Coach Iris

22/07/2024

Always fun to reminisce! Thanks Ruth Ginsburg Gotian

From brushing teeth with a water bottle to spending down time with a girlfriend, Olympians share how they prepared in the days leading up to the Olympic Games.

04/05/2024

had one of the best talks at the conference today. Dr. Edmonson spoke about her latest book, “The Right Kind of Wrong - The Science of Failing Well.”
reminded me think about how much “intelligent failure” I did on the fencing strip.
A smart risk on the fencing strip takes a lot of prep work - both internal and external trials/ lots of practice plus confidence plus experience AND externally testing your theories with the opponent in real time in small and big ways. It’s a constant iteration of ideas and strategies.

10/04/2024

When I joined and the Integrated Mental Health Services team, my mission was to do dope stuff with dope people.
Today was a team effort and the culmination of hard work and logistics to record keynote sessions with . Dr. Kaufman has a lot of accolades, check out his page, but what makes him dope is that he is just a kind human and interested in the study of helping humans to human the best they can in this world.
Thanks Scott, for your thoughtfulness, depth, and insights.

08/01/2024

Happy Monday from Positive Potato.

06/01/2024

Birthday snow walk. ❄️

01/12/2023

I have been geeking out lately on podcasts featuring Dr. Kristin Neff and her thoughts on Fierce Self Compassion.

As she says, gender socialization can interfere with this very powerful piece of performance. Compassion can be labeled as “feminine”, “soft”, but in her work (and she has studied Olympic athletes), self-compassion can lead to better performance, learning, growth, and better mental health.

As an athlete, I can say with certainty that if I had more self-compassion (which I see as support and teaming with oneself), I would have made another Olympic team. I can clearly recall the moment where I needed to perform and instead of finding the words to support myself, I chose another route. Words lead to action, and I missed the target and missed a spot on the 2004 Olympic team.

From the start of the podcast, Dr. Neff’s words are resonant:

“Human potential means realizing all faces of love. Fierceness without tenderness is hostility and aggressiveness. Tenderness without fierceness is like complacency.”

As with anything, we are on a spectrum of self-compassion. What TYPE of self-compassion do you need in the situation?

👉Harsh inner critic? Maybe self-compassion in the form of kinder words and supporting your needs rather than pushing or grinding.
👉Social justice? Maybe self-compassion means speaking up for your needs and getting more involved or pushing harder.

Whenever we think of concepts like self-compassion, we have to remember that the actions associated are dependent on the situation and your needs. This means, know yourself first, know your environment, and be aware of what action or behavior best fits what your self-compassion needs are in the moment.

Be your own best teammate.

08/11/2023

My Mom, a Chinese Buddhist and mini philosopher, always has these quotes and phrases for me as a kid (and even now). She is a big influence and inspiration for my path into mental performance because she was the O.G. when it came to mind over matter. She would write me notes to find on my trips to competitions.

The note below is one she wrote me 21 years ago while I was training in NYC. It says, “To manage your daily busy schedule better, please read it (a booklet she gave me) over. You know the old word says, “To leave the mountain green, then you will always have some wood for cooking.”

Meaning, if you do not make space and time, you will have no energy left for your own needs and well being.

I found this letter yesterday while cleaning out some old files and I am thankful for the reminder.

21/09/2023

A little laugh for your Thursday.

My daughter had to apply for jobs in her fourth grade class. It reminds me of conversations I have with clients when they have to conduct interviews. The resume and reality can be very different and in Anya’s case, a pretty big difference (i.e. organized and cleaning up)! 😆

Mrs. Madden never called me for reference, but regardless of the reality at home, she’s doing a good job as a line monitor (or so I have been told).

I just had a conversation yesterday with a client who is a researcher and she was not used to asking questions in interviews beyond technical competence. We worked on questions that helped to get closer to how someone works, interacts with others, and communicates - the more “soft” skills.

❓❓❓What are some questions you ask when you are interviewing potential hires to get deeper than the resume?

18/09/2023

Traveling to Kansas City today for . I haven’t flown to a workshop in person since the pandemic. I think it’s taken me this long to recover!
It will be so great to work with and support human beings as they continue to learn and optimize their mindsets.

13/09/2023

Excited to be part of this conference. I posted about it before, but working with small to medium business owners is something I really enjoy. Having owned my own business with my sister, Felicia Zimmermann, OLY and owning Monarch Leadership Group now, I know what it means to hold the weight of all the tasks/goals/responsibility of a business. As an owner, you are the foundation of the business and somedays you can feel like Atlas with the world on your shoulders.

The workshop I will be presenting is Redefining Success. We will be:
👉Working on how we can get more clear about what drives us
👉Being more intentional about our goals in the short and long term
👉 Stay IN the mode of THRIVING and STRIVING

Link in bio!

12/09/2023

If you are afraid that letting go of the inner critic will be detrimental to your success or productivity, I invite you to listen to this podcast . There is research that suggests that being kinder to yourself can actually:
👉Contribute more positively to your success and fulfillment.
👉Boost your ability to recover from setbacks, aka the resilience factor we are all seeking.
👉Feel more motivated and confident in our ability to learn and grow.
👉Have better connections.

31/08/2023

How you choose to see something is everything.
When I tell people that I bike to and from the gym after a CrossFit workout, they think, wow, that must be hard or that’s a lot or good for you for getting more reps in.
What I see is this. My ride home is like paradise and a place to reset myself before waking into the busyness of life and work.
There is nothing heroic about it - it’s just perspective. Where others see more work, I see the opportunity to be connected to nature and connected to the community that are also on the path.
Are there situations, moments, or tasks where you can turn a “have to” into a “get to” mindset?