10: Taking Trials in Stride, with Mental Performance Coach Will Murray
In Episode 10, Boulder, Colorado-based coach Will Murray shares how trial lawyers can take the techniques of triathlon performance and endurance training that Murray specializes in and apply them to the endurance tests of litigation and trial practice. Much of it is mental, he notes, and tells us how to develop discipline, recode memories and motivations in our brains, calm our nerves in the moment, deal with traumatic stress (our clients’ and our own), and even get a better night’s sleep in the midst of a busy trial. Topics2:39 The four pillars of endurance4:16 How trial lawyers are like triathletes6:22 Discipline7:11 Flexing your discipline muscle9:40 “Recoding” your motivations as pleasure10:34 Pleasure principle11:29 Tips and tricks for recoding15:00 Visualization and muscle memory16:00 Taking cues from negative memories18:37 Easy fixes for nerves21:28 Mapping trial times when you’ll need a boost24:00 Knowing our own weaknesses24:57 Overcoming apprehension26:57 Visualization27:34 “Learning by doing” 30:04 PTSD on the witness stand32:50 Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories (RTM) protocol34:42 Traumatic compassion36:45 Tips for sleeping and rest24:35 Signature signoff questionQuote“Our brains are good golden retrievers. They aim to fetch what you throw at them, so throw the thing you want to have happen.” (Will Murray) Recommended ResourcesWill Murray (website)The Four Pillars of Triathlon (Will Murray and Craig Howie, book) Writing a Plan in 7 Steps (Will Murray, article)Reconciliation of Traumatic Memories: A New Treatment for PTSD (NLP Research & Recognition Project, article)