Making Habits Stick: Simple Strategies for Athletes and Parents

In this episode of Car Ride Conversations for Sports Families, host Valerie Alston explores how to make big goals attainable by shrinking habits to ensure they stick. Drawing inspiration from 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, Valerie discusses the importance of making good habits easy to start and emphasizes the value of consistency over perfection. She offers actionable advice on breaking down daunting tasks into manageable steps, piggybacking new habits on existing ones, and making bad habits harder to start. Ideal for parents and young athletes, this podcast aims to foster mental toughness, resilience, and confidence through practical, everyday conversations.

00:00 Introduction to Effective Habits

00:49 Understanding the Third Law of Behavior Change

01:42 Making Habits Easy to Start

04:04 Practical Examples for Athletes and Students

05:34 Attaching New Habits to Existing Routines

06:33 Eliminating Bad Habits

08:10 Building Mental Toughness and Discipline

10:49 Conversation Prompts and Challenges

15:19 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Atomic Habits link: https://amzn.to/49rZNP4

Discussion questions:

1. What habit feels hardest to start right now?
2. How could we shrink that habit so it feels easier to begin?
3. What daily routine could we attach that habit to?
4. What’s one distraction we could make harder to access during school or practice prep?

Thanks for joining me on Confident, Calm, and Clutch Car Ride Conversations! If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a moment. Share it with other parents or coaches who could use a little extra inspiration on the go.

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For more specific tips on building mental toughness, buy my book Confident, Calm and Clutch: How to build confidence and mental toughness for young athletes using sports psychology

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Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email me: valerie.alston@valstoncoaching.com

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