Neutral Thinking Under Fire: What a World Series Mindset Taught Me About Tuesday Morning

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know I'm a lifelong Cubs fan.

In 2016, when they finally broke 108 years of misery, I was in the stadium for Game 7 in Cleveland. I paid an irresponsible amount of money for that ticket, flew out on almost no sleep, and stood in a sea of blue while Bill Murray quietly bought beer for our entire section.

It's still my favorite sports memory.

But here's what stuck with me more than the scoreboard:

How calm those players looked with the weight of history on their backs.

This week on the Spartan Leadership podcast, I sat down with the man who helped shape that mindset — Joshua Lifrak, Director of Performance and Coaching at Limitless Minds and former Director of the Cubs Mental Skills Program. He's also the author of Win Today: Six Steps to Mental Resilience, Peak Performance, and a Thriving Life.

We covered a lot. Three ideas stayed with me.

1. Neutral Thinking Beats Fake Positivity

Most leaders either spin everything as it's fine or spiral into worst-case scenarios.

Josh calls neutral thinking dealing with objective facts without grading or judging them. You don't pretend the quarter went well if it didn't. You say: We missed. Here's what's true. Here's what needs to change. And you get back to work.

Neutral thinking isn't pessimism. It isn't optimism. It's honest. And honest is the only ground from which real decisions get made.

2. Mile Zero: Nobody Reads Yesterday's Newspaper

Josh's last step in Win Today is called Mile Zero.

The idea: no matter what happened yesterday — massive win or embarrassing loss — today is a reset. You still have to show up with intention, energy, and focus.

Most high achievers resist this. Comfort creeps in after success. That's when you stop being dangerous.

It also cuts the other direction. The leader who carries yesterday's loss into today is rarely useful to anyone. The page turns. The work continues. Mile Zero every morning.

3. Training Your Mind Is a Competitive Advantage

In sports, Hall of Famers seek out mental skills coaches.

In business, most leaders still treat mindset like a nice-to-have.

Athletes visualize the next play. Executives rarely visualize the next conversation. Same pressure. Different preparation.

That gap is the entire opportunity.

How This Maps to the Five Bridges

These three ideas connect directly to the Five Bridges of Kairos — especially Spiritual (what story you believe about adversity), Internal (how you talk to yourself under pressure), and Environment (the standards and habits you normalize around you).

Josh said something that I haven't stopped thinking about:

Are you so bad that everything has to be perfect for you to be good?

That one sentence is worth sitting with this week.

• Where are you waiting for perfect timing instead of acting in Kairos time — right here, right now, with what God has already put in your hands?
• And what would it look like to respond neutrally: Here's what's true. Here's my next faithful step.

Listen to the Episode

If you lead anything — a business, a team, a family — and you feel the pressure of getting it right, this conversation will give you language and tools to handle those moments differently.

You can listen to the new episode of Spartan Leadership with Joshua Lifrak on your favorite podcast platform.

Stay present, not perfect.

Inspire & Impact,

Josh