Today Matters Podcast With Steve Pinkston

In today's world, athletes are surrounded by noise—social media, expectations, criticism, pressure, and constant distractions. The best performers don't succeed because they have fewer distractions; they succeed because they've trained themselves to return their attention to what matters most. In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explores how meditation is more than sitting quietly—it's daily training for attention, emotional control, and peak performance. You'll learn why elite athletes use breathing and mindfulness to stay composed under pressure, how meditation improves decision-making, and practical ways to build a five-minute routine that helps you compete with greater confidence and clarity. If you've ever struggled with anxiety, overthinking, or losing focus during competition or everyday life, this episode will give you practical tools to quiet the noise and perform at your best.
Today’s Action Step: 
Action Step #1  Every morning, sit quietly for five minutes.
Action Step #2  Build a reset word.
Action Step #3  Practice your reset before pressure arrives.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

Pressure doesn't create your habits—it reveals them. That's why the world's best athletes, leaders, and performers don't wait until the big moment to figure out how they'll respond. They prepare mentally long before the challenge arrives. In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explores the power of mentally rehearsing adversity, pressure, and success before they happen. You'll discover why visualization isn't wishful thinking but intentional preparation, how elite performers use mental rehearsal to stay calm under pressure, and how you can train your brain to respond with confidence instead of emotion. Whether you're preparing for a championship game, a difficult conversation, an important exam, or a major life decision, this episode will help you build the mindset that allows you to perform your best when it matters most.
Today’s Action Step: 
Action Step #1  Write down the three situations that create the most pressure in your sport or life.
Action Step #2  Spend five minutes mentally rehearsing each one.
Action Step #3  Create a reset routine.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

What if one of the most powerful performance tools you have never fully trained is your imagination? Elite athletes don't just practice physically—they rehearse success mentally long before competition begins. In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explores how mental imagery and meditation can improve preparation, accelerate learning, build confidence, reduce anxiety, and help athletes stay calm when the pressure is highest. You'll learn why your brain responds to vividly imagined experiences almost like real ones, how to visualize both success and adversity, and how to create a simple daily mental routine that strengthens performance on and off the field. Whether you're an athlete, coach, or parent, today's lesson will help you understand why championship performances begin long before the whistle blows.
Today’s Action Step: 
Action Step #1  Before practice, school, work, or competition, spend five quiet minutes visualizing exactly how you want to perform.
Action Step #2  Choose one situation that normally causes stress.
Action Step #3  Tonight, before bed, replay your day.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

Have you ever prayed for an answer that seemed delayed? Wondered why your efforts weren't producing immediate results? Or questioned whether God was working when you couldn't yet see evidence of His hand? In this faith-centered episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explores one of the greatest spiritual principles in scripture: God almost always works through a process before revealing the outcome. Through stories from Noah, Nephi, Joseph of Egypt, David, Peter, and Jesus Christ Himself, you'll discover that faith isn't simply believing in God's promises—it's continuing to obey while those promises are still unfolding. Whether you're an athlete, student, parent, coach, or simply someone waiting on God, this episode will encourage you to trust His timing, embrace daily obedience, and remember that His greatest work often happens long before we see the final result.
Today’s Action Step: 
Step One: Remember God's Faithfulness
Take a few minutes today and write down three times in your life when you can now see God's hand—even if you couldn't recognize it in the moment.
Step Two: Identify Today's Assignment  Ask,
"Lord, what is the next faithful step You want me to take today?"
Step Three: Practice Patient Obedience  This week, choose faith over frustration.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

The mental skills that help athletes perform under pressure don't stop working when the game ends. They become the same skills that build successful students, trusted leaders, healthy relationships, and meaningful careers. In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston connects the dots between athletics and everyday life, showing how the principles you've learned over the past several episodes—trusting the process, controlling the controllables, staying consistent, measuring what matters, and embracing the Next Play mindset—can help you succeed in every arena of life. Whether you're preparing for an exam, navigating a difficult relationship, starting a new job, leading a family, or facing an unexpected setback, you'll discover that the greatest lessons learned on the field are really preparation for life beyond the field.
Today’s Action Step:
Step One: Identify Your Arena
Step Two: Apply One Skill
Step Three: Reflect Every Evening 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

Mistakes are inevitable. Champions know that. What separates elite performers isn't avoiding mistakes—it's recovering from them faster than everyone else. In this milestone Episode 50 of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explores the powerful "Next Play Mindset," a mental skill that allows athletes, coaches, and leaders to leave the past behind and lock back into the present moment. Through inspiring stories from sports, business, aviation, and everyday life, you'll learn why dwelling on mistakes hurts future performance, how elite competitors reset under pressure, and practical techniques you can use immediately after setbacks. Whether you missed the game-winning shot, failed a test, lost a client, or simply had a rough day, this episode will teach you how to reset, refocus, and move forward with confidence.
Today’s Action Step: 
Step One: Pause  Immediately after a mistake, stop for just one breath.
Step Two: Learn Ask yourself one question.
"What can this teach me?"
Step Three: Reset Choose one physical action that reminds you the last play is over.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

How do you define success? Is it by the scoreboard, the statistics, the trophy, or the scholarship offer? While those outcomes matter, they don't tell the whole story. In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explains why elite performers measure success differently. Instead of allowing wins, losses, or the opinions of others to determine their confidence, they evaluate themselves by the standards they control every day. Through powerful stories from sports, leadership, business, and life, you'll learn how process-based evaluations create lasting confidence, stronger habits, and more consistent performance. Whether you're an athlete, coach, parent, or leader, this episode will challenge you to stop chasing approval and start measuring what truly leads to success.
Today’s Action Step: 
Step One: Create Your Personal Scorecard
Step Two: Evaluate Every Day
Step Three: Celebrate Progress
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

Everyone loves the highlight reel—the game-winning shot, the championship celebration, the record-breaking performance. But those moments are only the visible result of hundreds of ordinary days that nobody applauded. In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explores why consistency—not occasional bursts of motivation—is the true foundation of excellence. You'll learn why elite athletes rely on routines instead of emotions, how small daily actions compound into extraordinary results, and why showing up on the hard days matters more than having one perfect day. Through stories from sports, leadership, business, and everyday life, you'll discover practical ways to build lasting habits that create confidence and long-term success. If you're tired of starting strong but struggling to finish, this episode will help you become the kind of person who keeps showing up long after the excitement fades.
Today’s Action Step: 
Step One: Choose One Non-Negotiable "What is one habit I can complete every single day?"
Step Two: Build Your Winning Streak
Step Three: Measure Consistency, Not Just Results
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

Why do some athletes consistently improve while others struggle to stick with good habits? The answer often isn't motivation or discipline—it's strategy.
In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston explores one of the most powerful tools for building lasting change: Habit Stacking. You'll learn how elite performers attach new habits to existing routines, making growth easier, more automatic, and more sustainable. Discover how small actions compound into major results, why most people fail when trying to change too much too fast, and how athletes, coaches, parents, and leaders can use simple daily triggers to build confidence, discipline, focus, and consistency.
If you've ever said, "I know what I should do, I just can't seem to stick with it," this episode is for you.
Today’s Action Step: 
1. Identify One Existing Habit
2. Attach One New Success Habit
3. Track Your Streak
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.

Pressure has a way of pulling our attention toward things we can't control—officiating, opponents, playing time, injuries, coaches' decisions, social media, or the opinions of others. But elite performers understand a simple truth: your greatest competitive advantage comes from mastering what is inside your control. In this episode of Today Matters, Coach Steve Pinkston shares why focusing on controllable behaviors builds confidence, reduces anxiety, and creates consistent performance. Through stories from sports, business, school, and everyday life, you'll learn how to stop wasting energy on circumstances you can't change and start investing it where it produces results. If you've ever found yourself frustrated by things outside your control, this episode will help you redirect your focus and discover the freedom—and power—that comes from winning the battle you can actually win.
Today’s Action Step: 
Step One: Make Two Lists
Things I Can't Control.       Things I Can Control.
Step Two: Use the Reset Question
"What's one thing I can control right now?"
Step Three: Finish Every Day With One Question
"Did I control what I could control?"
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 4-8 minute daily boost of motivation for athletes, parents, and coaches. Hosted by Coach Steve Pinkston, each episode delivers a simple mental performance strategy to help you win the day.
Learn More & Work with Coach Pinkston 👉 CoachPinkston.com for strategies, skills, and drills to improve your mental performance.
1-on-1 Coaching Programs
Team Consulting
Leadership Development
Sign up for the Trust The Process Newsletter, so you can wake up every Monday morning to a message that will motivate you all week.
Stay Connected Instagram: @Mental.Strength.Coach X: @CoachPinkston Facebook: Steve Pinkston
Enjoying the Show? Share this episode with someone who needs a lift today. And don’t forget to hit Follow so you never miss your daily motivation.