Today Matters Podcast With Steve Pinkston

Mistakes are inevitable. Spirals are optional. In this episode, mental performance coach Steve Pinkston talks straight to athletes about the most revealing moment in sports: what you do after the mistake. Learn how body language either stops the bleeding or pours gasoline on it—and how elite performers train physical resets that protect confidence, momentum, and trust when pressure hits.
Today’s Action Step: 
Build a physical reset. Not mental. Physical. Clap your hands. Deep breath. Chin up. Eyes forward.
Pick one. Use it every time.
Practice the reset in training. After every miss. Every turnover. Don’t wait for games to figure this out.
Judge yourself by reaction speed. How fast can you look the same again? That’s growth.
 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.

Before you say a word, you’re already competing.
In this episode, mental performance coach Steve Pinkston breaks down why body language is performance—and how your posture, presence, and reactions shape confidence, trust, and momentum before the game even starts. Learn how elite athletes use body language to stay steady under pressure and why the way you carry yourself can be the difference between folding early and finishing strong.
Today’s Action Step: 
Fix your default posture. Chest tall. Chin neutral. Eyes up. That’s home base. Always.
Own the space between plays. Jog with purpose. Stand like you belong. That’s where confidence is built or lost.
Catch the leaks. Hands on hips. Head drops. Eye rolls. Those are habits — and habits can be trained out.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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 Bible doesn’t call us to live in yesterday or control tomorrow—it calls us to be faithful today. In this episode, Coach connects focus, awareness, and W.I.N. to Scripture, showing how present-moment living builds spiritual resilience, trust, and peace—even in adversity. Faith, like performance, is lived one moment at a time.
Today’s Action Step: 
Start Each Day With W.I.N. Ask: “God, what’s important for me today?”
When Anxiety Shows Up, Come Back to Now You don’t need tomorrow’s strength today.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…” — Matthew 6:34
Be Faithful in the Moment You’re Given That’s where God does His work.
 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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 stop when the game ends. School, work, relationships, leadership, parenting—life is full of moments that demand focus under stress. In this episode, Coach bridges the focus and awareness skills learned in sport into everyday life, showing how W.I.N. and present-moment awareness help people stay steady, make better decisions, and avoid self-sabotage when it matters most.
Today’s Action Step: 
Use W.I.N. Outside of Sport When things feel heavy, ask it. Out loud if you need to.
Notice Your Yellow Lights Body tension. Tone of voice. Racing thoughts.
That’s your cue—not your failure.
Choose the Next Right Action Not perfect. Not forever. Just now.
 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.

Big goals don’t require big focus—just present focus. In this episode, Coach breaks down the W.I.N. mindset (What’s Important Now), why elite athletes shrink the moment instead of chasing the future, and how “Today + Today + Today” creates consistency without overwhelm.
Today’s Action Step: 
Ask W.I.N. Constantly Before practice. During mistakes. Under pressure.
“What’s important now?”
Shrink the Moment If it feels heavy— You’re thinking too far ahead.
Pull it back.
Stack Today Win today on purpose. Then do it again.
 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.

Focus isn’t something you either have or don’t—it’s something you train. In this episode, Coach breaks down why hoping for focus fails, how intentional mental reps build consistency, and how simple tools like concentration grids develop awareness that shows up under pressure.
Today’s Action Step: 
Start using Concentration Grids Today Get yours here https://briancain.com/CGRID?rows=3&columns=3
Step 1: Quiet Environment Start with no distractions. Time yourself. Track it.
Step 2: Add Distractions Music. TV. Noise. Just like real life. Just like competition.
Step 3: Track Progress If you don’t measure it, you won’t respect it.
Focus improves when it’s trained with intention.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.

Most athletes don’t struggle because they don’t care enough. They struggle because they’re focused on the wrong thing—or don’t realize when they’ve drifted. In this episode, Coach breaks down the difference between focus and awareness, why effort alone doesn’t fix inconsistency, and how learning to recognize your “signal lights” can change the way you perform under pressure.
Today’s Action Step: 
Identify Your Signal Lights Write this down or think it through:
What does Green look like for you?
What shows up first in Yellow?
How do you act in Red?
Awareness starts with honesty.
Catch Yellow Earlier Your goal isn’t to never hit yellow. Your goal is to notice it sooner.
The moment you feel tension, frustration, or vagueness— That’s your cue.
Refocus to Something Controllable Ask yourself: “What can I control right now?”
Breath. Body language. Next action.
 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.

Episode Description
Everyone makes mistakes. Not everyone recovers from them. In this episode, Coach breaks down the real separator at the elite level: the ability to refocus after adversity. You’ll learn why spiraling is a skill problem—not a toughness problem—and how to train a reset response that shows up when it matters most.
Today’s Action Step: 
 Alright—here’s what I want you to start doing immediately.
Build a Reset Ritual Every mistake deserves the same response. Win or lose—reset the same way.
It might be:
A deep breath
A physical cue (tap the bat, adjust the gloves)
A single word: “Next.”
Consistency creates control.
Eliminate Emotional Language Stop narrating your failure.
No: “I’m terrible.” “I always do this.” “I can’t mess up again.”
Replace it with task language:
“Eyes up.”
“Strong base.”
“Next rep.”
Focus follows language.
Expect the Miss This is big—listen.
When the mistake happens, say: “There it is. I knew this would show up.”
 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.

Episode Description Why do some athletes fall apart after one mistake while others respond like nothing happened? The difference isn’t talent—it’s focus and awareness. In this episode, we introduce the foundational skill of present-moment focus, the W.I.N. mindset (What’s Important Now), and why learning to compete one play at a time is the gateway to consistency and resilience.
Today’s Action Step: 
Name your W.I.N. Before practice or competition, ask: What’s important right now?
Refocus after every rep. Mistake or success—reset the same way.
Practice the pause. One breath. One cue word. Back to now.
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.

Scripture is filled with storms—and faithful people who kept moving forward. This episode connects Row the Boat to biblical resilience, faith, and perseverance.
Today’s Action Step: 
First: Name the storm you’re in. God already knows it—but you need to acknowledge it.
Second: Ask: What does obedience look like right now? Not tomorrow. Not when it makes sense. Right now.
Third: Row with trust. Let go of control. Keep moving forward.
 
About Today Matters Today Matters is your 2–4 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.