Josey Murray, MAPP’23,is a health, wellness, and lifestyle writer and editor based in New York City. Her writing focuses on how to live the good life and what sustainable wellness means for mind, body, and planet. She has written for Women’s Health, mindbodygreen, Well+Good, and more. She is the associate editor of MAPP Magazine. She holds a degree in English and Creative Writing from Wellesley College. Josey’s articles are here.
Mindset and performance. Well-being and success. There are a lot of misconceptions about
these topics, the relationship between them, and to whom the lessons about them apply. “You
have to struggle your way to success.” “Top athletes and performers are the exception and have
a unique ability to navigate high-pressure circumstances.” “Nerves are a bad thing.”
The experts in the latest issue of MAPP Magazine dispel these common beliefs and set the record straight. Knowing the relationship between mindset and performance enhances high achievement.
The latest, power-packed issue of MAPP Magazine features practitioners straddling the worlds of performance and positive psychology, but you don’t have to be a football player about to play
in the Super Bowl or a performing artist about to perform on the Grammy stage to gain insights
from this issue. These experts have taken what they have learned from working with
individuals in high-intensity, high-pressure environments (think championship-winning sports
teams, performing artists, and the military) and figured out what that means for the rest of us.
How do we find excellence and success in our lives? How can we nourish our well-being on the way? What does passion have to do with it?
You are bound to take away insights to enhance your performance and well-being. You might even challenge long-held beliefs that are getting in the way of both.
To have the latest MAPP Magazine articles sent to you by email, subscribe here.
Courtesy of Paddy Steinfort
Changing the Game
After coaching and advising some of the greatest performers and highest achievers in the world, Paddy Steinfort (MAPP ’15) was dubbed by USA Today “the game changer behind the game changers.”
In this interview, Paddy shares information about his work and the role of mindset in peak performance. He offers suggestions to cultivate mental fitness.
Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash
Strength and Conditioning for the Mind
How do we leverage character strengths in mental skills training?
Mental performance is known to be a core factor in the success of elite athletes, but few have considered the potential for character strengths to enhance mental skills training.
In this article, Justin Rindos (MAPP ’24) explores the role of character strengths in sports performance and the potential of integrating them into mental skills training.
Finding Well-Being on the Way to Success
Author, speaker, consultant, and professor of NYU’s most popular elective, The Pursuit of Happiness, Dan Lerner (MAPP ’12) helps everyone from college undergrads to opera singers succeed without sacrificing their well-being.
In this interview, he challenges the idea that you have to struggle your way to success and excellence. He also explores the key role of passion in finding well-being on the way to success.
Courtesy of Gloria Park
What Makes Us Great?
In this rich exchange, Gloria Park, PhD (MAPP ’06), a director of performance psychology, mental-performance coach, and long-time MAPP instructor and capstone reader, contends that challenges needn’t be feared and achievement may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Gloria shares strategies for recognizing and leveraging the best within each of us.
For more on finding well-being,
visit and bookmark MAPP Magazine.
To get new editions in your email, subscribe here.
References
Lerner, Daniel (2017). U Thrive: How to succeed in college and life. Little Brown Spark.
Steinfort, Paddy (2017). Breakfast with Bails: What a dying coach taught me about life, learning & leadership. Allure Publishing.
Steinfort, Paddy. Toughness. Podcast.
Russell, Kyle (2024, February 22). The game changer behind the game changers.. USA Today.