Got a call recently from one of the best athletes I've ever coached.
He wasn't asking for help with mechanics.
He wasn't in crisis mode.
He said, "Coach, I'm not burned out yet - but I can feel it coming."
Most coaches would've said go outside, get some sun, you'll be fine.
Not my style.
I said: pause. Pull out the 168.
He did. Five minutes later he sent it back.
I looked at it for about thirty seconds.
Then I told him exactly what Sundays were going to look like from now on. No baseball. Phone put away for four hours. Ten-minute walk after every meal - no headphones, no input, nothing.
I told him about a ten-minute script I was sending him to use at lunch.
And then I told him to watch Druski comedy skits.
I'm dead serious. No matter where you stand politically, that man and his kids are hilarious - and laughing is not soft. It's recovery.
Here's what I didn't do:
I didn't ask him how he was feeling.
I didn't tell him to journal about his emotions.
I didn't hope for the best.
I gave him a plan. Specific. Actionable. Done.
Because that's how the mental game actually works.
You don't think your way out of burnout.
You behave your way out of it.
Confidence is a behavior - not a feeling.
I've been putting more of this on YouTube lately. Real tools, real systems, real stories from athletes like this one.
If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link:
[YouTube Channel - Check It Out]
Every video comes straight from the newsletter.
You can find that on Substack at Resilience Blueprint: https://resilienceblueprint.substack.com/
Fear less, Grant
P.S. The 168 tool doesn't care how you feel. It just shows you where your time is actually going - and where the cracks are before they become breaks. That's the whole game.
P.S.S. I still have a couple spots open for Fearless Athletes, application to work with me 1:1 open, here:
