Let's Go Mental!

Podcast by Barbara Cortella

Let's Go Mental!

Mental training is not just about becoming tough. It is about learning how to work with your thoughts in a way that helps you grow. In Let’s Go Mental we train together the skills you need, you will find your own different angle, and incorporate it into your lifestyle so it becomes part of who you are, your identity. We will build your persona first, and performance will come! Because everything is trainable! I am Barbara, Family and Mental Performance Coach. I am Italian and you will love my accent!

Latest episodes

29 September 2026

Parents’ Doubt has a Time and a Space.

What if your child isn’t doubting themselves, until they hear your doubt?

As parents, we often express our worries because we think we are helping our children reason, reflect, and prepare. But sometimes our questions introduce a doubt that wasn’t there before.

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“What if the coach doesn’t play you?”

“Do you really think you can make the team?”

Our doubt usually comes from love. We want to protect our children from failure, rejection, and disappointment. But love mixed with fear can sound like a lack of trust.

In this episode, we explore why parents need their own mental room for doubt—separate from their child’s performance room.

You’ll discover:

How parental worry can become an athlete’s self-doubt
Why parents and athletes have different domains
How children may begin performing to reassure their parents
Why timing and language matter
One question to ask before sharing your concern: “Does my child need this information—or do I need reassurance?”
How to communicate trust without guaranteeing success

We are not ignoring problems or pretending everything is fine. We are processing our doubt before asking our children to carry it.

Sometimes the most supportive message is communicated silently…./with a hug and a smile, trust me it is the best strategy!

00:00

05:52

22 September 2026

Doubt has a Time and a Space.

What if doubt isn’t always the problem? What if it simply enters the wrong room at the wrong moment?

Before a performance, doubt can help an athlete prepare. During the performance, the same doubt can create hesitation. The game keeps moving while the mind remains suspended between two possibilities.

In this episode, we look at doubt from a different angle. The goal isn’t to eliminate it, but to give it the right job at the right time:

Question before. Commit during. Review after.

You’ll discover:

Why confident athletes still experience doubt
How doubt can support preparation
Why hesitation is already a decision
The three mental rooms: preparation, performance, and review
A simple instruction for managing doubt during performance: “Not now. Next action.”

Question of the day:

Where does your doubt belong right now: in preparation, performance, or review?

Doubt asks. Trust decides. Action answers.

Contact me for more: b_cortella@yahoo.it

00:00

04:36

14 September 2026

Confidence is Built through Action.

What if confidence wasn’t about feeling sure you can do something, but about trusting yourself enough to act even when you don’t feel sure?

In this episode of Let’s Go Mental, we look at confidence from a different angle.

Confidence is built through the beliefs you create about yourself and the evidence you collect through action.

They all leave clues about who you are and who you are becoming. The goal isn’t to wait until you feel confident enough to act.

Grab your journal and ask yourself:

What have I already accomplished that proves what I am capable of?

Then look at what you are working on right now. What actions can you take today that will give you another piece of evidence?

Start scanning for the evidence instead of waiting for the feeling.

Because confidence is a habit built through action, strengthened by evidence, and sustained by the beliefs you choose to practice every day.

Build your persona first, and performance will come.

Contact me for more: b_cortella@yahoo.it

00:00

04:33

07 September 2026

Comparison. From Judgment to Feedback.

We are constantly told, “Don’t compare yourself to others.”

But what if comparison itself isn’t the problem?

Athletes compare playing time, rankings, teams, opportunities, skills, results, college commitments — and social media gives us even more opportunities to look at what everyone else is doing.

Comparison is natural. The difference is what you do with the information you collect.

You can use someone else’s performance as proof that you are not good enough… or you can use it as feedback.

In this episode of Let’s Go Mental, I offer a different angle on comparison: instead of using it to judge your worth, learn how to use it to identify the skills, habits, and actions that could help you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Someone else’s performance can help you improve, or it can determine your worth. It is on you to decide how you use it.

Comparison can become feedback. Feedback can become a roadmap. And that roadmap can help you grow.

Contact me for more: b_cortella@yahoo.it

00:00

07:55

18 June 2026

WorldCup Mini series: The Danger of Complacent

One Mindset lesson from the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Messi scored a hat-trick at 38 years old.

Most people will talk about talent.

I see a different lesson.

The danger is not failure.

The danger is becoming comfortable after success.

Whether you're an athlete, a leader, or a professional, success can quietly convince you that what worked yesterday will automatically work tomorrow.

It won't.

Growth requires the same curiosity, preparation, and discipline that created the success in the first place.

What is one thing in your life or work that you've started taking for granted?

#Leadership #HighPerformance #MentalPerformance #GrowthMindset #TheDifferentAngle

00:00

02:24

17 June 2026

WorldCup Mini Series: The Different Angle

One Mindset lesson from the FIFA World Cup 2026!

Persistence vs Resistance.

Sometimes the skill that changes the game is looking at things from a different angle.

Where in your sport or life do you need to change perspective and find a different solution?

Contact me if you want to know more on how to do it!

B_cortella@yahoo.it

00:00

02:21