A Storytime CBT workpacket for athletes, teens, and high-performers whose inner critic gets loud under pressure. Uses Chidi’s story to teach cognitive distortions, mental reps, performance reframes, box breathing, cold reset, movement, music reset, and journaling.
Mental Conditioning follows Chidi, an athlete whose body is ready but whose mind gets loud before competitions, tough sets, and high-pressure moments. The workpacket teaches six common “mental mess-ups” and gives practical CBT-informed tools for reframing thoughts, calming the nervous system, and getting back to competing instead of spiraling.
Want more CBT support? Pair this with Understanding Your Thinking Patterns or Think It Through: Teen Edition for deeper practice with cognitive distortions and thought reframing.
STORYTIME CBT · MENTAL PERFORMANCE WORKPACKET
This workpacket helps athletes and high-performers spot tough thought patterns, run a mental playbook, and practice recovery skills before pressure takes over.
Train your mind like you train your body
Meet Your Inner Coach and Loud Critic
Introduces mental conditioning as a trainable skill for focus, confidence, and performance under pressure.
Six Mental Mess-Ups
Covers Catastrophe Coach, All-or-Nothing Athlete, Mind-Reading Mode, Filter Goggles, Should Machine, and Personalization Trap.
The Mental Playbook
Guides users through challenge questions, evidence checks, alternative explanations, reframes, and mental reps.
Chidi’s Examples
Uses relatable athlete scenarios like races, regionals, coach feedback, and performance pressure.
Recovery and Regulation
Includes box breathing, cold exposure, active movement, music reset, and journaling mental reps.
Support for Coaches, Parents, and Clinicians
Offers guidance for using performance language, normalizing the inner critic, practicing outside pressure, and validating before redirecting thinking.
This workpacket is a psychoeducational CBT and performance psychology resource and is not a substitute for therapy, sports psychology treatment, medical care, crisis care, coaching supervision, or individualized clinical support. If anxiety, perfectionism, disordered eating, depression, injury stress, or performance pressure significantly affects functioning or safety, consult a licensed professional.