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

10 November 2026

Feedback: Are you Coachable?

Being Coachable: The Skill That Talent Can't Replace.

You listen to your coach. You nod. You say, “Okay, Coach.”

But what happens next?

Being coachable isn’t just about accepting feedback. It’s about understanding it, trying something different, and taking responsibility for your improvement.

In this Episode I explore why feedback is not a label, why we sometimes become defensive when corrected, and how being coachable connects to a growth mindset.

Your coach might see something you don’t. A movement, a decision, or a habit you’ve been repeating without noticing.

The question isn’t whether you always agree. It’s whether you’re willing to learn.

Why listening and learning are not the same thing.
How your defensive shield can block useful information.
What coaches notice when athletes receive feedback.
Why being coachable doesn’t mean losing your identity.
The Feedback Filter: Receive, Reflect, Respond, Review.

Your challenge: At your next practice, choose one piece of feedback and turn it into one visible action before practice ends.

Feedback is information. Being coachable is a skill. Growth happens through practice.

Everything is trainable—even being coachable.

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03 November 2026

Parents' Fear: Support Without Taking Over

What if they fail? What if they get injured? What if they don’t make the team?

We worry because we love our children. But sometimes our fear makes us step in before they have time to process an experience and choose their next step.

In this Episode we speak parent to parent about supporting young athletes through uncertainty.

Explore how to:

• Separate what happened from what you fear it means.

• Recognize when you are trying to calm your own discomfort.

• Ask questions that give your child room to think.

• Stay available without taking over.

• Help them participate in deciding what comes next.

Your takeaway: pause before offering a solution and ask, “Would you like my thoughts, or do you just want me to listen?”

Everything is trainable—even the way we respond when we are afraid.

Do you want more? DM me or email: b_cortella@yahoo.it

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27 October 2026

FEAR: Same Feeling, Different Respond, Different Results

You haven’t taken the shot yet. But in your head, you’ve already missed it, disappointed the coach, and lost your next opportunity.

What if you could respond to fear without waiting for it to disappear?

In this episode of Let’s Go Mental, Barbara explores three meanings of F.E.A.R.:

• False Evidence Appearing Real: question the outcome your mind is predicting.

• Forget Everything And Run: notice when avoiding a mistake also means avoiding an opportunity.

• Face Everything And Rise: prepare a response and return to your next action.

Explore how fear creates mental noise, why trying to guarantee a result pulls you away from your performance, and how a clear focus cue can bring you back.

Your takeaway:

“What am I predicting?”

“How could I respond?”

“What can I do now?”

Everything is trainable—including the way you respond to fear.

Contact me b_cortella@yahoo.it

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21 October 2026

Parents: from our Expectations to Their Aspirations

What if your athlete walks onto the field carrying a picture of the game you created for them?

As parents, we see their ability, know their effort, and want opportunities for them. But sometimes our hopes become expectations, and what we intend as belief feels like a result they need to deliver.

In this episode, I explore a different angle: noticing what we expect from our athletes and choosing what we want to practice ourselves as parents.

We explore:

How our expectations can appear in reminders, expressions, and post-game questions.
Why our picture of their journey may be different from theirs.
The difference between supporting responsibility and demanding results.
How to give athletes room to choose their own focus.
Two simple sentences to turn awareness into intentional support.

Your takeaway:

“Today, I notice I’m expecting my child to…”

“Today, I aspire to be a parent who…”

Choose one action that reflects the parent you aspire to become.

While they practice becoming an athlete, we can practice becoming a parent.

Follow Let’s Go Mental and share this episode with a sports parent who might appreciate a different angle.

If you want more or if you want to share your story, write at b_cortella@yahoo.it

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13 October 2026

Transform Expectation into Aspiration.

What if the dream that keeps you moving forward becomes the anchor that holds you back?

You work hard. You want to score, win, make the roster, and reach the next level. But somewhere along the way, “I want this” can become “This must happen”—and your ambition starts feeling like pressure.

In this episode of Let’s Go Mental, Barbara offers a different angle on expectations: transform them into aspirations that give your ambition direction and your daily actions purpose.

How expectations can turn a performance into a test of your worth.
The difference between “This must happen” and “This is what I’m working toward.”
How to approach practice and competition as opportunities to grow.
A simple sentence to guide your next performance: “Today, I will…”
Why reviewing your actions helps you decide what to practice next.

Your takeaway:

Expectation → Aspiration → Action → Review → Action. Before your next practice or competition, ask:

“What can I do today to become the athlete I aspire to be?”

You don’t have to prove your whole future today. You have an opportunity to build a little of it.

Listen, share with an athlete who needs a different angle, and follow Let’s Go Mental for more ways to make mental training a lifestyle.

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06 October 2026

Discipline is Cool.

The medal is cool. A spot on the team is cool. But the choices that created them often aren’t.

People admire disciplined athletes after the results appear. Before that, the same athletes may be called boring, too serious, or obsessed because they sleep early, eat differently, repeat the same exercises, or say no when everyone else says yes.

In this episode, we look at discipline from a different angle: not as punishment, obedience, or something imposed from the outside, but as the ability to choose what supports the person you want to become.

We explore:

Why discipline still carries a negative image
The conflict between belonging and becoming
How social approval can interfere with our goals
Why discipline can help us choose our environment
How repeated choices become part of our identity

The next time you feel caught between your goal and fitting in, ask yourself:

"If nobody were judging me, what would I choose?"

Discipline is a skill. The courage to be different is also a skill. And like every skill, they can be trained.

Listen, subscribe, and share this episode with an athlete, parent, or coach who needs a different angle on discipline.

For more: b_cortella@yahoo.it

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