Simon Marshall > Quotes

“When the suffering begins, our brain pleads with us to not think too far into the future. I can’t endure 60 minutes of this, but I can do 10 minutes. I can’t get through 8 weeks of solid exercise, but I can get through today. The neurological beauty of segmentation is that once the segment is completed, you get a mini-squirt of dopamine (pleasure juice) that resets the coping clock.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“High self-esteem and confidence come from experiencing adversity and accomplishment. In other words, confidence is earned, not given.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“If we can just stick with new routines long enough to start cranking out the happy juice (serotonin) or find a way to make the experience intrinsically pleasurable (dopamine), we’ve got a much better chance of it becoming a long-term habit.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“The reason that success boosts confidence is that it changes your brain’s production and receptiveness to testosterone and dopamine—two chemicals that increase the impulse to try it again.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Powerful neurotransmitters in the brain can increase pleasure (dopamine), lead to feelings of happiness and positive mood (serotonin), reduce stress and alleviate pain (endorphins), and enhance a sense of trust and intimacy (oxytocin).”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“In contrast to dopamine-fueled feelings of pleasure, feelings of happiness are caused by another neurotransmitter—serotonin. Serotonin also helps create feelings of contentedness, significance, and importance. Among other functions, serotonin is a mood stabilizer. Sure, dopamine will give you the quick pleasure rush, but serotonin will keep you happy in the long term—a positive upbeat mood that chases the blues away.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Adopting a “power pose” for one minute increases testosterone, decreases cortisol, and increases feelings of power and tolerance for risk—important biological determinants of confidence.A power pose is simply body language that is open and expansive, with chest out, shoulders back, and eyes looking straight ahead. Think Superman stance or William Wallace stepping out from the front line as if to say, “Come at me, bro.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Plans fail. Actions fail. People are not failures. The critical point is what we do with our failed actions and plans (or the thought of failure).”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Athletes who are willing to put themselves out there, who can handle failure and criticism, take risks, rarely panic, and enjoy the challenge of getting stuck in.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“This is the life that strives to thrive, not just survive.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Targets winning a very personal fight rather than a larger battle.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“el autoesquema atlético es el andamiaje cognitivo que consiste en pensar y sentir como un atleta.”
― Simon Marshall, La mente del deportista: Estrategias para desarrollar confianza y motivación en el deporte (Psicología Deportiva)

“When you commit and act despite feeling a bit scared, when you side-step or clamber (however clumsily) over obstacles and setbacks, when you seek out adversity to learn from suffering, not despite it, and when you scour your world for tiny reminders of things to be grateful for in life, you are on your way.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Make a decision to control the controllables.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“We can influence dopamine production through our diets. You can’t actually eat dopamine, but you can eat the thing that makes it—tyrosine. It is a nonessential amino acid, meaning that you must consume it in your diet because your body doesn’t make its own. However, before you start rushing out to the supermarket to get a cart full of tyrosine—cheese, soybeans, beef, lamb, pork, fish, chicken, nuts, seeds, eggs, dairy, beans, and whole grains—research shows that it really only helps if you’re deficient to begin with.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“When we practice suffering we are reinforcing neural pathways associated with discomfort and behavioral persistence.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Breaking through the fear barrier is a big deal. The dopamine hit that comes with completing a previously insurmountable goal or getting through a shit-scary challenge is indescribable. Aside from the neurological benefits, you walk a little taller immediately. Confidence grows, and you redraw the boundary of what you think you can do in the future.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“As Dr. Steve Peters recommends, you can simply ask yourself this question: Do I want to think or feel like this? If your answer is no, your Chimp is in charge. If your answer is yes, your Professor is in charge. It’s really that simple.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Focusing on the lives you’re helping to improve has such incredible therapeutic power that it’s on our list of “must dos” for athletes with low self-worth and low self-esteem. Anything that helps stick a plug in the self-spank system and refocus your attention on people who are not you.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“A great way to open the dopamine floodgate is to watch and listen to inspirational stuff about the activity you are prone to quitting at. Unlike meme-turds, videos are a more immersive sensory experience, and virtually all capitalize on the dopaminergic power of music. Music has the ability to not just arouse pleasurable feelings but also increase craving or wanting—two critical elements of sports motivation.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Suffering is a skill that needs to be learned the hard way.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Sometimes your chess pieces attack other pieces, and sometimes they defend.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. —ANAÏS NIN”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Living in mental cruise control and making nothing but safe choices leads to boredom and complacency. A breakthrough in happiness, self-awareness, and mental toughness requires new experience.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“For many people, coaches included, the thought of stepping into other people’s heads is like passing a car crash on the freeway—morbid fascination meets I hope they’re okay followed by I’m outta here.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Classical or gentle massage causes a surge in oxytocin that reduces anxiety and pain perception.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Succeed through challenge and adversity builds confidence the correct way.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Working with Lesley and Simon has been one of the biggest life-changing experiences.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“The neurological beauty of segmentation is that once the segment is completed, you get a mini-squirt of dopamine (pleasure juice) that resets the coping clock. Use this principle to your advantage by exploiting how your brain reacts to completion and accomplishment.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Classical or gentle massage (i.e., not the teeth-clenching, punchy kind) causes a surge in oxytocin that reduces anxiety and pain perception. Massage causes brain neurochemistry to change so you feel better emotionally. After massage, dopamine is up 31 percent and serotonin 28 percent, and the stress hormone cortisol drops. Simply put, massage is brain therapy for the injured athlete. So when you’re feeling especially crappy, schedule a massage. The gentler kind.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion