High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 659: Succeeding in the NFL and Beyond with Chris Reed, NFL Veteran

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

Welcome to High Performance Mindset, the podcast where we dive into mental strategies to help you be your best more often. Today, we’re thrilled to have a powerhouse guest—someone who’s left his mark on the NFL with grit, determination, and sheer talent. Our guest is none other than Chris Reed! As a versatile offensive lineman, Chris has played for multiple NFL teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, and my favorite, the Minnesota Vikings. Known for his incredible athleticism, Chris’s journey from his college days at Minnesota State, where he excelled in football and track and field, to the pros is nothing short of remarkable.  But there’s more to Chris than just his football career. Off the field, he’s a dedicated family man cares about mental health, and a testament to resilience, having climbed the ranks as an undrafted free agent in 2015 to become a reliable presence on some of the league's toughest offensive lines. In this episode, Cindra and Chris discuss:  Chris’s 10-year NFL career, outlasting most players and playing for seven teams His focus on strength, conditioning, and football strategy to achieve longevity How mental performance coaching helped him stay present and control the controllables Overcoming negative self-talk and breaking challenges into actionable steps A powerful visualization experience that felt like "magic" HIGH PERFORMANCE MINDSET SHOWNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE REQUEST A FREE MENTAL BREAKTHROUGH CALL WITH DR. CINDRA AND/OR HER TEAM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MENTALLY STRONG INSTITUTE Love the show? Rate and review the show for Cindra to mention you on the next episode.

Welcome to the High Performance Mindset Podcast. You're listening to episode 659. This is your host, Dr. Cendra Kampoff, and thank you so much for joining me here today on the podcast where we dive into mental strategies to help you be at your best even more often. And today we're thrilled to have a powerhouse guest, someone who's left his mark on the NFL

with grit, determination, and sheer talent. Our guest today is none other than Chris Reed. He's a versatile offensive lineman, and Chris has played for multiple NFL teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Miami Dolphins, the Carolina Panthers, the Indianapolis Colts, and my favorite, the Minnesota Vikings. He's known for his incredible athleticism. But Chris's journey from his college days at Minnesota State, where he excelled in football and track and field, in fact, he was an 11-time All-American in track and field,

to the pros is nothing short of remarkable. But there's more to Chris than just his football career and his journey. Off the field, he's a dedicated family man who cares about mental health, which we talk about in this episode. And a testament to his resilience is that he had to climb the ranks as an undrafted free agent in 2015. And he became a reliable presence on some of the league's toughest offensive lines. So let's get ready to hear about the highs, the challenges, and the lessons learned from one of NFL's unsung heroes. Let's welcome to the podcast today, Chris

Reid. Chris Reid, thank you so much for joining us on the High Performance Mindset Podcast. I've been looking forward to this conversation for several months, so I'm just pumped for you to be here today. Thanks. I'm glad to be here. Chris, you entered the NFL in the draft in 2015. Can you believe that? You played for 10 years. And I want to list the teams for people that you played for. You started with Jacksonville, then Miami Dolphins, then the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Saints and the Texans. Wow, 10 years. How does that feel to know that you outlasted majority of people? It feels awesome. I mean, it really was

quite an experience. You know, it flew by. I can't believe it's been 10 years. It's kind of hard to believe. It's the transition going back to, you know, life before football or life, you know, without football is going to be a little difficult. And I'll always try to be around the game. But it has definitely been, I've been very fortunate to play 10 years. Yeah, incredible. What do you think've been very fortunate to play 10 years. Yeah, incredible. What do you think has been the key to your success?

You know, last I heard the average NFL career is like 3.2 years. And so just be, just thinking about how you, you know, triple bat in 10 years, what do you think has been the biggest contributor to your success in general? I mean, there's so many factors that go into it. I think some of the biggest points have been my family. I mean, I have an amazing wife who, you know, helps me not, helps me focus on football by taking care of a lot of stuff at home. And then, you know, now we have two kids. So when we had our first kid and just allowing me the space to play at a a high level because it's it's very time consuming um but i also thank just you know all the coaches and players i've been around that

have kind of instilled like work ethic in me and stuff and whatnot and uh i uh i really took that to the nfl and uh and then also my curiosity i think was a was a big one. I'm being curious. I always give advice to younger guys coming out and playing and stuff. And I think the biggest thing I give them is my advice is be curious. Ask a lot of questions. Use your resources. Learning everything you can about nutrition, about your body, how to take care of your body, strength and conditioning. Knowing the game of football was a big one for me.

I remember my first year, I was under-assisted when I went in. I was a priority three agent. So I signed about 10 minutes after the draft ended in 2015 to Jacksonville. And I got down there, we had our rookie mini camp and stuff. And it was the fastest football I've ever played in my entire life. I was trying to tread water. Getting used to the speed of the game, but then also the knowledge, you know, coming from a D2 school. It wasn't a very heavy IQ football experience.

It was like, you know, inside zone zone i have to do this you know but knowing the game of football knowing coverages knowing rotations knowing um you know zone and man defenses offenses like just knowing motions and accounts and all of the different aspects of football and i think a situational football too you know what do you do in two minute how many timeouts do you have um you know the middle eight is a big thing that's talked about in football is the last four minutes of the first half and the second half uh the beginning four minutes and what that affects teams turnover battle like there's just so much information and so getting that and learning that as fast as possible something that really helped but also being curious and asking the veteran players, asking coaches that have been around a long time. And just even the staff, the athletic training staff asking, hey, this hurts right here.

What is this muscle? Just those little things add up over time and you become a much more well-rounded football player and can handle a lot more. Yeah, I love that advice of being curious, because I think about how when you're in a new environment like that, it can be a little nerve wracking to ask questions. And in my work with the Minnesota Vikings, I worked with a lot of rookies. And sometimes what I found, Chris, is when they're focused on things they can't control, they're less likely to make the team. You know, if they're focusing in on kind of where they went in the draft or what their signing bonus was or if they got one. You know, it's like there's so many things that you can distract your focus besides what you just said of really like bettering yourself and working on your knowledge of the game and nutrition and things like that. Yeah. And I mean, going back to that point, you know,

one of the most used phrases that I've heard through my career is control what you can control. Yes. It's one of the most basic sayings but it means what it's it means the most right i mean exactly what you said if you can't it's a battle um i think that's one of the hardest parts of of being in a high performance sport is that it's a constant battle not physically just getting your body back but mentally just that i think is one of the most underrated parts of football is a mental battle you have with controlling what you can control not worrying about other things um being able to flush your memory super fast um leave weeks behind you know i mean i've had plays where i

i will be up days i will not be able to sleep because of someone like what are two plays out of 70 something plays in a game will be stuck in my head and they're all the negative ones and like how do you overcome that and learning how to do that for yourself is is one of the biggest um things you can learn absolutely amen you know to everything you just said uh i think this just uh points to the importance of the mental game and what i love about your background is you were introduced to mental performance and mental training as a college athlete. So I've worked with the Minnesota State football program since you started. We were just talking about that since you were a redshirt sophomore.

Is that the yeah. So I don't know. Is that 15, 16 years ago or something like that if we do the math it's a while ago yeah and then you were you know you've worked one-on-one with different mental performance people over the years but i'm curious you know how do you think um that shaped your ability to do what you just said like stay stay in the present moment, move on quickly, control the controllables, because you were introduced to some of that before you even got to the NFL. Yeah. And I think I used, before I was introduced to actual sports psychology,

I almost like had developed some of the techniques um i just didn't have a name for them it's just what i did i noticed what it's what helps and so you kind of do it uh and that was like how i learned it from middle school and in high school and um it just kind of was a little intrinsic uh originally and then finally, when sports psychology came along, you start being able to label things on the techniques that you use. And I thought that was really cool because then you can identify something, you can kind of almost create a plan and then you can dive deep and know why it works and, and, and kind of learn a little bit about that.

So I remember one of the, one of the, one of the biggest things that stuck in my mind i think from our one of our i don't know what session it was back in 15 16 years ago but it was you had a bullseye uh you had printed out a bunch of bullseyes on a paper giving us a string and a paper clip oh i did do this yep yep and this was the one that stuck in my head because I thought it was so cool. And you told us to put the paper clip on the string and we'd hold the hold the string in our hand and not move it. And we would just think about moving it and it would move. But you're not moving your hand. I it was so it was almost like magic. Right. It was just like, how is this happening? But that really clicked with the mental, like the physical and mental connection with your body. I think what's the really big takeaway from that. And ever since then, it's really been an emphasis that, you know, my mind controls my body. It's not, you know, your body can affect your mind, but your mind is ultimately the power of your body. So how do you, and how do you, how do you work on your mind to be able to control your body? And so that was kind of the, that was kind of the starting point for me and, um, going forward and, uh, going forward into, uh, the rest of sports psychology

through my career. Yeah, I love that. Chris, can you just repeat the last part that you said just in case I missed it? Because you said like, you know, you remember doing the exercise and then what did you say after that? Yeah, so I just remember doing the exercise

and it's basically the mind-body connection that you kind of put in physical form, like, you know, what we could see. And so I thought it was like magic at first, but then you realize, hey, my mind is actually doing all this. My mind is, you know, controlling my body. How do I get my mind stronger so my body can follow? Absolutely.

And I thought that was probably the most memorable moment from, one of the most memorable, eating fire was another one. That was, but that was probably one of the most memorable moments I have from my college sports psychology. And, you know, thank you so much for sharing that because like how I would describe how it works is your mind, you know, sends tiny impulses through your your arm that you don't even necessarily feel. And then that impacts what you do. So it does show you the importance of when your mind is on purpose. So one of the things I, you know, as I think back to your college career, that was so impressive is that you, you know, were not only incredible at football,

but also you were incredible at track and field. You were an 11 time All-American outdoor shot put champion twice. And what that, you know, to me, what that means is like you were able to perform under pressure when it mattered most. You're able to really juggle multiple different things that you are committed to football and track and field right what did you learn about pressure and mindset and just being at your best throughout that time period yeah i mean i think there's there's a big connection between the throwing and football in terms of my position as a lineman so there is that you know football and track are so different in a sense um track and field you know you are it's it's you versus yourself and i i really learned i think the most through that um i used a lot of imagery a lot of mantra and stuff

like that through track and field but then you know i didn't use the same techniques necessarily in football because it you know it's it's yes i control myself but there's also 11 other guys on the other side that you know you don't have control over so it's a little more of a reactionary game versus something i can mentally prepare for and do physically so but they also coincide so i mean in the big moments it was hard i mean i remember track and field i think i i had a really good indoor season my last year my senior year i set the record for the indoor d2 now shot put and uh but then i go to that i go to uh nationals and i i don't know if i was not feeling it i don't know it was really hard for me to perform the way i wanted to perform and knowing that stuff is is helps me overcome so i'm not just completely you know i might not have ended up where i wanted but i also persevered in

the sense of like hey this is bad but i I have to like perform and control what I can control. And so, you know, and then taking that and learning from it. And then the next, you know, the outdoor season, I go out and win on my last throw. And that kind of pressure was the same kind of deal. I was like, you know know i wasn't feeling great um and it's just all the stuff that you know it kind of accumulates and just your pressures feel it's like oh my gosh this is my last time throwing and i remember before my last throw um of my senior year in outdoor track and field it was all i was in like sixth place in nationals uh finals and i had never been in that position usually either

second or first and i was used to that and so i was like struggling i was kind of scratching i wasn't you know and so i just remember right before my throw i just like closed my eyes and just breathed and just thought about the throw and just try to calm myself. Cause I, I just was like, Hey, it's just throwing. I guess it's like, there's nothing. And so going out and doing it, I finally hit a good throw and I took first place on my last throw. And so it was, you know, just being able to recognize that you're in a position of weakness at that point where, you know, you're mentally not there or physically something's off-putting or just being able to collect yourself and just relax and just remember

that, hey, you do this all the time. Just kind of that calming presence is big in those big moments. I love it. What great advice. And what, and what I, what I heard in just that answer is that you're able to take a step back and check in with yourself, you know, like, Hey, and then get back to the moment, to the present moment. And you didn't make it bigger than it was. And I think sometimes in pressure moments, it can be really easy to make it bigger than it is, right? Like you're just, you got back to like like this is just one throw this is just throwing this isn't the end of the world you know and sometimes we can make it so much bigger than it really is um when you know when uh when we're in the moment yeah i mean definitely and it's it's it's almost the fear of failing takes over a lot of times

when you're in that pressure situation. And I think that's the thing. If you can contain that a bit and just focus on what you've done for all the work and all the stuff, all that you've done, it's easier to overcome those big pressure moments. Absolutely. Hi, this is Cinder Campoff, and thanks for listening to the High Performance Mindset. Did you know that the ideas we share in the show are things we actually specialize in implementing? If you want to become mentally stronger, lead your team more effectively, and get to your goals quicker, visit freementalbreakthroughcall.com to sign up for your free mental breakthrough call with one of our certified coaches.

Again, that's freementmentalbreakthroughcall.com to sign up for your free call. Talk to you soon. So, you know, you and I have talked before we hit record just about the importance of mental health and the things you've learned about mental health. And I think some of the work that you did as a college athlete and, you know, can be like a precursor to mental health issues. Right. But sometimes we think that the word mental health means that there has to be something wrong with you besides that just mental health, like everyone has mental health, right.

And it's about just like caring for our mental health. What, what did you, what did you learn about mental health throughout your career, your 10 year career in the NFL? That it's very important. You know, I think one of the things, not one of the things, I mean, the thing with mental health is that it's all about, it's your whole body, right? Like if your mind is not right, your body can't be right. and same with your body affecting your mind it's a two-way street and so i think a lot of times people put the mental health in the back burner and they try to get as bigger or stronger or faster or you know you know all

these other things but if your mind is not strong or your mind if you're dwelling on things that are outside of what you're doing or you know know, all of that affects your performance. And I think I started using therapy. So my dad passed in 2022 during camp, suddenly a heart attack. And it really messed it really messed me up. I mean, I was I was, you know, it's not something you ever expect to happen. And I just remember zoning out and like not being able to think. And like, I didn't talk to anybody for a couple months, you know,

I talked to my wife, you know, and, and, but it's just having that third party. Like I started seeing our team, team therapist and talking through things and just talking and it's not necessarily about, you know, my dad, it's not necessarily about you know my dad it's other things too about football and the stresses of football if i need to make the team or not i want to play like there's all these little feelings that bottle up and just just keeping your body also physically you know not harm but affect you yeah um anxiety i i've had a problem with anxiety for the last few years ever since my dad passed i've had it before but you know it kind of got to new extremes and so even i started taking some anti-anxiety medication you know and so some of these tools

like they're not you know yeah you don't have to have anything wrong with you and i think that's one of the things is something happened to me and so i started doing it and then i realized i should be doing this all along you know it's just a healthy way it's another outlet to you get those emotions out someone who's impartial and can see things from a different lens than you and give you advice and um and just you find out things about yourself and become more, you know, you look more inward and it kind of helps you do that. And, you know, the other thing I've worked with a massage therapist, but she's also very knowledgeable in other aspects. And she's gone through some things in her life. And her name is Rachel Pierram and she's been really, really helpful for me and my family.

And, you know, she really has showed me some of the mental connections as well. Like, uh, we were doing something the other day and my back had been thrown out. And, uh, and so we're talking about it and, you know, I was like negative about it. It was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe this, you know? And she's like, okay, I want you to think I'm safe in my body. And as soon as I started thinking that, my back felt better and it started loosening up. And I was like, how is this working? There's no way it's working and you forget your mind is directly connected to your body. And so it was really cool. So she showed me some other things. And so I was really cool because she showed me some other things. And so I put my arm up and I'd say something negative and she'd just be able to

push my arm down. Then I put my arm up and say, hey, I'm strong and I'm safe in my body. And then she tried to do it again and it wouldn't go. And it just shows you the connection of those negative thoughts really physically affecting your body. And so it's kind of this all-encompassing thing, but your mental health is very important in terms of not just like your personal life or your performance life. It's about you and just how you are in the world. And so I think working on yourself and looking inward and finding things out about yourself also helps with performance. Absolutely. And I just want to say thank you, Chris, just like for your vulnerability there, you know, just kind of sharing times that were really difficult for you. And I think that just

helps other people who are listening to be able to say, okay, maybe therapy is what I need. Or yeah, maybe I need to go see my doctor about antidepressants or I need to go see a sports psych person right and that it's not weakness that there's nothing wrong with you just by you know asking for help or talking about what's on your mind because it's like I think about when we have things weighed weighing us down in our own mind, right? Like it does impact our body. I've used my own coach for 10 years, right? And she helps me just get back onto purpose because it is really easy to believe in the automatic negative thoughts

or believe in the things that aren't really actually true. Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, I mean, when I started, you know, this, I think, I believe it was this January where I started, where I went to see an actual psychiatrist, because I was having these panic attacks, and I was having anxiety, like, it was just, it was almost uncontrollable at one point. And, you know, there's some PTSD from my dad because he actually moved up here. So I was in the hospital. There's a lot of, I don't want to go into too much detail about that, but

there was a lot of things that I didn't get out or talk about or anything. And so they just bottled up and they started physically, because anxiety is a physical reaction in your body to your fire flight response, perceiving threats that aren't really there. And so that's part of anxiety. And so when you're always in fire flight, your sleep goes down, you know, there's just, you worry about things, your mind doesn't stop. And so actually seeing someone and saying, Hey, there is something wrong or there's something that I need help with. Um, cause not everyone has all the answers, but you know, there's a lot of people who

spend their life, you know, doing this for people and they, they can put you on the right, the right path, I guess I'd say. And so, you know, after seeing someone and doing that and consistently going to therapy for months, then it started going away. I started just appreciating again and like, you know, just some things that kind of started, uh, happened that I had missed for, uh, almost a year, you know? And so it was one of those deals where I just, I really appreciate it because they just take their time to listen to you too. I mean, it's just, it's really good to do. Chris, just thank you so much for sharing all of that, because it is so important to what you're saying about how your mind is so connected to your body. And then meanwhile, you're trying to play, you know, football at the highest level.

Tell me a little bit about just your journey in like the times where you played a lot, the times when you didn't. Tell us a bit about just like how you handled that. And then also like that first time that you started, how was that different than any other time yeah so uh my first year one is on practice squad so i didn't see the field at all i didn't dress um and i was actually appreciative of that team jacksonville uh the coaches and front office staff thought you know they kept me on practice squad and i stayed a year on practice squad and they just wanted to develop me. And I was really appreciative of that because I felt like I needed that year. And the next year I finally made the 53-man roster.

I mean, I remember the exact spot and the call. It was really cool. You know, you have in the NFL after camp, you have about three days and nothing. And in two days, you're just by your phone with the ringer on. And if you get a call, your heart just drops. And it's not the most fun time of the NFL portion. But I remember we went to a movie um saw a movie and then me and my wife were driving back and we're in a stoplight and my o-line coach calls me and you know my heart drops instantly i'm like oh my god dang it i did it like it didn't i didn't make the team and

i pick up the phone and he's like how are you doing uh get ready for the green bay packers and that was the that was him telling me that I made the team. And that's awesome. It's such a big achievement for me, you know, and it's just like, I'll always remember that moment and you know, and so that year was my first year on the 53. So I dressed a couple of times. I didn't dress a couple of times. That's just how it is. You've only got 53 people on the roster, but I believe it was like 46 out of 48 people that can dress in a game time. So some people are inactive and so on and so forth.

But I remember my first game starting, we had some injuries and I started against the Baltimore Ravens. And this is when they had really good defense and they were kind of firing on all cylinders. They were a good team to play. And I did not play very well. I was nervous the entire time. It was very much like a first game that you've ever played. A big game.

And you're in front of 60 plus thousand people, which at that point like i had my first my games in minnesota i think the most i ever played in front of was like a homecoming game it was like 8 000 people right running from 8 000 people and 60 000 was something else um but you know i played that game and you know i didn't do as well as i wanted to and that's you know part of it but um i well as I wanted to. And that's, you know, part of it. But I was reminded by a bunch of guys in the room and just veterans that I had been, you know, with a couple of years now. Tyler Shatley, Josh Wald, Brandon Linder, like those kind of guys.

And, you know, they're like, hey, you know, yeah, you didn't do as well as you wanted. Like, learn from it, move on, and let's, you know, focus on next week and focus on what you can do better. And later that year, I think I started four games in a row and played well. And then so I stayed in Jacksonville for a while and then I went down to Miami. And Miami was probably my most stressful year. I was brought down there by an O-line coach who I had played with in Jacksonville for two years.

And all through OTAs, which is our off-season training, I had been playing left guard and starting. And I get to camp and they're like, you know, we want you to move to center. So we're going to put you at second string center. And about a week or two into that camp, that camp, my line coach is fired and the guy, um, and so after that but you know, he was very hard on us and, uh, he demanded a lot and he brought in another guy who was in the same position as me. And I remember, yeah, we're, we're not really, you don't really battle against each other, but you know, you're, you're basically waiting against everybody. And so through the year, uh, I didn't dress at all. Uh, uh, and, uh, in in miami they had uh if you weren't dressing you

you know all so you're not on the sideline and so mentally i was not having a fun year of football because i wasn't able to be around my guys game day yeah just any of that stuff and it just it really made it not fun for me i could not grasp the fact that like I thought I was doing something wrong and ultimately like you know I could have played better I mean you can always play better right um but at the end of the day too there was some aspects of like you know maybe I just wasn't their guy and and so on and so that does happen to me I felt I remember um in December that year i got cut which yeah for three four years of being on a 53 man roster i was like i can do this every year i'm fine and i got cut i was i was made a joke i saw the guy we call we call when there's a when cuts happen there's always one guy who kind of contacts people and

call him the grim reaper that routine has one and i saw him walk through the locker and I turned to him. I think it was Dan Kilgore at the time. And I was like, oh, I bet they're coming for me, jokingly. I walk out of the locker room and there he is waiting for me. And so I go in to the coach's office and I ask, what can I do? And they said, you can't do anything. You did everything right. I just want to try different things.

And that was probably one of the worst years i had in football in terms of just mentally being down on myself and not having fun and uh and then i got picked up off weavers on to carolina and so they had just fired ron rivera and uh yeah that building was a little depressing when i got there um and uh played four weeks there uh and then they had a whole new staff the next year but i was on a one-year one-year option contract so my one year was at miami and they decided to keep me and so i stayed another year at carolina and i remember going out and that that camp um i i let it loose i didn't care about i i i personally didn't care about where my position was i was like i'm just gonna go out and play i'm not gonna worry about things

i'm not gonna i'm just gonna go out and do what i can get better and you know hey if they like me they like me say no no i just i just put aside all those those feelings of like you know what do they think about me? All the things you can't control, right? Absolutely. It's actually what I did. Yeah. And at the end of camp, I actually got COVID.

Oh, shoot. Yeah. Boom. I was out for like two, three weeks. And so I missed the first two games. But when I came back, they were like, yeah, you're starting. And I didn't awesome i mean that i was a starter so i actually achieved a certain spot uh just by putting aside all that all the

worry of other things and just yeah three and that's such a good like yeah Yeah, it was a big difference. And then it almost turned into another struggle of like, oh, I'm the starter. Like, I have to perform every week at a high level. Like, there's a different stress and pressure to it. And I didn't know how to handle it because this is my first time starting. I wasn't a backup just going into a game and trying to do my best. It was like, you're the starter. And for some reason, it hit me and affected me differently than I thought it would. And so the first couple of games I had were great.

I mean, I really had a good game, but then I had one game that wasn't so great. I was like, oh, no, like end of the world. Like, you know, not as drastic as end of the world, but like it's, it's more stress. It's more stress on you. And so I started having these doubts about like, Hey, why, why am I starting it? There's other guys that have played longer than I like in just, and so you call it imposter syndrome where you don't feel like you're in a spot where you deserve or should be. And so I had struggled without it.

And so I started going and seeing the sports psychologist that carolina had and we started doing a lot of techniques and trying to build that confidence back up right and so i had up and down games i had good games i had bad games i had you know bad plays here and there and you know i remember deleting my social media at one point after a game i was like a thursday night game i didn't do well against at and, you know, just the comments and stuff. I just was very negative on. And so I just deleted social media. That's a good idea. It just says.

And so, but, you know, going through that year, I think the last few games, I had some of my best games and I finally started clicking. And, you know, it's one of those things where I look back and I'm like, I wish I would have been more consistent for them and kind of more established myself as a starter. But I also, you know, had a lot to deal with, a lot to learn. And that's one of the things that you get in the NFL. Your first year is always going to be up and down, especially as a starter, because it's different. You have to be ready to go every week.

It's not like, hey, I'm playing one game and then I'm off of me but then i'm on a game and then i'm off and for three games you know it's not like that so your body your preparation is different your body it's just all different and so um did it come out there yeah no i i totally am hearing you and you know chris what i appreciate is a couple of things that I just heard as you were describing that was you know when you were loose and you weren't worried about the outcome and when you're focused on things you could control right you ended up playing better and it's like I just wrote let it loose you know play your game control the controllables and that was like really key to your success when you're playing at the highest level. If you could give your younger self some advice, what advice would

you give your younger self? Because I think that's such a powerful question, especially people who are young athletes who want to make it to the NFL, you know, and like, well, what advice would you give your younger self? I'm sure there's a lot of advice, but I think the ones that come to mind are fully embrace what you have available. I think, so when I started doing sports psychology in college, it was kind of eye-opening. I started doing sessions with Sophie Cater. And I remember sometimes not being there fully and not doing the work fully or just sometimes using it for even just therapy sessions in a sense. And I kind of wish I would have taken more advantage of being present and fully in that time and the want to of going into session and trying to get something out of it and um so that's that's one of the things but not only that just like you know straight conditioning uh learning all you can um and just taking advantage of anything that coaches have available at nutrition all that stuff the other thing i'd say is that you know

to to worry less i think as i've gotten older and I have kids now and just the worry changes over time to different things. But ultimately, worry is not you don't need to worry so much. You can just play free and be OK. You're in a good position. Sometimes it's the artist's battle in my mind is to not think about the controllable, to not think about the things that you can't control. It's really hard to do. It is one of the hardest things that I've ever done is just trying to focus on things that I can control versus what I can't. It's a constant battle. And some days it just is really hard to win.

But as long as you keep trying and just keep like being, I think one of the things I was taught, my father-in-law, he's like, you're a very resilient person. And I think that's the other thing is I've developed that resilience. And nothing is great all the time, but the times that are bad, like having the tools and the knowledge to be in and know that, hey, this isn't going to last forever is a big thing. And I think younger, it's a lot more effective. It's very like, hey, if something bad happens, it's a lot harder to get back out of it when you're younger because it's like, oh, man, it's end of the world versus like you know your highs are really high but your lows are really yeah so it's so just knowing that to keep it you know i

another thing that comes to mind is brian or neil and right tackle you know kind of jokes at times but he always said he always did he did this and i was like what is that and i remember him saying it was i want to be here i don't want to be it was, I want to be here. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here. I want to be right here. Nice. So this is a reminder of like, hey, just be right there. Yeah.

Don't get too high or too low. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. So like as a younger kid, it's just like, hey, some things happen here. Just be right here. Like everything's going to be fine. Keep working, keep keep learning keep growing um and i think that's probably the biggest advice i'd give i love it thank you so much chris you know i i what great

powerful advice about worry less right and usually worry when we worry we're focused on the future and all the things that could go wrong instead of like kind of what you said when you played your best it was like let it loose just play the way you instead of like kind of what you said when you played your best. It was like, let it loose. Just play the way you know how to play. Control what you can control. And I agree that you are incredibly resilient. So I just want to say thank you so much for giving us a snapshot of what it's like

to play in the NFL. You know, I think sometimes you might, people might watch on TV and just think that it's so glorious, right? But it's not easy. And it's the importance of controlling what you can control, I heard, letting go quickly of mistakes. One of the ways we teach that is something called learn, burn, return, which is like,

can you learn? Can you burn it? And can you get back to the present moment? And I'm just so grateful that you were vulnerable today and just shared your journey. So thank you so much for joining us. And I appreciate you. How can people follow along on your journey and what you're going to do next? I'm still figuring that out myself. I'm going to start doing some coaching for some younger guys who are trying to make it to the NFL. So I'll be working with ETS right now and doing that. And then, I don't know, I luckily have a little bit of time

to figure out what I'm going to do and we'll see what happens. I love it. Thank you so much, Chris, for joining us today. No, thank you for having me. Way to go for finishing another episode of the High Performance Mindset. I'm giving you a virtual fist pump. Holy cow, did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, remember to subscribe. And you can head over to Dr. Sindhra for show notes and enjoy my exclusive community for high performers, where you get access to videos about mindset each week so again you can add over to

dr cindra that's d-r-c-i-n-b-r-a.com see you next week