🧭 The Skill that All Top Performers Master

In partnership with

Good Day, and welcome to The Growth Compass!

⚠Reminder: We have given all subscribers access to our FREE Growth Compass Library that you can access HERE.

Here’s Where We Are Headed Today:

• Coach K on the Next Play Mentality

• How to Implement a Next Play Mentality

• Favorite Posts I Found This Week

• Free Mental Fitness Links 👇

Manage Stress with Expert Support – Start Therapy with BetterHelp

Feel like you’re spinning your wheels, juggling endless responsibilities? Work, school, relationships—everything adds up. BetterHelp makes finding the right therapist fast and easy with a 5-minute quiz that matches you with one of 32,000 licensed professionals. Connect with your therapist through phone, video, or text, so therapy fits your life. You can even use FSA or HSA dollars toward therapy. Join the 4 million people already finding support with BetterHelp. Sign up today and enjoy 30% off your first three months—reclaim your peace of mind in just 48 hours.

Reclaim Your Calm

How to Implement a Next Play Mentality

Today, we’re talking about the next play mentality based on my post from X yesterday with insights from Coach K, Nick Saban, Roger Federer, and more.

What it is: The "next play mentality" is a mindset that focuses on moving forward after a mistake or success. It means keeping the attention on what’s coming rather than what’s already happened. It helps you maintain focus on immediate actions and decisions without lingering on past events.

Why it matters in life: This mentality is crucial in life because it allows you to remain resilient and adaptable. It helps you bounce back from setbacks without getting bogged down by negative thoughts. It also fosters a proactive attitude toward learning from experiences and applying those lessons in real time.

What the science says:

1. The Power of Cognitive Closure - Cognitive closure is your mind’s natural drive to find answers and resolve uncertainty. Unresolved questions create stress, hinder decision-making, and prevent you from moving forward. Psychologists explain that seeking closure helps you make sense of experiences, accept outcomes, and let go of what you can’t control. By understanding this, you can focus on accepting uncertainty as part of life and develop healthier ways to find peace with open-ended situations.

2. A study on college athletes (Link to study) found that self-compassion (SC) plays a crucial role in managing stress and recovering from setbacks during competition. Over 14 days, 67 athletes were evaluated, revealing that SC, more than grit, hope, or confidence, predicted greater use of helpful thought reframing (cognitive reappraisal), improved emotional resilience, and an 8.9% performance boost after poor practice days. Unlike confidence, SC proved to be a more stable and adaptive trait for daily coping and long-term performance.

So what does it mean?

It means your power in being able to reset depends on your ability to accept what happened and then emotionally regulate your mind and body. It emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, being present, focusing on what matters, and approaching setbacks with kindness and a growth mindset. It highlights that self-compassion allows you to recover more effectively, regulate emotions adaptively, and focus on actionable steps to improve performance.

So how can you make it a habit?

Sunday Storytime: Jocko Willink telling an amazing story about the power of taking extreme ownership after you make a mistake. Overcoming mistakes are one of the greatest examples of that “next play mentality”.

Favorite Posts I Found This Week

That's a wrap for today. If you want to spread the joy, make sure to refer the newsletter to someone you think would benefit!