I forgot the milk.
I went to the grocery store earlier this week and forgot the milk.
Why?
Because I didn’t bring my grocery list.
I often tell young athletes: If I don’t bring a list, I forget something—guaranteed.
So, what does this have to do with mental performance coaching?
A lot.
Because athletes forget too. They forget the strategies we talk about in our sessions—especially in the middle of a game—unless they bring their own version of a “grocery list.”
I often suggest athletes write a word or phrase somewhere they’ll see it during competition. A reminder to refocus. To get back to What’s Important Now — WIN.
They might write it:
On their wrist tape.
On their glove or hand.
Under the bill of their hat.
I’ve seen athletes write things like:
“Team first.”
“Do you.”
“Make an impact.”
These simple cues remind them how to reset after a mistake or distraction.
Just like a grocery list helps me remember the milk, a visual refocus cue helps an athlete remember who they want to be when adversity hits.
Dr. Robert Nideffer, a psychologist, identified two key dimensions of attentional focus: width and direction.
Width refers to how broad or narrow their focus is—like scanning the field (broad) or locking in on a target (narrow).
Direction refers to whether their focus is internal (thoughts, emotions, body) or external (ball, opponent, coach).
After mistakes, athletes often go internal:
What did I do wrong?
What’s wrong with me?
Is Coach going to take me out?
That’s not unusual.
What is problematic is staying there too long.
Because then — what happens?
They make another mistake.
And maybe another after that.
The key is learning how to shift from internal to external focus quickly.
But here’s the challenge: that shift is really hard in the moment — especially when the mistake feels big.
That’s where the grocery list comes in.
A visual reminder helps them interrupt that internal spiral and refocus on what’s next.
Will it work every time?
Nope. Even with a list, sometimes they’ll still forget the milk. And that’s okay. They’re human — just like me.
But with practice, bringing that mental grocery list to the game becomes second nature.
And focusing on WIN becomes a habit.