Being brave isn't a feeling — it's a doing word. When it gets hard, who do you want to be? This session connects your values to your actions, and gives you the tools to show up that way when the noise gets loud.
Pressure is a revealer. It shows you who you actually are — not who you think you are.
Losing a goal. Getting a bad challenge. Missing the penalty in front of everyone. Your best friend gets dropped and you get picked. Your coach pulls you from the game. These moments don't create your character. They reveal it.
In the session today, we asked one question above all others: when it gets hard, what kind of player do you want to be? Not what you want to feel — but what you want to do. That's the ACT definition of a value: a direction you keep choosing, regardless of how you feel.
These are the values that Nomads players chose in the session. Tap your top 3 — the ones that matter most to you when the pressure's on.
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In ACT, a value is best described as...
Goals can be achieved and then they're done. Feelings can't be controlled or sustained. But a value is different — it's a compass direction, not a destination. You can always choose to move toward "brave" or "good teammate" regardless of the scoreline, the noise, or how the game is going. That's what makes values the bedrock of performance under pressure.
Some of the most powerful words about playing brave came from people you know. Or maybe didn't expect.
Values aren't theory — they live in real moments, said by real people. Below are four quotes from athletes and coaches about courage, character, and doing the brave thing when it costs something. Before you read who said it: tap to reveal.
"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud."
"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again. And that is why I succeed."
"I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing."
"Pressure is a privilege — it only comes to those who earn it."
Michael Jordan's quote about failure is most relevant to the GROW framework because it shows that...
Jordan wasn't describing acceptance of failure — he was describing values-based action in the face of fear. He kept stepping up for the game-winner because it mattered, not despite the risk. That's exactly what Play Brave is about: brave isn't a feeling that appears when you're ready. It's a decision you make before you feel ready.
Your values aren't what you believe. They're what you do.
Here's where most people get values wrong. They think of them as feelings: "I want to feel confident" or "I want to feel calm." But feelings come and go, and you can't control them. Values are different — they're choices. Actions. Behaviours that other people can actually see.
Watch the difference below. One column is feelings-based. The other is values in action. Same situation, completely different approach.
Notice the right column doesn't mention feelings once. The brave action happens regardless of how you feel. That's what separates values-driven athletes from everyone else.
You've just made an error and you're feeling embarrassed and frustrated. A values-based response would be to...
Values-based action doesn't wait for the feeling to be right. C is correct because it's immediate, action-focused, and driven by identity rather than emotion. A waits for a feeling. B dismisses the experience (which we know backfires). D keeps you in the past, in your head. The brave move is to carry the feeling AND take the action — simultaneously.
It's easy to talk about values. The real question is what you choose when it costs something.
In the session you worked through real scenarios — the kind that happen every week at Nomads. Three of them are below. For each one, look at the two responses and decide: which one is values-based? Work through each scenario before moving to the next.
"You've had a rough first half. Gave the ball away twice in bad positions. Your coach is about to give team talk — and you know some of the feedback is aimed at you. Your mind says: 'I should just go quiet. Don't make it worse.'"
Which response reflects a values-based player?
"You're in a drill where you keep getting it wrong. Other players are watching. Your mind says: 'Everyone thinks I'm useless. Just do the easy option and stop drawing attention to yourself.'"
Which response reflects a values-based player?
"You won — but your best friend got dropped for this game and is clearly devastated on the sideline. The rest of the team is celebrating. Your mind says: 'They'll be fine. Go celebrate. You don't want to make it weird.'"
Which response reflects a values-based player?
What makes Scenario 3 (the teammate who got dropped) the hardest kind of values test?
B is correct. A values test gets harder when the environment pushes you toward the avoidant option. The whole team is celebrating. The social gravity pulls you toward the crowd. Taking the values-based action in that moment — breaking from the group — is the defining move of a character player. That's not a communication skill. It's courage. It's "good teammate" as a doing word, not a feeling.
An anchor is a tool that links your values to your body — so you can access them in seconds, under pressure.
You learned about anchors in the session — a simple combination of a word (one of your values) and a physical action (something your body does). Together, they become a trigger: a fast way back to who you want to be when the noise gets loud.
The science behind this is called somatic anchoring — pairing a meaningful word with a repeated physical gesture trains your nervous system to connect the two. When you use the gesture in a game, it cues the mental state without you having to think.
Now it's your turn. You don't have to commit to this forever — but write something down, try it in training this week, and see how it feels.
Your anchor: when the noise gets loud, touch and say — silently. Then run ACE. Then go.
What makes a physical gesture effective as an anchor in a game situation?
The anchor works through repetition-built association — not distraction, not replacement. Every time you practise it in training, the neural link between the gesture and the mental state strengthens. B is correct because the anchor is a conditioned cue: your nervous system learns what comes next. It's the same principle as muscle memory in skill practice — but applied to psychological state.
You don't have to feel brave. You just have to do the brave thing.
This is the final idea — and it's the most important. Brave is not a feeling that arrives before you act. It's a label we give to action taken in the presence of fear, discomfort, or doubt. You can't wait until it feels right. That moment never comes.
You do the brave thing first. The feeling follows — or it doesn't. Either way, you already went.
In the session you watched "Inside an Olympic Athlete's Mind" — a short film that showed exactly this: elite athletes feeling fear, doubt, and pressure, and taking the brave action anyway. The feelings didn't go away. The athletes just stopped waiting for them to.
Watch — Inside an Olympic Athlete's MindThink about your values — the ones you chose in Section 1. What's one brave action you could take this week? Not a goal. Not a big moment. One small action that expresses your value, regardless of how you feel.
You're warming up and your mind is telling you: "I don't feel confident today. Something feels off. I should just stay quiet and not take risks." A Play Brave response would be to...
A trusts the feeling — but feelings are unreliable pre-game data. B replaces the thought (we know how that ends). D is avoidance wrapped in patience. C is Play Brave: acknowledge the noise, come back to your body, activate your value-anchor, and then take a specific brave action. You don't wait to feel ready. You go. The confidence builds through action — not the other way around.
The Mind Gym is where you go between sessions — six short stations to deepen the skills you've just built.