We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christopher Hullaby . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christopher below.

Christopher , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Growing up, my mom used to tell me “You can do anything you put your mind to”, but I didn’t understand how I could use my mind to be great at something I really cared about, which was basketball. Even though I was pretty dang good when playing street ball and practicing intensely by myself, I struggled delivering that same performance when playing organized ball or when playing with people who were just as good or better than me. Looking back on it, I know that I had a mental block that kept me from performing the way I knew I could on a consistent basis. I was distracted by concerning myself with thinking what other people would say about my game; who was watching my game; or being worried the coach would yell and embarrass me during the game. My mind was on irrelevant factors that I couldn’t control instead of just focusing on the task-relevant factors that would help me play ball the way I knew I could!This type of thinking also didn’t do me any favors off the court as well (school, work, home, etc) as I would also struggle with performing in those areas, especially in the presence of others.

Today, I am a Mental Performance Coach with a Master’s in Psychology and a Sport Psychology Specialization. As I observe people in my community, especially adolescent teenagers, I notice that most of them struggle with the same exact thing I struggled with growing up, which is not understanding how powerful the human mind is or understanding how to use their mind to put themselves in the best position of success (in and out of sport).

Therefore, as the Founder & Owner of Mental Fitness Hub LLC, it is my mission to increase the awareness of the power of the human mind by teaching athletes and other performers psychological skills to develop & nurture growth mindsets, mental readiness, and performance excellence in sport and other performance domains.

Christopher , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a young man from Kansas City, KS (Wyandotte County). I became interested in Sport Psychology after reading a book called ‘Mind Gym’ by author Gary Mack, which was one of the very few times I visited the library at Washington High School. From there, I went off to Kansas State University to earn my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Just a year after receiving my bachelor’s, I was able to intern at a local sport psychology company to gain experience consulting elite/competitive athletes and performers on their mental game. I did this simultaneously with pursuing my Master’s degree in Psychology, with a Sport Psychology emphasis. When my time at the local sport psychology company concluded, my passion for sport psychology intensified, and I was inspired to educate people in the Kansas City area on how to develop and sustain a productive mindset, which facilitates mental toughness. With this in mind, I developed Mental Fitness Hub LLC to teach athletes and other performers ages 13+ how to apply mental skills to develop and nurture growth mindsets, mental readiness, and performance excellence. Through team workshops and one on one (virtual or in person) sessions, Mental Fitness Hub aims to enhance mental skills related (but not limited to) confidence, concentration, and resilience. With this education, athletes and other performers will be equipped with psychological skills that combat performance anxiety, imposture syndrome, burnout, or any inevitable challenge that arises in their pursuit of achievement. I’m most proud of the opportunity I have to introduce sport psychology as a tool people in my community can use to achieve inner excellence. The main thing I want potential clients to realize is that with the Mental Fitness Hub, you’re not only learning mental skills and techniques to improve your performance in sport. Rather, the mental skills and concepts learned at Mental Fitness Hub can be applied to help you show up in other areas of your life as your best self!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In my early 20’s, I used to believe being a business owner was too difficult or something I couldn’t handle. Don’t get me wrong, having a business has and still presents challenges that I have to push myself to overcome. But, I can honestly say creating Mental Fitness Hub LLC was a start to help me push my limits and do things I never thought I’d be doing like publishing a website, passing out customized business cards, getting an LLC, designing shirts, etc. Starting my business was the start of me challenging numerous unfair limitations I placed on myself, and I will continue to show resilience towards my own negative thinking, failures, or shortcomings in my business, and most importantly, in my life.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was highly prioritizing modesty, in terms of not believing I’m all that in a bag of chips in terms of not believing that I’m “all that in a bag of chips”. This wasn’t something that I learned from home, because my mom and dad encouraged me to express myself and be proud of who I am. However, when I would genuinely express myself or watch others express themselves, we were told that we were cocky, arrogant, or full of ourselves. So, I guess socially I learned to be very modest about my abilities, which did everyone a favor besides myself. Thankfully, I learned how to stop downplaying myself through sport psychology.

Sport Psychology research shows that confidence influences performance, so it’s important that we utilize positive self-talk, and reassure ourselves that we are capable and worthy of success. The fact of the matter was by choosing not to believe “I’m all that in a bag of chips” just so others would feel comfortable around me, shrunk my confidence.

However, now I can happily say that I have overcome being overly modest, and am now in a position where I can encourage others to express themselves freely. A great reminder for me to continue to BE IN MY BAG is to frequently visit Marianne Williamson’s ‘Deepest Fear’ poem.

Contact Info:

• Website: mentalfithub.com
• Instagram: mc.hullaby
• Facebook: Chris Hullaby
• Linkedin: chrishullaby1
• Twitter: Dahub15
• Youtube: TheMentalFitnessHub