Trevor Moawad (–2021)

I'm familiar with some of the book's philosophy having read Nick Saban's "How Good Do You Want To Be" and seeing it discussed in Coach Saban's interviews. Trevor Moawad has worked with Coach Saban and the Crimson Tide as well as other successful college and professional programs and players. The focus of the book is not to embrace positive thinking when rejecting negative thinking, but to embrace neutral thinking.

Neutral thinking is best described by Dr. Christine Porath in a Psychology Today review of the book: "The idea is simple: Stay in the moment; react to each moment as it unfolds. Focus on influencing your next action. Don’t get sucked into analyzing past failures or hijacked by future fears or thoughts. Ground yourself in the present, focused on the next behavior. One play at a time."

Moawad describes specific personal and professional examples of neutral thinking in action, how it can help in extremely challenging situations, and its use outside of sports. The book discusses how to be self-aware, handling the negativity that surrounds us and the negative voices within, and the increase in ineffectiveness when we voice that negativity. The goal is not to just see the positive things in the world, but to control what we mentally consume, think about what we are doing and how we are doing it, and how to bring the best out in others through our own insights.

This is not a "rah rah" self-help book but a life is difficult so here's how you can keep doing the work, performing well when you feel poor, and how to bounce back from the inevitable failures that may or may not have been a result of your decisions. I'm sure I'll listen to this audiobook many more times on my walks.… (altro)