Jen Bladon
Parent - Elite Lacrosse Player
Why did you hire Nikki to work with your daughter?
I like the framework that Nikki brings to the table to help people find their best selves. I attended her Self Confidence and mindset workshop with my daughter, and it was presented in a way that was informative and actionable. This was super helpful for me personally, and professionally as a physiotherapist helping my patients. My daughter, Olivia, seemed to really connect to Nikki and the workshop content, and that led to Olivia working one-on-one with Nikki. Olivia has some big goals in lacrosse, and we know that along with sport specific training, training her mindset, resiliency and self-confidence will be so helpful along with way.
What differentiates Nikki’s approach to mindset development from other books/seminars/information that you have seen?
Nikki’s approach is very much a thoughtful and evolving approach. Nikki takes the most recent existing evidence that we have for mindset development, and uniquely applies it to the individual and/or team working with her. With this in mind, Nikki was able to provide the parent’s of my son’s rep hockey team an excellent seminar on how to support their sons’ mindset development at the beginning of our season. The talk was very well received, helping to set the team culture that has seen excellent development and success on and off the ice this season.
What has been the best part about working with Nikki?
We have seen Olivia internalize the concepts of positive mindset development as Nikki helps her with the challenge of balancing being a teenager with being a student athlete. Nikki provides a consistent and supportive sounding board for Olivia to develop the skills she will need to embrace the process and hard work necessary to achieve her goals. It has also helped my relationship with Olivia, as I can step back a little and know with full confidence that Nikki is helping Olivia learn what works for her (which is often different than what works for me) in terms of the mental and emotional resiliency that will be her greatest strength in anything she sets her mind to (i.e.playing lacrosse at the highest level and including an NCAA lacrosse scholarship!).
What improvements in mindset and/or performance have you seen since working with Nikki?
We’ve seen a huge shift in attitude and approach to most things in Olivia since working with Nikki, including:
less reactivity, and more thoughtful responsiveness in situations that are out of her control
a more balanced approach to social media that has evolved into less social media time overall
a greater awareness of the benefits of habit building
a greater awareness of the impact of thought and word choice both in self talk and overall communication
an increased ability to let go. (i.e. even though the process goes well, the outcome may not be the desired one)
Olivia’s growth in self has also challenged some of my bias, and I am now following her lead in many ways. Olivia has seen remarkable success in sport and school since working with Nikki, but it is the way that she now experiences it that makes it so special. We’ve seen her mature in her relationships with her peers and her coaches, and also become more of a leader in sport.
What’s the main reason you would recommend Nikki?
I am a huge believer in putting the work into your mindset as much as you would anything else. And for parents and kids - even more so. Learning the skills to positively build your approach to learning and performance (whether sport or otherwise) is the foundation that we can build our whole life upon. Mindset is literally applicable to anything and everything - your mindset approach will either help or hinder you. Think Out Loud Co. will teach you how to maximize the benefits of your mindset at present, and in whatever goals you have.
What would you tell someone considering reaching out to Nikki?
Go for it :). A wise investment for someone looking to better themselves, their team, and/or their child. You’ll see invaluable changes from the shift in mindset that will prove helpful in real life in so many ways!