Updates from Nikol Baker

Comparing Yourself to Others and How It Impacts Your Mindset


In rodeo, it is easy to look around and feel like everyone else is ahead of you.

Maybe someone else is winning more. Maybe they look more confident in the arena. Maybe they seem calmer under pressure, more consistent, or more naturally talented. When that happens, comparison can quietly start shaping the way you think about yourself.

The problem is that comparison rarely helps performance.

Most of the time, it pulls your focus away from what actually matters. Instead of thinking about your job, your cues, your horse, and your process, your brain starts tracking what everyone else is doing. That shift can create frustration, self-doubt, pressure, and overthinking. And when your mind is split between your own run and someone else’s, it becomes much harder to compete the way you do in practice.

Comparison also tends to give you incomplete information. You see someone’s result, but you do not see the full picture. You do not see their struggles, the mistakes they made, the work behind the scenes, or the pressure they may be carrying. You are often comparing your full internal experience to someone else’s outside appearance. That is not an honest comparison.

For athletes, this can start to affect confidence fast. You may begin questioning your ability, changing what is working, or feeling like you are behind. Instead of building trust in your own process, you start chasing someone else’s path. That usually creates more mental noise, not better performance.

A healthier and more effective question is this: What do I need right now to perform well?

That question brings you back to control.

You cannot control another athlete’s talent, draws, scores, times, or results. But you can control how you prepare, how you reset, how you respond to pressure, and how you talk to yourself before you compete. That is where strong mindset work begins.

Pressure does not mean something is wrong with you. It is a nervous system response. And when comparison adds extra pressure, it can make that response even stronger. That is why athletes need simple tools they can trust in real competition moments.

One of the best ways to interrupt comparison is to use a reset. Take a deep breath. Regulate your body. Use a reset word that brings you back to your job. Visualize the run you want to execute. This is how you stop spiraling and return your focus to what matters.

Confidence is not built by proving you are better than everyone else. Confidence is built by knowing how to get yourself back under control when your mind wants to drift.

If comparison has been affecting your mindset, you are not weak, and you are not the only one. It is common, especially for athletes who care deeply and want to perform well. But it is something you can train through.

The goal is not to ignore everyone around you. The goal is to stop letting their performance control your thoughts, emotions, and confidence.

When you can do that, you give yourself a much better chance to compete like the athlete you already know you are in practice.


Your Brain on Competition: Why You Feel Nervous (and What to Do About It)

You’ve done the work.
You’ve put in the hours.
You know your horse. You know your event.
And then… your name gets called.
Your heart starts pounding. Your hands feel different. Your thoughts get loud.
And suddenly, you don’t feel like the same athlete you were in practice.
Here’s the truth most athletes don’t hear:
Nothing has gone wrong.
Your brain is doing exactly what it’s designed to do.

What’s Actually Happening in Your Brain

When you’re about to compete, your brain doesn’t see a rodeo arena…
It sees risk.
Your brain’s primary job is to keep you safe, not help you win. So when you step into a high-pressure moment, it flips on your internal alarm system—your fight-or-flight response.
That’s when:
  • Your heart rate increases
  • Your breathing gets shallow
  • Your muscles tighten
  • Your thoughts speed up
This is your brain saying:
“This matters. Pay attention.”
But here’s where it gets tricky…
Your brain doesn’t always know the difference between:
  • A real threat
  • And a meaningful opportunity
So it reacts to both the same way.

Why Nerves Feel So Strong in Competition (But Not Practice)

In practice, there’s less pressure. Less meaning. Less perceived risk.
In competition?
  • There are eyes on you
  • There’s a result that “counts”
  • There’s something to gain… or lose
Your brain interprets that as higher stakes, which means a stronger response.
That’s why you might feel:
  • Calm and confident at home
  • Tight and unsure in the arena
It’s not a skill issue.
It’s a state issue.

The Mistake Most Athletes Make

Most athletes try to get rid of the nerves.
They think:
  • “I need to calm down”
  • “I shouldn’t feel this way”
  • “Why am I so nervous?”
But when you fight your nerves, you actually make them louder.
Because now your brain is dealing with:
  1. The pressure of competition
  2. The pressure of trying not to feel pressure
That’s a losing cycle.

What To Do Instead

Instead of trying to eliminate nerves…
Learn how to work with your brain.

1. Reframe What You’re Feeling

That feeling in your body?
It’s not weakness. It’s activation.
Tell yourself:
  • “My body is getting me ready.”
  • “This means I care.”
  • “I know how to handle this.”
The goal isn’t to be calm like you’re on the couch.
The goal is to be steady inside the intensity.

2. Regulate Before You Perform

You can’t think your way out of a nervous system response.
You have to physically reset it.
This is where tools like your SAM Reset come in:
  • Breathe
  • Affirm
  • Breathe
  • Reset word
When you control your breath, you send a signal back to your brain:
“I’m safe. I’ve got this.”
And your body starts to follow.

3. Give Your Brain Something to Do

A busy brain is a scattered brain.
Instead of letting your thoughts run wild, anchor your focus:
  • One cue
  • One feel
  • One job
Example:
  • “See my first barrel.”
  • “Stay centered.”
  • “Smooth and forward.”
Simple. Clear. Repeatable.

4. Train This Like a Skill

Here’s what most athletes miss:
You don’t rise to the occasion.
You fall to the level of your training.
If you only practice riding…
but never practice your mindset…
You’re leaving your performance up to chance.
Mental regulation is a skill.
And like any skill—it can be trained.

The Bottom Line

Nerves before competition don’t mean you’re not ready.
They mean:
  • You care
  • You’re stepping into something that matters
  • Your brain is doing its job
The athletes who perform at a high level aren’t the ones who feel nothing…
They’re the ones who know how to feel it—and stay in control anyway.

If This Hit Home…
This is exactly the work I do with rodeo athletes.
Learning how your brain works is one thing.
Learning how to train it to work for you in the arena is another.
If you’re tired of:
  • Practicing great but competing tight
  • Letting nerves run the show
  • Feeling like your performance doesn’t match your ability
Let’s change that.
👉 Connect with me on Instagram or reach out about coaching.
Because when you know better, you ride different.


Equanimity: The Skill That Changes Everything Under Pressure

I didn’t even know what equanimity was until recently. And I’ve been in this world a long time—as an athlete, an educator, and a mom. I’ve spent years around performance, pressure, and people who care deeply about what they do. But no one ever handed me this word. No one ever taught me this skill. And the truth is—when we know better, we do better. That’s what changed things for me. And it’s exactly how I want to help athletes now.

What Is Equanimity?
Equanimity is your ability to stay steady—mentally and emotionally—no matter what’s happening around you.
It doesn’t mean you don’t feel nerves.
It doesn’t mean you don’t care.
It means your emotions don’t take over your performance.

Because in rodeo, something is always going to challenge you:
A run that doesn’t go to plan
A horse that feels different
A setup you didn’t want
A mistake you didn’t expect

The question isn’t if something goes wrong.
It’s what happens inside of you when it does.

Where Rodeo Athletes Lose It
I see it all the time.
An athlete is capable. Prepared. Talented.
And then one moment shifts everything.
They hit a barrel.
Miss a calf.
Feel something unexpected.
And instantly, everything speeds up.

They start chasing.
Forcing.
Overthinking.

Not because they don’t know what to do—
But because they’re no longer in control of themselves.
And when that happens, your timing goes.
Your feel goes.
Your confidence goes.
Not permanently—but long enough to matter.

Equanimity in the Arena Looks Like This
It’s not flat. It’s not emotionless.
It’s controlled.
You nod your head with nerves—and still ride your plan
You miss one—and it doesn’t turn into two
You don’t get too high after a win or too low after a loss
You compete the same way whether you’re winning… or not placing
It’s being the same rider—no matter the situation.

Why This Is the Separator
Pressure doesn’t test your skill.
It tests your ability to regulate yourself.
At every level of rodeo, there are talented athletes.
The difference is who can stay steady when it counts.
Because the athletes who win consistently aren’t the ones who feel the least…
They’re the ones who don’t let what they feel take over.

The Part Most Athletes Miss
Most athletes train their body.
Some train their mind.
Very few train their state.
That space between what happens… and how you respond to it.
That’s where equanimity lives.
And whether you realize it or not, 
that space is either working for you—
or against you every time you compete.

Final Thought
The best athletes aren’t the ones who never get rattled.
They’re the ones who don’t stay rattled.
They don’t let one moment define the next.
They don’t let emotion dictate execution.
They don’t get pulled out of who they are as a rider.
They stay steady.
That’s equanimity.

If This Hit Home…
If you’re reading this and thinking,
“Yeah… that’s exactly what happens to me,”
You’re not alone.
And it’s not a talent issue.
It’s not a work ethic issue.
It’s something most athletes were never taught.
But it can be learned.
And it can change everything about how you compete.

If you’re ready to understand this on a deeper level—and start showing up differently when it counts—reach out to me. Because once you know better…you don’t have to keep repeating the same patterns.




Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: Why Talent Isn’t Enough Under Pressure

Mental Performance Coaching for Athletes: Why Talent Isn’t Enough Under Pressure

You can have the talent.
You can have the training.
You can have the horse, the gear, the reps.

And still struggle when the pressure is on.

As a mental performance coach for athletes, I see this constantly — especially in rodeo athletes who are physically prepared but mentally overwhelmed in competition.

Because pressure doesn’t test your skill. It tests your nervous system.

Why Athletes Struggle With Confidence Under Pressure

When competition begins, your brain shifts into survival mode.

Heart rate increases.
Breathing shortens.
Muscles tighten.
Negative thoughts get louder.

This isn’t a confidence flaw. It’s neuroscience.

The brain’s threat-detection system activates to protect you. In high-pressure sports — like rodeo, baseball, softball, or any sport — that activation can override your training.

This is why athletes:

  • Practice well but compete tight
  • Overthink during performance
  • Ride stiff or high with their hands
  • Spiral after one mistake
  • Struggle with perfectionism
The issue isn’t effort. It’s nervous system regulation.

What Is Mental Performance Coaching?

Mental performance coaching trains the brain and body to stay regulated under stress.

It includes:

  • Breathing techniques to calm the stress response
  • Visualization to pre-wire successful performance
  • Thought rewiring 
  • Affirmations grounded in neuroscience
  • Vagus nerve stimulation for faster emotional regulation
  • Performance routines that build psychological safety
This isn’t motivational fluff. It’s sports performance mindset training rooted in brain science.

Confidence Is a Nervous System Skill

True confidence isn’t personality-based. It’s physiological.

When the body feels safe:

  • Timing improves
  • Reactions sharpen
  • Hands get quieter
  • Vision widens
  • Decision-making speeds up
  • The mind stays clear
Confidence under pressure is not built by yelling “be tougher.” It’s built by teaching the nervous system that pressure is not danger. That’s what separates talented athletes from consistent competitors.

The Cost of Ignoring the Mental Game

Families invest in:

  • Coaching
  • Equipment
  • Entry fees
  • Travel
  • Clinics
But without mental training, athletes often experience:

  • Performance anxiety
  • Burnout
  • Fear of failure
  • Identity tied to results
  • Increasing negative self-talk
Eventually, the sport they once loved becomes stressful. Mental skills training protects both performance and passion.

Why Rodeo Athletes Especially Need Mindset Coaching

Rodeo athletes compete in environments that are:

  • Loud
  • Fast
  • Unpredictable
  • Public
  • Timed
One small mistake can change everything. Unlike many team sports, there is no one to pass the ball to. That level of responsibility requires emotional regulation, resilience, and strong internal dialogue. Rodeo mindset coaching focuses on training athletes to compete calm, focused, and confident — even when the stakes are high.

Built for Pressure

Athletes are not born “clutch.” They are trained. When we train breathing, visualization, affirmations, and nervous system control consistently, we rewire the brain to associate competition with opportunity instead of threat.

That is how athletes become built for pressure.

Work With a Mental Performance Coach

If your athlete:

  • Has the talent but struggles in competition
  • Is battling negative self-talk
  • Feels anxious before runs
  • Rides tight instead of fluid
  • Gets stuck replaying mistakes
Mental performance coaching can change that. You don’t need more physical reps. You need brain training.

Ready to Train the Mind Like You Train the Body? 

If you’re a parent of a rodeo athlete (or any competitive athlete) who wants to build confidence, emotional regulation, and consistency under pressure, I’d love to help.

Explore coaching options or book a consultation.

Because talent isn’t enough anymore.

You have to train the nervous system.

Want more information? Click here. 






Meet Nikol

Hello! I’m Nikol Baker, the mindset coach behind SAM Coaching. I am a wife, a mom, an educator, a coach, and lover of life.

Raised on a Wyoming cattle ranch, my roots in rodeo run deep. When I was 6, I won my first $20 barrel racing on Suzy Q. Many years later, I feel blessed to be raising two daughters making their own rodeo memories, but it hasn’t been easy.

As a mom, witnessing my daughters' struggles with the mental demands of competition, I recognized the need for resilience—both in them and in my approach as a parent. This realization led me to seek out a mindset coach, whose impact was profound, not only on my girls but on my own perspective.

Why SAM Coaching? Inspired by their growth, I pursued mindset coaching to empower rodeo athletes. The name SAM Coaching is a nod to my high school rodeo horse, Sam. When I rode Sam, I felt like I could win the world. He helped me qualify for three national high school rodeo finals as well as the college finals during my freshman year. As a sophomore in high school, I won both the barrel racing and pole bending at the very first Nevada International Invitational Rodeo in 1986 (now called Silver State Invitational), securing the girls all-around.

My mindset coaching certification revealed a powerful truth: every competitor has an inner "Sam"—a symbol of peak potential and resilience. This insight led me to understand that the appropriate mental techniques can Spark Ambitious Mindset, enabling individuals to access their "inner Sam" and soar to new heights, both in competition and in life.
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