Hi Reader

It always amazes me how my clients often face the same struggles—despite never being in contact with one another.

This week, nearly everyone I worked with found themselves wrestling with the same challenge: managing expectations.

For highly driven people, setting expectations around performance is natural.

When you invest countless hours of training, effort, and money into something, of course, you desire a certain outcome.

But the challenge arises when desire turns into rigid expectation.

Expectations—whether from yourself, coaches, or others—can be a double-edged sword.

They provide structure, fuel motivation, and give you something to strive for.

But when they become too rigid, they can create unnecessary pressure, self-doubt, and frustration.

A key part of managing expectations is shifting your judgment of success from being score-based to performance-based.

Have you ever walked away from a competition feeling disappointed—even after performing well—just because you didn’t hit a specific score or ranking?

That’s what happens when we judge success only by the outcome.

Instead of focusing solely on results, shift your focus to what you can control—the actions, habits, and mindset that contribute to your best performance.

The score is just a reflection of the process, not the sole measure of success.

Try this simple mindset shift:

• Replace “I should win this match” with “I compete with full focus and resilience.”
• Swap “I must hit a perfect shot” for “I trust my training and commit to my process.”
• Change “I have to score (insert a number here)" to “My success depends on how well I execute my game plan.”

Words like “should” or “must” or "have to" are clear warning signs that your expectations have tipped into pressure.

And pressure, if not managed well, can crush performance.

Training your mind to recognise and respond to the thoughts that create pressure is one of the foundations of strong mental skills.

If you need help with this, book a free session with me—let’s work through it together.

When you stop chasing outcomes and start focusing on controllables—like effort, decision-making, and mental composure—you free yourself to perform at your best.

And when you perform at your best, the results tend to take care of themselves.

What’s one expectation you’re ready to let go of? Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Keep showing up and trusting the process!

Lisa​
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PS: Book a ​30 minute FREE mindset strategy call whenever you are ready

PPS: Join the Winner's Circle here​