“My dad told me to do it.”
That’s what my client, “Tyler,” said when I asked if he’d ever tried meditation.
He hadn’t.
Why?
Partly because his dad told him to. But mostly because:
- No one explained how meditation could help his performance.
- No one showed him how to do it.
When you don’t know why or how, decision-making often stalls. Some call it procrastination.
Really, your brain just wants convenience. If it costs too much mental energy, you’ll choose to do nothing.
That’s where Tyler was stuck.
In games, he told me, everything feels like it speeds up. His ability to process information slows down. His thoughts get cluttered with distractions he can’t control.
As I told Tyler, you can’t stop those thoughts from popping up. But, you can train yourself to notice them — and then shift your attention back to what matters most in the moment.
That’s where meditation comes in.
Even NFL quarterbacks use it. Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy put it this way:
“I can go to that centered place where I could be anywhere in the world and still feel the same way.”
WATCH: JJ McCarthy’s Pre-Game Meditation Routine Slows Everything Down
Meditation is like strength training for your mind.
When you notice your attention drifting, you bring it back to an anchor — often, your breath. Five minutes of meditation a day can help build the “mindfulness muscle.”
Over time, the accumulated practice makes it easier for young athletes to move past distractions and perform in the present.
Tyler committed to trying meditation once he understood the why, the how, and the benefit.
Will it solve everything overnight?
Nope.
But, it’s a great starting point — because awareness is the first step toward change.
And if meditation isn’t the right fit, we’ll keep experimenting until we find what works best for Tyler.
The lesson?
Young athletes won’t commit to tools they don’t understand. Once they see the why and the how, the door opens.