Becoming My Stronger Me

Hosted by Coach Nassim Ebrahimi, PhD, Developmental Psychologist and Mental Performance Coach

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Episodes

187

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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EN-US

About the show

"Becoming My Stronger Me” is a podcast designed to help you become stronger in mind, body, and heart and is hosted by Coach Nassim Ebrahimi, PhD. Season 1 - Like 47 million other Americans, I voluntarily left my successful full-time career to pursue, well, whatever was next. We’ll call this “my great resignation.” As you get to know me, you’ll see that I’m a type-A planner. So to make a life choice without some grand detailed master plan on the other side was unheard of. But now, 2 years later, it was the best decision of my life. Join me as I share my story, questions I asked myself (or wish I had), missteps I made (and how to avoid them), the effect this had on me and everyone around me, and other musings that helped me to become my stronger me. Season 2 - The Mental Performance Series is dedicated to exploring the intricate relationship between mental performance, sports excellence, leadership, and personal growth. We’ll dive deep into the psychology behind peak performance in athletics, leadership roles, and everyday life. Whether you're an athlete looking to optimize your mental game on the field, a leader seeking to inspire and motivate your team, or an individual striving for personal growth and success, this series provides practical tips, actionable strategies, and inspiring stories to help you unlock your full potential and become your stronger you. Season 3 - The Science of Mental Performance Series explores the science behind mental performance—how the mind learns, adapts, and performs under pressure. Grounded in sport psychology, neuroscience, and human development, this season translates research into practical tools that athletes, coaches, parents, and performers can use every day. The focus moves beyond motivation to intentional, evidence-based training of the mind to support consistent performance and growth. Check out additional resources online: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com and IG @strongerme!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 19, 2026Episode 4249 min

Belonging, Comparison, and Mental Health

Text me your thoughts! How do you compete with others without allowing comparison to determine your confidence, sense of belonging, or self-worth? In this episode, Coach Nassim explores the science of social comparison, belonging, team cohesion, and psychological well-being in competitive sport. Drawing on Social Comparison Theory, belongingness research, and developmental psychology, we examine how athletes interpret the success of others, why comparison can either motivate or discourage growth, and how the pressure to fit in can influence confidence, decision-making, and mental health. We also explore the impact of social media, different developmental timelines, psychological safety, and the ways coaches and parents can unintentionally reinforce comparison or intentionally create environments that support both accountability and belonging. The goal isn't to eliminate comparison. It's to help athletes learn from comparison without losing themselves in it. Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

October 12, 2026Episode 4147 min

Identity, Role Clarity, and Performance

Text me your thoughts! Who are you when the role you've always known begins to change? For athletes, sport can become a powerful part of their identity, shaping their confidence, motivation, relationships, and sense of belonging. But what happens when a starter becomes a substitute, an injury takes someone out of competition, or performance no longer matches the expectations they've built around themselves? In this episode, Coach Nassim explores the relationship between identity, role clarity, and performance, drawing on identity theory, athletic identity research, and identity foreclosure studies. We examine why a strong athletic identity can be a tremendous asset, how unclear roles can undermine confidence and decision-making, and why owning your role doesn't mean being defined by it or settling for it. The conversation also explores how coaches and parents influence identity development, the importance of allowing young athletes to explore who they are beyond sport, and how the BRIDGE™ System helps create environments where athletes can develop a strong yet flexible sense of self. Because the goal isn't to make athletes care less about their sport. It's to help them recognize that their value extends beyond any position, performance, or outcome. The goal isn't to build an athlete whose identity is protected from change. It's to develop a person whose identity is strong enough to grow through change. Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

October 5, 2026Episode 4052 min

What Really Motivates Athletes

Text me your thoughts! What actually motivates an athlete—and what happens when that motivation starts to disappear? We often describe athletes as either motivated or unmotivated. But motivation is more complex than how hard someone works or how badly they seem to want something. Where motivation comes from matters. In this episode of Becoming My Stronger Me , Coach Nassim explores the science of motivation through Self-Determination Theory and athlete burnout research, examining why autonomy, competence, and connection are so important for sustainable performance. The conversation also challenges some common assumptions about discipline, effort, and mental toughness. A dip in motivation isn't always laziness or a lack of commitment. Sometimes it's exhaustion, fear, loss of ownership, disconnection, or burnout. And sometimes an athlete simply needs to reconnect with why the journey matters to them. You'll explore how motivation changes across development, why compliance isn't the same as motivation, how parents and coaches can gradually transfer ownership to athletes, and why discipline should help athletes stay connected to meaningful commitments—not teach them to ignore what their bodies and minds are telling them. Coach Nassim also connects motivation to the BRIDGE™ Operating System , showing how building belonging, regulating emotions, inspiring identity, developing discipline, growing under pressure, and empowering confidence interact to shape the athlete's experience. Because the goal isn't to create athletes who feel motivated every day. It's to develop people who can say: I know why this matters to me. I know who I'm becoming. And I'm choosing to keep going. Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

September 28, 2026Episode 3947 min

Conversation with John Andrew Williams

Text me your thoughts! What can sport teach us about struggle, growth, and helping others reach their potential? In this episode of the Becoming My Stronger Me podcast, Coach Nassim sits down with John Andrew Williams —lifelong athlete, former Brown University wrestler, Master Certified Coach, educator, author, entrepreneur, and co-founder and CEO of Coach Training EDU. John reflects on how his experiences in wrestling and football shaped the way he understands challenge, mindset, and personal growth, and how those lessons followed him from athletics into the classroom and eventually into a career dedicated to coaching and human development. It’s a conversation about sport, coaching, education, and what it means to help people become stronger versions of themselves. Connect with John: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnandrewwilliams/ https://www.coachtrainingedu.com/ Top Coach trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6farnse23U0 Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

September 21, 2026Episode 3843 min

Conversation with Kathryn Harned

Text me your thoughts! What does it mean to keep evolving throughout your life? In this episode of the Becoming My Stronger Me podcast, Coach Nassim sits down with Kathryn Harned , a coach, entrepreneur, commercial pilot, and lifelong student of growth and transformation. For more than 25 years, Kathryn’s work has spanned fitness, personal training, yoga, life coaching, and executive and leadership coaching. Through each chapter, she has continued to explore what helps people navigate change, challenge themselves, and intentionally choose what comes next. In our conversation, Kathryn reflects on her own unconventional journey, the connection between physical and mental strength, navigating transitions, and what she has learned about resilience, identity, and personal growth along the way. It’s a conversation about being willing to evolve, embracing the different seasons of our lives, and recognizing that becoming stronger doesn’t always mean becoming more of who we’ve been. Sometimes, it means being willing to become someone new. Connect with Kathryn: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-harned-b0614a43/ IG @coach_kathrynharned Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

September 14, 2026Episode 3757 min

Conversation with Aaron Snow

Text me your thoughts! In this episode of the Becoming My Stronger Me podcast, Coach Nassim sits down with Aaron Snow , Lead Pastor of Purpose Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, former baseball player, husband, father, and longtime leader. Aaron reflects on the lessons sport taught him, his journey into leadership and ministry, and how his experiences influence the way he now parents his own sons as they navigate sports and life. Together, we explore identity beyond performance, handling pressure and expectations, the role of faith and purpose, and the challenge of helping young athletes grow without allowing their results to define them. It's a conversation about sport, parenting, leadership, and ultimately helping the people we care about discover who they are—not just what they can accomplish. Connect with Aaron: Instagram @aaronsnow12 LinkedIn Purpose Church: WELCOME HOME Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

September 7, 2026Episode 361 hr 3 min

Conversation with Josh Smith

Text me your thoughts! What can one unforgettable moment in sport teach us about pressure, preparation, failure, and being ready when our opportunity comes? In this episode of the Becoming My Stronger Me podcast, Coach Nassim sits down with Josh Smith —former Division I baseball player, entrepreneur, and founder of Wits End Group, LLC. Josh played four seasons of baseball at William & Mary, where his collegiate career included plenty of adversity, growth, and ultimately an extraordinary postseason run. His final season culminated in a CAA Championship, an NCAA Tournament appearance, and Josh being named the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. But the story of how he got there—and what happened when Josh found himself in one of the biggest moments of his playing career—is one you'll want to hear him tell. Today, Josh brings many of the lessons he learned through baseball into his work as an entrepreneur and business owner. Throughout our conversation, we explore how experiences that were shaped on the field continue to influence the way he thinks about performance, leadership, relationships, and life. We talk about the mental side of baseball, learning to navigate failure in a sport where failure is inevitable, staying prepared when you don't know when your opportunity will come, handling high-pressure moments, and what happens when the identity you've built around being an athlete begins to change. We also explore Josh's transition from athlete to entrepreneur and why resilience, adaptability, curiosity, and a willingness to keep learning matter just as much in business and life as they do in competition. Josh's story is a powerful reminder that we don't always get to choose when our moment arrives—but we can choose how we prepare for it. Connect with Josh Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-smith-84b8b0132/ Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

August 31, 2026Episode 3529 min

The Emotional Environment: How Coaches Shape Performance

Text me your thoughts! Athletes don't experience emotions in isolation. They experience them in environments. The same athlete can look confident with one coach and hesitant with another. They can feel free to make mistakes on one team and afraid to take risks on another. Their skills may not have changed, but something around them has. In the final episode of the Emotions & Regulation mini-series , Coach Nassim shifts the conversation from what happens inside the athlete to what happens around them, exploring how coaches, teammates, parents, and leaders help shape the emotional environments where people learn, develop, and perform. Drawing from research on coach-athlete relationships, motivational climates, psychological safety, belonging, emotional contagion, and human development, this episode explores an important reality: the environment is always coaching. Every response to a mistake, interaction with an athlete, expression of frustration, moment of encouragement, and opportunity to contribute communicates something about what is valued, what is expected, and what it means to belong. Coach Nassim examines why high challenge and high support can and should coexist, how belonging influences confidence and motivation, why psychological safety doesn't mean lowering standards, and how coaches' own emotional responses can spread throughout a team. The conversation also goes beyond coaches. Athletes contribute to the emotional experiences of their teammates. Parents extend the performance environment into the car ride home. And the same principles that shape healthy sport environments apply to classrooms, workplaces, families, and organizations. Every environment is developing people. The question is whether we're doing it intentionally. Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

August 24, 2026Episode 3432 min

Emotional Regulation in Real Time

Text me your thoughts! Understanding your emotions is only the first step. The next challenge is learning how to respond to them when the pressure is on. In Part 2 of the Emotions & Regulation mini-series, Coach Nassim explores the science of emotional regulation and why mental toughness isn't about suppressing emotions—it's about working with them. Drawing from research on self-regulation, neuroscience, physiological regulation, and performance psychology, this episode explains how the brain, body, and emotions are constantly influencing one another. You'll learn why emotional regulation is a trainable skill, why your nervous system isn't working against you, and how your response—not your emotion—often determines what happens next. Coach Nassim also introduces practical strategies that athletes can begin using immediately, including the 6-4-10 breathing reset , attentional shifts, purposeful self-talk, and recovery routines that help athletes regulate emotions before, during, and after competition. Whether you're stepping into a championship game, preparing for an important presentation, leading a team, or supporting a young athlete, this episode will help you better understand what happens during emotionally intense moments—and how to respond with greater awareness and intention. Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme

August 17, 2026Episode 3323 min

Emotions are Data, Not Problems

Text me your thoughts! What if the emotion isn’t the problem? What if the way we interpret it is? In the first episode of the Emotions & Regulation mini-series , Coach Nassim challenges one of the most common assumptions in sport: that certain emotions help us perform while others need to be controlled, hidden, or eliminated. Drawing from emotion science, affective neuroscience, developmental psychology, and research on emotional granularity, this episode explores a foundational idea in Coach Nassim’s approach to mental performance: emotions are data . Nervousness, frustration, disappointment, fear, excitement, and even anger can provide valuable information about what matters to us, what feels uncertain, and how we’re interpreting the situation in front of us. The goal isn’t to become emotionless. It’s to become better at recognizing what we feel, understanding what that emotion may be communicating, and choosing what to do with that information. High performance doesn’t require emotions to disappear. It requires learning how to perform with them . In this episode, you’ll explore why emotions are information rather than obstacles, how the brain makes meaning of emotional experiences, why accurately naming emotions matters, how emotions interact with attention and performance, and how curiosity can replace judgment when difficult feelings arise. Support the show Website: https://www.becomingmystrongerme.com/ IG: @strongerme TikTok: @becomingmystrongerme