took that information and moved forward? Yeah, so basically I was about, I think I was 14 years old. And I remember getting an email and it was from our U16 national team coach. And it said, you know, there's a camp coming up. You're one of the players who might be selected. Just letting you know, these are the dates, blah, blah, blah.

So, you know, keep it on your radar in a sense. And then about a week and a half later, I got another email and it said, like, you haven't been selected. Just don't feel you're ready at the time. And it was, it was really hard for me. There was a lot of couple girls from my club team that got selected. And actually, the other goalkeeper from my club team got selected. So it was, it was a really hard time. And I was young as my first face of rejection. And I really didn't know how to handle it. And I remember going home. I was at school.

I remember when I got the email. And I went home and talked to my parents about it and cried. And I really didn't know where to go. And my dad kind of looked at me. And he kind of gave me this laugh. Like, kind of like, you know, why are you stressing out about this? And he pretty much just said, go to your coach tomorrow walk in look him in the face and say you made a mistake he's like and walk out and just go to training

and strap on your boots and do that because ultimately the coach that I was training with he was the one that was you know passing on the message so I don't know where it came from but my dad told me to do that so next day I walked into training and he was lacing up his boots and he he still remembers this so clearly too it's, we reminisce about it all the time. But I walked in, and I just looked at him. And I said, Hi, Sean, I just want to tell you that you made a mistake, and I'm going to prove you wrong. And then I walked away. And he kind of like, the way he tells the story now, he goes, Yeah, I looked at you. And I said, Who does this girl think she is telling me I made a mistake? Like, and yeah, and I just from that day, I never looked back.

And he said, you know, talking with him, he said that he he was like, well, this girl better show up to training today kind of thing. And he said from that moment, like he just saw this drive in me and this motivation that just something just clicked at that moment. And OK, OK, OK, OK. You know, I'm excited about this because so when you walked in um okay let's go back in like an order your dad says hey go try go try this as a strategy right like why are you why are you bugging about it just tell him you made a mistake and go get on with it exactly when when you heard that did that go through a couple filters for you like oh no I can't do that or yeah that sounds great or somewhere in between yeah there is I don't even know I no, I can't do that. Or Yeah, that sounds great. Or somewhere in between. Yeah, there is. I don't even know. I don't I don't even know if I really thought about it. I think I was

just like, Dad knows all. If Dad says to do this, I should do it. And I've always trusted my parents, like they're two of my best friends. And yeah, so when he said it, I honestly didn't even think twice. And like I said, when I went in and said it to the coach, like, I don't even know how much I believed of what I was saying. But I think just by me vocalizing it and me saying it, it like triggered something in my brain. Okay. Now talk about the car ride in or the walk in to be able to confront your coach. What happened there? Oh, I remember like I was sweating, I was nervous. And I, like I'm saying, I think it was because I didn't fully believe it. You know, I knew I was going to say this, but it wasn't something that was coming from

my heart. It was something that I was, you know, my dad told me to say it. So I was like, oh, I'm going to say it. But then the nerves and not knowing how he was going to react and being so stern at such a young age, like telling, you know, my coach that he made a mistake. I mean, I think it was just nerves, anxiety and, you know, scared, all of these things. And then as soon as I said it, like I said, I think it was just vocalizing and just put this belief in myself and, um,

triggered something in my brain that, you know what? Yeah. Like I can't do this. I can't prove you wrong. Okay. So let me get this right. So then, so you're walking up, you're nervous because you're borrowing somebody else's beliefs, somebody else's that you trusted, but you hadn't made it yours yet. And then you remember being over activated. You walk up to this authority figure, your coach. And then when you say it, do you remember looking at his eyes? Do you remember anything about that? Or what was your head down and you're nervous? And there's a reason I'm asking all these questions, because there's something that happened where your coach said it. And I think you just said it again, is that I internalized it and I made it real and then it set me on this path to light up practice and probably that day forward for many days uh except for you know the odd and occasional day where it

wasn't quite right for you so i want to understand that because i remember those experiences in my life too where it was hard to, to, to borrow somebody else's belief. Cause I couldn't, it didn't feel right. And I didn't trust them enough. Maybe I didn't trust myself enough. It was all just whatever. But so go back to that moment. If you will. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I mean, walking in, I remember kind of like I saw him in the distance and it was like, you know, he starts to get the sweaty hands and I remember walking up and I remember looking him in the face and saying it. And I remember his face kind of like.

Wait, wait, wait. So when you're walking up in that moment. Sorry. No, that's good. I think this is so much so relevant for everyday processing for all of us is that you had a choice. You could have kind of tucked your tail a little bit and walked around him. Or you could have walked straight to him and done it or you could have like skirted it in some kind of other way and

kind of did it but not really so what why did you keep going why did you keep walking down the hallway I don't know if I remember that that clearly um but from what I remember, there was like zero hesitation. I just, I just went right up to him and I saw a chance he, there was no one else around him. Like I said, he was just kind of lacing up his boots and, um, I saw an opening and, and I just went for it. And I remember saying it, looking at him and then I immediately like turned and walked away because I didn't want any type of confrontation. So I did not want to have a conversation about it. I wanted to say my piece and get out. And so you were standing and he was sitting. Yeah. So that you were looking down at him as well. So you made him look up at you. Yeah. Well, maybe, I don't know, with my height, maybe I wasn't quite

looking down, but yeah, that's interesting. Yeah. That's cool too. Okay. And then you left you left, and you walked away, and you don't know what he's doing behind your like, literally behind your back. And when you're walking away, do you remember capturing that my shoulders kind of thing too. Like I felt like I've just said something that's, it's like, I felt that powerful moment. That is so good. I think that that captures exactly what it feels like to me to say the thing or do the thing that is really difficult. Cause I'm on the edge and then it's like, okay, and now, and then let me see if I get this right. And then you went and you focused 100% on's in your control which is i mean let me not put words in your mouth but something about working hard and you know high effort good attitude right in practice whatever those things exactly yeah yeah for sure oh that's really good yeah it's like that moment of you know you don't even know that you're carrying this weight and you say

it and then you feel this like sigh of relief and this yeah this weight off your shoulders that you're carrying this weight and you say it and then you feel this like sigh of relief and this yeah this weight off your shoulders that you didn't even know you were carrying and I remember that feeling of just something falling off and kind of feeling weightless in that moment and yeah it's pretty cool feeling. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Momentus. When it comes to high performance whether you're leading a team, raising a family, pushing physical limits, or simply trying to be better today than you were yesterday, what you put in your body matters. And that's why I trust Momentus. From the moment I sat down with Jeff Byers, their co-founder and CEO, I could tell this was not your average supplement company. And I was immediately drawn to their mission, helping people achieve performance for life. And to do that, they developed what they call the Momentus Standard. Every product is formulated with top experts and every batch is third-party

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Okay. So let me go back one way and you, you trusted your parents. Yeah. Okay. So teach us how they helped you trust them. What did they do? What was their, the way that they operated when you were growing up so that you could trust them? My parents have always just put a lot of trust in me. And I think that that's something that I've always reacted well is when people trust me, I trust them. And my parents have always given me the choices to make choices on my own. And like I said, with sports, like, they were always there to drive me, they were always, you know, getting me from point A to point B. we lived out in the country so I needed them I there was no way I could walk to practice or bike anywhere or you know going to see friends like they were always my my go-to's and I think they

they were just always so supportive of me and what I wanted to do and when I wanted to switch sports they were yeah that's what you want to do like sure you know they were just very supportive of me and what I wanted to do, and they never pushed me. And especially with sports and athletics, they never tried to be my coach, and I think that that was something so important. They were my number one supporters, but they were never my coach.

And I think that that's so important because even now, like, you know, after games, they've obviously, you know, started to understand soccer a lot more now, but they never make any type of comments about my player or anything like that it's just they're just my number one supporters and I think that that's something so important what are the questions or statements that they make to you that have that that like that ring true to you um my dad I don't know if there's anything that's like

super specific. It's just like, just them expressing their love for me and their support for me. It's, you know, they say it in so many different ways, but, um, you know, with me traveling around, we communicate in so many different ways. It's whether it's through email or text or the odd FaceTime, um, it's just them expressing their love and support for me and and you know never wanting me to hold back from new opportunities and new chances because I'm homesick or anything like that and there's been times where I've been

homesick but they've just always been so supportive and really basically kept the doors open for me to do what I want and and know that they're always going to be there and support me on my path do you did you notice that adults treated you differently because you were really good at what you, did you notice that adults treated you differently because you were really good at what you did? Did you ever have that experience? Um, I mean, I think I, maybe a little bit in college just because I remember like being, being an athlete, you know, obviously we missed a lot of classes and a lot of things and teachers for sure, like went out of their way to help me, um um with missing so much school and and

I guess same in high school I mean I left high when I was in high school I was leaving um leaving school early every single day to get to my training so I had to get into the city um and teachers were super like supportive they never um fought back about that and um it may have I mean yeah I'm not sure if it was I assume it maybe it was because I was I was an athlete but I think also like the drive and the the commitment that I have in sports I also have it in life so I you know even when I was in school or doing other things I was still driven and and worked hard and so I never I tried really hard not to take things for granted and slack off, I guess.

So there's not many people that are, that have experienced the level of success that you have right now globally to be, you know, there's handfuls of great goalkeepers. And what is it that you think makes you special or that captures what is special about you that you've refined and harnessed? What is it work ethic? Is it drive? I heard you talk about those. Maybe it's something else. I don't know. Yeah, for me, like the point that I'm at right now, what really defines me right now, I think is, is the fact that I'm just, I'm really starting to live my life in the moment. And I'm really trying to be the best person that I can be every single day. And a lot of that comes down to I've gotten into meditation a lot. So that really has helped me to become more present. And then with that, it's like focusing on the controllables and forgetting the uncontrollables. Because the more it comes back to energy, the more energy I put into things that I can't control, it's a waste of energy. And so for me, it's all about like, putting my energy to things that I control and doing the best that I can with that. And, and really just trying to be the best version of myself every single day. Okay, so what does that? It sounds great and wonderful. What is the

practice of the process that you're doing to cultivate that um is there something every day that you're doing is it just like guiding thoughts that that um that help you what are the practices or thoughts yeah so i meditate every day now um that's something that's recently come into my life since um i really started getting into it in november okay um and since then i really fallen in love with it and how it makes me feel and how self-aware and in tune with my thoughts and my feelings I am. And just really getting to the point where I can trust myself and really be aware of exactly what I'm feeling in this moment. And then when did you start to notice that you had greater clarity and maybe a greater trust

of yourself? was it early was it late was it just now like last week what what how long did it take you I think the the biggest I guess turning point would have been in like March yeah it was March is it marked by something in particular it was kind of a mixture of it was a point in with the national team that came up. We had our Olympic qualifying at the end of February. And I remember I was in a place where it was, you know, everything for me has been a mental journey with being a goalkeeper in sports. It's always been the mental battle that's, you know, created the roller coaster of my career.

And at that point, I hit a point where it was you know as much as I try to focus on the controllable sometimes the uncontrollable sneak in and at that point I was this mentality of I'm only playing because someone else is injured and that started to kind of creep into my mind and it started to affect how I was playing on the field and then I kind of got into this I I started to change my my thoughts and really think about it in terms of I I was viewing every time I got to play I was viewing it as an opportunity and for me opportunity was starting to become a negative thing um because it was almost I was putting too much pressure on myself it was like well this is an opportunity I need to take

it I need to do a lot and show so opportunity started to have a negative kind of tinge for me, myself. So I really kind of started to do a lot of work and through my meditation, get my thoughts in terms of thinking of things, not only as an opportunity, but thinking of them as a product of what I've done. So now every time I step on the field for me, it's, I'm getting things as a product of the hard work I've put in and the training I've done and the work that I've done. And that's how I now view it. And, and being able to switch that for myself is like changed how I step on the field now. Uh, okay. So going from opportunity to this is how I'm demonstrating the work I've, I've put in. Yeah, this is a product. Yeah,

this is like a product of what I've done and not an opportunity to give more. There you go. Okay, so more concretely about your mindfulness or meditation practice. Is it a certain number of minutes? Is it a certain way that you structure your mornings, your afternoons, your days, your evenings? How are you doing it? Yeah, so I believe in moderation and I believe in changing things up. I don't think that it's healthy to do the exact same thing all the time. So for the majority of the mornings, I do like around a 10 minute morning one as soon as I wake up. So it's the first thing I do in the morning. And it's just for me, it's a way to wake up, clear my thoughts and just start the day with this fresh feeling. But game days is completely different. So game days, I won't do

it when I first wake up, I'll do it like, if it's a night game, I'll do it in the afternoon. And I do it longer. So like 25 minutes. And then something that kind of comes with the meditation for me is, every time I come out of this meditation, I get inspired. Like there's always this one overarching thought that comes out of it. I don't know where it comes from, but something comes out. So on game days, right after I meditate, I always have my journal with me and I write in my journal, whatever this thought is, whatever these feelings are, I write it in my journal. And then right before I go out on the field, when I'm in the locker room, right before I go out, that's what I read. And that's where I come back to that present moment in that

that inspiration so you've got a process okay so when you set out to start your meditation is it single point focus where you're breathing or is it more contemplative where you're exploring yeah it's cheap it's kind of evolved so at first it was I would just completely try to clear my mind and that became hard that was hard it was like okay clear your mind clear your mind okay clear your mind stop having thoughts yeah and then um a couple months ago i actually because i am sponsored and i work with lululemon um i got the opportunity to work with one of their meditators and yogis. So she has created a personalized podcast for me.

So now I have this podcast, which basically the main thing that it comes back to is the mantra of I am. And it's all about not finishing the sentence. It's not about I am this, I am that, I am that. It's just I am. And that's it. So it's just for me now, that's the mantra that I go with. And it it's just all about like in the end like I think about it as I am good enough. I don't need to define myself as this, this, this, this, this. It's just I am.

I am who I am. Have you connected your mantra to your breath? Yes. Is it breathe in on the I and out on the am? Is that how you're doing it? Exactly. Yeah. And so that's the way that, you know, they say that when when you're meditating there's four things that always happen uh you'll hear

your mantra you'll have thoughts you'll fall asleep or you'll be you know clear thoughts so those are the four things and so for me you know whenever i have thoughts that's just what i come back to i come back to the i am and and that's kind of the centering centering piece of it and then what do you do with the thoughts that you've noticed? Do you, I know, you know, aspirationally the idea is to not judge, but to observe and to, you know, do you file those away in some kind of way or do you just kind of, what do you do? I don't want to lead you down a path. I really want to know what you do when you've noticed that your thoughts are taking, are going somewhere. Yeah. It's actually quite like interesting. I find the thoughts that come into my head when I meditate,

and I'm like, where are these coming from? The most random thoughts. And some days, game days, usually thoughts will come in about soccer and about the game and about who we're playing, the opponents. My last training session, usually it's focused around there. But the daily ones in the mornings, the thoughts are so random.

But for me, the biggest thing I've noticed is at first, the thoughts would come. And the thoughts would last random but for me the biggest thing I've noticed is like at first the thoughts would come and the thoughts would kind of last for a long time then all of a sudden I could switch them off but now with the practice that I've done I've been able to it's not that I'm reducing how much I'm thinking but it's the amount of time that I'm thinking so it's like I can recognize that I'm thinking and switch it off and then I might start thinking again and I can switch it off so it's all about like I'm just recognizing it faster and I'm able to go back to my mantra really quick. And that's where I've noticed that it's the same when I'm on the field.

So when I'm playing, I'm able to, if my mind starts to go towards the last play or the next situation or thinking about anything other than the present moment, that's where I'm able to switch it back on right away. Yeah, there you go. What a great introduction and experience you've had around mindfulness. Okay. So good. That's good in the weeds. And on game day, is it 10 minutes and then 25 minutes, or is it just the 25 minutes? It's just the 25, yeah. So I take it easy in the morning, and then I do the 25 in the afternoon. And then you keep notes after? 25, yeah. So I take it easy in the morning, and then I do the 25 in the afternoon. And then you keep notes after?

Yeah, exactly. And is it just kind of free form, like whatever came up? Yeah, so I kind of do, so I have like a free for all, whatever kind of my inspiration was, whatever. And usually it's kind of focused around one point. So, for example, different points have been one time it was domination, one time it was confidence, one time it was being free, one time it was clarity. So time it was confidence, one time it was being free, one time it was clarity. So it's just, you know, whatever it is. And so I'll write like half a page, it usually is of just these thoughts that just come and I just start writing and they just

come out of my head. And it's just I put it down. What's the purpose for writing for you? It's just to store it. I like, I think that when I come out of my meditation, that's when I'm the most clear and the most present. And I think those moments are the most powerful. So I want to keep a record of that. Okay. So knowing what you know now, and you've been on this path for a while to be able to land on the national team. You care so much about it.

You're kicking ass. You're doing what you're doing. How do you get in your own way? What is it that you do that gets in your own way? I overthink things. I go back to thinking about the uncontrollables. I allow others to affect how I feel. Yeah, those would be the main things.

When you said it, you sound so clear that you know exactly how you get in your way. Let me see if I can string or make up part of the story here. Is it because you've experienced so much pain around those three things? For sure. Yeah. Those are the three things that have gotten in my way in the past and that have created the most obstruction for me. Are you coming, when you say that you sound really grounded, is that coming from a place of love for yourself and others? Or is there something else that comes? Maybe it's agitation, and I'm totally blowing it. But it really feels like there's a lot of love when you said that. Yeah, for sure. And like I've,

like I said, at the beginning was, for me, all of these, you know, you can look at them as negative experiences. But for me, I look at them as positives. But all of these obstacles and hard times I've been through have really shaped who I am. And I'm really thankful and grateful for my own self-confidence and the way that I've been able to come out of these things and be a better person because I know that I could have gone down down different paths. And it's very hard to deal with these challenges, especially when you feel like it's, it's like an internal attack on yourself or whatnot. And sometimes it, it's really hard to see the light and see what can come of these really hard times when you're so into it. But the one thing that I've really kind of grasped and really tried to focus on when I'm in these hard times is that everything happens for a reason. And I've really tried to focus on when I'm in these hard times is that everything happens for a reason. And I've really tried to focus on that in the hard times and know that, you know, this is happening to me for a reason and I'm going to be better from it. I'm going to be stronger. And, you know, I'm not happy I went through those things, but I'm happy that I've come out stronger and learned and grown from

those experiences. And then when you're inside of an experience where it's not easy, and it's really hard, and you're thinking about what other people think of you, or your outcome should be different, you should have been able to do this, or somebody else should think differently for you, think differently about you. How do you get through that? My biggest thing is coming back to what makes me happy and what makes me who I am. It's coming back to the controllables and what I can focus on and putting my energy into what I can focus on. Because, you know, when you're in those negative states, it's really easy to give your energy to the negativism. So, you know, when I'm so focused on a coach, okay, this coach doesn't like me,

he's not playing me, you know focusing giving all my energy to that it's like well it's taking energy away from what i could be putting in for myself and it's taking energy away of how i could be giving positive energy to teammates but instead i'm venting to them and i'm whining to them about how this coach is thinking so not only am i giving away my negative energy i'm also pulling other people down with me. So for me, it's always coming back to what makes me happy and what I can control. Okay. Really concretely, what are the things that you can control that you focus on? Right now, I can control my meditation. So I can control my thoughts and what I give energy to in that sense. I can control my work ethic and my, who I am when I step on the field. I can always, right now I can always put money

that I'm going to work hard and nobody's going to outwork me. And I can control being a good teammate. I can be good to people around me. I can lift people around me. And yeah, those would be my big ones. I love this. You know why I love this? It's because we've never, you know,

we've never spent time together. And we had a quick phone call not too long ago to meet each other for this. You know why I love this? It's because we've never spent time together. And we had a quick phone call not too long ago to meet each other for this. But geez, that sounds exactly like it feels like those are the same things I think about. And I don't get a sense. I'm sure you've done some work with sports psych or mindset training. I'm sure you've done some work somewhere on your path. But you're right on the money. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Does it feel like really? It feels like it. Yeah. It's like, and every time I talk about it, it's like, it feels more and more real.

And I think about it every day. I think about, you know, how happy I am and how I've gotten to this place. And I'm so thankful for the experiences I've been through, but it is a work in process and are in progress. And it's something that I have to keep working at every day. But it just feels like I'm tripping away and I'm opening this box of like unlimited potential. I love it. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Cozy Earth.

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from them? I guess like, you know, for me, I found meditation and that's really something that's gotten me to where I am right now and really kind of gotten me to what I feel is my peak at this moment. And I guess my thing would be like, what's their one thing? What's the one thing that drives them? What's the one thing that brings them back to who they are and what makes them, you know, successful? So there's, I think there's two questions, like what's driving to who they are and what makes them successful. So I think there's two questions, like what's driving and then what's the thing that brings them back to who they are? Yeah, like in those moments, what's their guiding factor?

What's that one thing that, yeah, brings them back? Because I think ultimately it's about being present and people find different ways to come back to what's making me happy in this moment and how do I be successful in this moment and it's how do people get back to that when you know you start to drift and go off course and then so um you said like this to be the best version of yourself you said that like who they are and how do you answer that question who are you I am yeah see I'm I'm a I don't like to put labels I don't like to define myself as one thing and I think every day I'm a different person but for

me I think of myself as I'm happy I'm driven I'm motivated I'm a people person I love connecting with people and I just I love to live in the moment so I love to be adventurous spontaneous I just love to do what feels good in the moment okay so do you look for how do you think about risk um I like it but I'm a bit of a chicken at times depending what it is but I like risk I think that it's for me I love making myself vulnerable I think that that's when you open doors to new things and anytime I can you know take a risk and be vulnerable um I know that I'm on the brink of something incredible. Okay, so you look forward to it? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I asked you the question, like, what would you want to know from others? I also asked Carly Lloyd that same question.

And, you know, one of the greats in soccer, certainly. And so here's the question she asked, what percentage of the game is mental on the world stage? And so if I pass that on from her to you, how would you answer that? I think it's different for every player. But for me, it's like, I would almost say like 95% mental. That's a big percent. That's a really big percentage. Yeah, for me, it makes or breaks my performance. It's Yeah, that's a big percent that's a really big percentage yeah for me it makes or breaks my performance it's yeah that's something that like i said i've always had to deal with in my career and it's something that i'm really proud that i've gotten to the place where i am right now but it's it's something i have to work on every day and i love working on it i love doing

it but it's it's for sure like a big big part of what's it feel like or look like or sound like or smell like? Whatever senses we want to talk about when you're at your best. What is that like for you? That's so cool. I literally just had this conversation with my goalkeeper coach about, because I think about what it feels like. Okay, so for me, it feels free. I feel like I can step on the field and I don't think.

But in terms of the actual, like when I really think about feelings, it's like, it's this overwhelming confidence that when I step on the field, it's like, I know that I'm going to dominate every single battle that I have, whatever, whatever, whoever I'm going against, whatever it, whether it's a cross, whether it's a shot, whether it's communication, whatever it is, I'm going to win my battle. And it's like, it's just this overwhelming amount of confidence and domination in a sense that I'm going to dominate like every moment I can. And then do you, are you clear on the strategy to develop confidence where you don't have to question as much or maybe at all? For me, it's just literally going back to giving my

absolute everything in every single session and, you know, working really hard, putting in the making sure I'm focused in those moments so that when I step on the field for a game, I don't have to think it's I know that I've put the work in. And I know that when I step into a game, I'm not going to do anything different than what I've trained. So it's just all about walking into a game and knowing I'm prepared. And it's like that confidence that I've done everything I can to be prepared for that moment. So good. What does your recovery program look like? Because I get a sense that you put a lot into every day. Yeah, the biggest part for me is the mental recovery. Because in games as a goalkeeper, it's very mental. And that's where I really noticed the biggest drainage after games is the mental side. So for me, I like love being in nature. So that's something I've really gone out along with the meditation and everything that's really something I try to do so whether

it's just being outside going for walks um but ultimately it's like it's just not thinking just you know being relaxed and and enjoying it and um yeah just being around people just relaxing getting my thoughts off soccer and and just totally out. Okay. And then, so when, as a keeper, um, is the drain that the relentless focus that you have, or do you turn off your focus when the ball's on the other side, or are you watching to see like what, what is the drain? Yeah, it's the relentless focus. A hundred percent. It's actually quite interesting. I think I'm a little crazy in the sense, but like, if you look at my heart rate during games, like I'm in my red zone, like almost as much as players, which is like nuts because I'm like not running around as much as them. But the amount of focus,

it's like, you're constantly analyzing and you're constantly predicting what's going to happen, anticipating what's going to happen. So you're like reading the play. Oh, this could happen. If that happens, I have to do this. I have to do this I have to be here so it's like it's actually for me like more mentally draining when I'm not when the ball's in the other end for the entire time because I'm just constantly like anticipating and trying to read the the situation for what could happen next and always kind of trying to be a one or two steps ahead so it's just that constant like 90 minutes of just pure focus no wonder mindfulness has been important for you. Yeah.

Yeah, it's really cool. For sure, because, yeah, the second I, you know, start to think about, oh, that goal I just let in or that mistake I just made, then I'm not thinking about what could happen and predicting, you know, the next play. So what happens when you let one in? What do you do? I'm complete, like, next task. I've gotten to this place where I don't even try to learn from it right away i'm just like already next task and there's a lot of times if you ask me right after a game like what happened on the goal i won't even be able

to tell you until i watch film back because i'm just so like it's just completely next task because i know that i can't waste any energy on it or I won't make that next save. Even though you have, I don't know, 30 seconds potentially before another strike could come your way. Yeah, but for me, as a goalkeeper, I think we can have a massive presence. And that's something that I really want to have is this presence on the field that I'm really striving towards. And so for me, when I see my teammates look back at me I want them to see that confident presence and and feel that and I know that when I look at others and I I can see them standing up tall and I can see them with this positive presence that it's so like addicting and you can feed off of it so I want them to see that that I have that and feel that I don't want them to look down and see my head down see my hands on my knees and you know feeling down because I that that's very transferable. So the more that I can be confident and whether I feel it or

not going back to this thing, whether you believe it, the more that you can pretend it and hold yourself up high, the more that you'll, others will feed off of it. And you'll, I guess, convince yourself that, that you're in that. How, how much space do you take up in the net? Do you take up, is that a weird phrase, or do you take up space? I'm not a very big girl. So physically, not so much space. But I like to think that I take up a lot. I like to think that I have a big presence in there. So you used the word girl.

I'm fascinated. Like, guys don't really call themselves boys. Yeah. I don't even know why I call myself a girl. Yeah. Like my wife and I talk about all the time, you know, like, oh, I'm going to go hang out with the girls. And sometimes guys will say, oh, I'm going to hang out with the boys. Like I get that. But then I can't ever remember me thinking of myself like as a boy until like I made a decision at some point to be a man. And I'm wondering, even when we're talking about this, and there's not a right or wrong, I'm just really curious about that part. Is there a difference between girl and a woman?

Is that a word that you like a lot? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if I really think about it. I'm not sure if it's something that I think about or I just kind of say like, yeah, I like to think that I'm a little kid at heart. So there's a youthfulness to me and maybe that's why I subconsciously use the word girl instead. Yeah, Cool. Okay. So just when we're on this path, like, is there, do you have a working idea of that transition from girl to woman? Is there something, it's not age, you know, like, is there a rite of passage or is there something that women

go through or girls go through where they say, now I feel like a woman. I don't know if there's one thing or because, I mean, I look at it and I feel like I've I believe I've been through a lot. And, yeah, I've had a lot of obstacles. I've had a lot of successes and I think with that I could easily, I'm not sure what other things could have happened for me to think that way. But yeah, I'm not sure. Yeah, and I'm just thinking women in general. And I know I can't speak for men in general and you can't speak for women in general. I'm really clear, like, right of passage for boys to men. Like, for a long time it's been war, you know, fighting, you know, being able to provide, whether that is with hunting and or monetary.

Like, for me, because I'm growing up in that, it's clear. And I'm just, I don't know clearly what it feels like, obviously, to be a woman and have those rites of passage. Now, like, thinking about it, I kind of, this is really crazy. Like, I totally think of myself when I'm, when I think of myself as Stephanie Labbe, the soccer player, I think of myself as very different than Stephanie Labbe, a person. I think, for me, I'm kind of like two different people. When I step on the field, I, like, transform into this other person. And so I think, for me, me, maybe like really thinking about it, like when I think about myself as a soccer player, I maybe guide it more towards girl because that's that's the fun in me.

That's a youth in me. That's where I'm like a little kid and like that happiness and that that freedom. And then me as a person, I think more as a woman, because I think about the journey I've been through in the hard times and who I've really become as a person. And I feel that I'm very, not that I'm not a mature soccer player, but I feel that I've grown up a lot off the field to with all the experiences. So maybe it has something with that. When I talk about myself as a soccer player, I tend to use the word girl more. That's really cool. Okay, so we've really decoded that one moment, right? Like when you confronted your coach.

But I also know that what you've shared is that you've been through some tough stuff in the last couple years. You know, just a quick pass. What has some of that, how do you describe or how do you think about some of that? Yeah, so the biggest one would be in 2012. I decided to step away from the national team. So I took that entire year off. I look back and I kind of think it's funny, you know, the one year that the girls go on and they win a bronze medal in the Olympics and make history. But looking back, I know 100% and I believe 100% that if I was a part of that, I wouldn't have enjoyed it because the journey wouldn't have been enjoyable for me. And for me, success is not defined by a gold medal or it's not

defined by the end result, the championship. It's the journey to get there and it's being present in that journey and enjoying every step along the way is what makes that end product, you know, feel good and feel more impactful, I guess. So for me, looking back, I know that I wouldn't have enjoyed the journey and it would have been a negative experience. So I would have looked at that end result and remember the negative times. So that was a really hard year in the sense of, I mean, it's never easy to say no to your country. But for me, it was something, I was in that point where I was, you know, dragging other people around me down. I was venting all the time. I was focused on all these uncontrollables. I was blaming other people. Um, just my focus and energy was going everywhere except for to myself. And so

I went back and was still playing pro and really put my focus there and tried to come back to this place of what what am I passionate about and what really makes me happy and so that year was a huge turning point in that sense um and ever since being back from that year off um I've got like I mean so much more playing time which is funny as soon as I stopped thinking about playing time I started getting playing time and just been able to really flourish in that sense. And then two years later, getting connected with Lululemon and finding this new meditation and yoga and finding that mindfulness side of my life has once again turned another corner. That's brilliant. And we have a mutual friend there, Dave.

Yeah, incredible. Yeah, he told me to say hi to you. So I'll pass on the message. He's a wonderful human. I love knowing Dave and being a friend with him. Yeah, for sure. I love that you said human because that's such a like Lululemon thing to say. They always just say like, oh, he's such a good human. Oh, did they say that? I love it. Yeah, I love it. Yeah, he is that for sure. Okay. So, um, so, so you, did you, do you have clarity about why you were burning out? If that's, maybe that's too strong of a word, but why you were reaching to a point where you

didn't want to play for your national team? Yeah, it was, like I said, I just had, I felt like every day I would step off the field and I would be like crying or I would be upset or I would walk to the field and I would just dread that training session because I knew that I wasn't enjoying it. It just wasn't an enjoyable experience. Okay. So stop there for just a minute, because I think so many people, and I can recognize this in my own life way back is that I didn't, I knew that this wasn't the right way to do it, but I didn't have the courage or the know-how to say, stop, I gonna go do something else how did you do that was it so bad was it really that bad or was it like I don't how did you do that yeah it's I'm trying to remember that exact moment like I remember it was it was starting to drag on and it was starting

to take a toll on me and um yeah I just I don even know if, if there was like really a moment that clicked, but I remember like going away, we were in Cyprus for a tournament and I remember just at the end of that tournament, just this overwhelming feeling of just like, just not enjoying it and not being fulfilled. And for me, soccer, like I never want it to feel like a job. It's my passion and it's what I absolutely love doing. And I truly believe that if you find something you're passionate about and you love doing, it'll never feel like a job. And it was starting to feel like that.

I was dreading going and every day I'd wake up and just dread the tears that would come. How did you say no to it? Because it's like that was paying some bills. That was part of what you're doing. It's how your whole world knew who you were. How did you say no? Because there's plenty of people that are like, let's go 45, 55, 60, yeah, 50, 45 and 55 years old. And they've chipped in so much at the work that they're doing. Right. And they know they want to do something different and they're not able to say, I want to, I want to start now. How did you you do it how'd you do that I just did it I just kind of

I don't even know like I was like the same as that day when I was 12 years old like I just I remember emailing my coach and putting it all out there on on paper and I remember just writing it reading it and being like send send like, just I just I'm such I like love honesty. And I love being like pure. And that's something that I always bring into relationships and how I connect with people is I'm always honest. And I believe that like, if I'm honest with myself, that I'll be much more honest with

other people. And I just got to this point where I had to be honest with myself. And I didn't want to like drag it on anymore. So I just wrote this, I wrote my all my feelings. And it was kind of that moment of, like, I mean, terrified of how someone's gonna react to that or respond to that. But it was like, I knew that I was giving my piece and I had no regrets in terms of like, um, yeah, I just, I knew that I put everything out there and I put everything that I felt and that I was feeling in that moment. And I remember him, like Johnny even saying, like, just stick with us, stick through this,

like enjoy this journey with us, come on this journey with us. Like it'll be worth it in the end and all this stuff. But I just, I remember just being really strong with myself and Stern and saying like this is I know I need this and it I knew in the moment that it wasn't like I'm quitting soccer like it wasn't an end an end to anything for me it was it was just a temporary pause for for something that I knew was gonna ultimately come back in a successful form. It's really cool. That power of being authentic and having the conviction and courage to do it.

When you're talking about it, I feel it inside me. Like, yes, I want to live my life exactly like that more often. And the moments when I've been able to do it as well. And I'd like to think I get to do it a lot, but that is spot on. I love exactly what you're talking about. It's that vulnerability, right? Like knowing that you're vulnerable, you're opening yourself up to, yeah, maybe some negative things, but you know that you're opening an even bigger door to a positive. Yeah, and it's not knowing if you're making a mistake, but the decisions that you're making based on your internal information, your intelligence, your history, it is the right decision now. Yeah. Yeah. It's that part. Okay. Is there a word or phrase that guides your life?

Presence. Is there a word or phrase that cuts to the center of what you do the best? Well, the quote that I have tattooed on my arm is be you bravely. And so that's something that I really try to live by every day is just to be fully myself, not try to be anyone else, not try to fill anyone else's shoes, just be a hundred percent myself and be brave with that. And then, so let's talk about your tattoos and your ink and you have one sleeve or any, do you have one half sleeve, but then I have like a bunch of other little tattoos as well. And actually they've all, I get them all after I've come out of like one of these obstacles in my life. So all of my tattoos kind of, yeah, I go through these hard times and I come out of them and I find this positive energy and that's when I get my tattoo.

So they all remind me of different times in my life, obstacles. Very cool. And is there one that you could walk us through like what that's about for you hmm which would be the best one so the one on my wrist here it says just be and so that one came it was two years ago when I was three years ago when I was coming back from the London that year, the 2012 year when I first came back. And it was all about coming back to focusing on what I can control and not thinking about all these other things, but just being. And it's from the book The Power of Now. I was reading that one at that time.

And yeah, so it was kind my my reminder to just be here and not think about all these other things but just be me there's a great book in case you're interested ramdas be here now okay yeah i've heard of it yeah it's a kind of a it's a wonderful book and so that might be of interest to you i will note that one yeah cool, cool. Okay. Let's see here. I think we've spoken about most of the questions. Let me thumb through a little list here I had for you. Yeah, okay. So how about this? Let's go through all the mindset skills.

What are the most important for you? Being able to generate calm, confidence. I don't think you have a pre-performance routine, but I'm not sure about that. Using imagery, having clear goals like what are some of the most important mindset skills or mental practices that you have I know I know you're going to say mindfulness and meditation but yeah like go just a little bit more precise about calm confidence deep focus yeah um I'm not like I do imagery um so I think that that's a thing because I think it's all about feeding the the positives in your mind and um the term that John actually uses John Herberman with our national team is like playing the the positive highlight reel so we all have

these movies in our head and we have these negative movies and these positive movies and it's all about replaying those positive movies and um so for me a lot of that a lot of it is that so before games like picturing myself doing things positive so picturing myself going up for a cross and catching it picturing myself making this big save and holding it giving no rebound so it's just all about imagining these positive things and um so that's a big one for me and of course cultivating the the presence and being present in the moment and really flourishing in that sense and i think those would be my biggest things i i really come back to like trying to clear my head of too much clutter and really just being

like focused on the moment and and being the best that i can be right now. Okay, so how about a couple quick hits, and you can take slow or long, however you like here, but are you more street smart or street savvy, if you will, or more analytical? I guess more street smart. I try not to analyze things too much. I try not to because otherwise I get into overanalyzing and then it's too much. Slow paced environment or fast paced environment?

Which do you prefer? Both. Totally depends on the time. I love slow paced. I love being in nature. I love going for hikes, walks, just totally relaxing. But I also have this like form of add where i can't be just like sitting still i love to be doing things so i love to do things all the time

but chill out okay so which one stresses you out more like if it's too fast too noisy and too crazy or if it's too slow too slow too slow okay yeah and then do you prefer to follow rules or take risks i i love taking risks but i'm very i don't like to break rules i i hate conflict so if i can avoid conflict then yeah so i feel like a little bit of a balance but i like to push myself out of my comfort zone and take risks okay perfect um intellectually competitive or physically competitive? Physically. And then do you make fast decisions or slow decisions? Fast. I'm impulsive. And where does pressure come from? Myself. And then if you were to answer this phrase, it all comes down to? Me. The crossroad in my life was? Myself.

I love it. And then just respond, like if you responded to the word love. Oh, it reminds me of a lot of different things, but the first thing that comes to mind is family. And then if we were to say my vision. My vision is for me to continue to be the best version of myself every day and ultimately I'll be successful. Awesome. Like you are seriously connected to the process and exactly what you're working towards. Yeah. Okay.

So, you know, if there's, I don't know if you have any questions that you want to bounce off of me, but because I've been asking all the questions, but what a joy to learn from you and to, to get to know your framework and it's going to be really exciting to watch you go for it. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thank you so much. It was great talking with you. And I feel like you even kind of sparked some interest in my own thoughts and how I think about things. So that was awesome. Oh, very cool. So hopefully, you know, we'll stay connected on social or any other way, you know, that makes sense for us. But I'm thoroughly looking forward to watching how you do in Rio. So thank you so much.

Yeah, very cool. Okay. So where can we find out more about you? What is your social media kind of engagement? Where can people go and find more information about you? Yeah. What is your social media kind of engagement? Where can people go and find more information about you? Yeah, so all of my social media, so Instagram, Twitter, and geez, what other social media is out there? Instagram, Twitter, I don't even know what else I'm on. It's all StephLabA1, at StephLabA, and then the number one.

Okay, so spell it for everyone. S-T-E-P-H-L-A-B-B-E, and then the number one. And then my website is www.steflabay.com. Perfect. Okay, so for everyone listening, thank you so much for paying attention to these conversations and being able to learn from people that are on the Path of Mastery. So, Steph, I want to say thank you again. I love your framework and where you're coming from, and it's it's absolutely joy to to know you and if those

that want to find out or more and other guests go to itunes and search for finding mastery you can also find all of this on findingmastery.net and at michael gervais as well as that's on twitter and instagram and then also um we've got finding mastery that we're firing up on instagram as well okay thank you steph awesome to know you thank you so much well. Okay. Thank you, Steph. Awesome to know you. Thank you so much. It was great talking with you. Okay. Best success.

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