The Space Between: Coaching, Cookies, and Mental Frames

How do you create suspense?
…I’ll tell you later. 😏

A frame around a picture signals something important. It creates focus. Definition.
Mental fitness does the same.

Back in May 2023, Emily Kaplan wrote an article about the power of positive coaching during the NHL playoffs. The focus? Focus itself.
Two Stanley Cups later, her article turned out to be prophetic.

In it, players pushed back on the idea that coaching has to be all positivity all the time—or that there’s some complete transformation that magically happens.

Both reactions come from an all-or-nothing frame:
On one end, you’ve got the Barney coach:
“I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family.”
On the other? Bobby Knight, launching chairs across the court.

No in-between.

Negativity shows up as relentless rage. Positivity becomes toxic cheerleading.
But the real growth? It happens in the space between.
And when you’re coaching yourself, that space is where it all matters—focusing on what’s important now.

Here’s where the “brain problem” kicks in.
It’s like Cookie Monster—🧠🍪 we over-focus on the cookies, the extremes.
It creates a fear-based vibe. People start wondering:
“Is this going to be Bobby Knight… or Tony Dungy?”

But that “in-between” space?
It requires self-knowledge. Reflection. Hard work.
It also requires a system—a quick, respectful, competitive approach that helps you change, adapt, and get back to green.

Let’s change the conversation.
Reach out to schedule a keynote or training, and we’ll help your team find the space between—and thrive in it.