Set Your Mind is a sport and performance psychology podcast about training the mind with the same intention we train the body. Hosted by Dr. Stephen Ginsberg, each episode explores mindset, courage, resilience, and the mental processes that help performers show up on the playing field and in life with courage, clarity, and commitment.
“Doc, do I really need to meet with you when things are going this well?”
Dr. Stephen Ginsberg hears this question all the time, and his answer usually surprises clients. Some of the most productive sessions happen when nothing seems to be wrong.
Athletes and high performers tend to study their failures closely and let their successes pass by unexamined. In this episode, Stephen explains how to reverse engineer a good stretch. You identify what you’re doing, thinking, and choosing that’s working, so you can come back to it when you drift. The goal is to fireproof instead of putting out fires.
In this episode:
Why the sessions clients want to skip are often the most valuable
Reverse engineering success: treating a good stretch as data
Benjamin Franklin, fire safety, and the case for prevention
The Puzzle Pieces exercise: listing the habits, routines, and mindset behind your best performance
A visual version of the exercise for visual learners
Why your puzzle is personal and why it has to change as you do
Try this: Grab a pen and think back to a time you were at your best. Write “Puzzle Pieces” at the top of the page, then list everything that contributed. That page is your roadmap for the next time things fall apart.
*Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
5 Oct 2026
Episode 40: Bucket Fillers and Spillers
You’ve probably heard the saying: everything you need to know in life, you learn in kindergarten. This episode makes the case that it might actually be true.
Inspired by a lesson from my oldest son’s kindergarten classroom, we explore the simple—but powerful—idea of bucket fillers and bucket spillers: the people and behaviors that either add to our energy or quietly drain it away.
Because your energy, emotional and physical, is finite. And learning how to protect it is one of the most important performance and well-being skills we can develop.
What This Episode Covers
The kindergarten concept of bucket filling—and why it holds up in adulthood
How the people around you influence your mood, behavior, and sense of self
The difference between energy-generating and energy-draining interactions
Everyday examples of bucket-filling and bucket-spilling behaviors
Why your body often knows the answer before your mind does
Bucket Filling Might Look Like:
Checking in on someone who seems off
Sitting with someone in the struggle instead of rushing to fix it
Celebrating others without comparison or ego
Helping people feel seen, heard, or understood
Bucket Spilling Might Look Like:
Dominating conversations
Gossiping or excluding others
Making every interaction about yourself
Cutting people down—or “yucking someone else’s yum”
Reflection Questions
After spending time with someone, ask yourself:
Do I feel more energized or more depleted?
More grounded or more anxious?
More like myself, or less?
That information matters.
Applied to Performance
Executives: What kind of energy does each person on your team bring into the room?
Athletes: Are the people on your personal performance team filling your bucket, or spilling it?
Coaches: Is your culture designed to generate energy… or slowly drain it?
Final Reminder
You are responsible for protecting and refilling your own bucket. That doesn’t mean isolating. It doesn’t mean being selfish. It means being intentional.
Because the fuller your bucket is, the more you’re capable of giving, without burning out, hardening, or losing yourself along the way.
*Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
28 Sept 2026
Episode 39: The Weight of Hiding
In 1989, a 19-year-old Andre Agassi looked into a Canon camera and said, "Image is everything." What nobody knew was that his famous hair was partly a hairpiece. A year later it nearly fell apart the night before his first Grand Slam final, and he spent the match playing not to lose it.
In this episode, Dr. Stephen Ginsberg looks at the hidden cost of protecting an image: the energy it takes, the joy it steals and the performance it limits. Drawing on Charles Cooley's "looking-glass self" and Brené Brown's research on shame, he explains why we hide, why hiding makes shame grow, and what happens when athletes finally stop.
In this episode:
Agassi's hairpiece and the 1990 French Open final
What the word "image" really means, and why it matters
The looking-glass self: living by how we imagine others see us
Why shame is at the root of hiding (even if you think "that's not me")
Brené Brown: shame needs secrecy, silence and judgment to grow
Kevin Love's panic attack and the essay that changed the conversation
Hiding as a weighted vest you forget you're wearing
Victor Wembanyama, Gary Woodland and Lionel Messi on putting the weight down
Why you don't have to take the vest off alone
Mentioned:
Andre Agassi, Open (2009)
Charles Cooley, the looking-glass self
Brené Brown's research on shame and vulnerability
Kevin Love, "Everyone Is Going Through Something," The Players' Tribune (2018)
The question to take with you: Is your hiding protecting you, or costing you?
If you're struggling, talking with a licensed psychologist or sport psychologist can help. You don't have to carry it alone.
Music Credit: “Kong” by Bonobo; Courtesy of Ninja Tune Records
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
12 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Contact Set your Mind
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Set your Mind?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
