Book Review: Dialed In, Do Your Best When it Matters Most by Dr. Dana Sinclair

As I continue to read and review self-help books in anticipation of my January radio segment for the CBC, next up is Dialed In, Do Your Best When it Matters Most by Dr. Dana Sinclair. This is a book that focuses on advice for those who want to perform better during high-pressure situations, and although I don’t read widely in this genre, I don’t remember coming across something similar to this in the past so it seems like its filling an important gap. I don’t often find myself in these kinds of situations but I do have to ‘perform’ when I’m doing my book segments for tv and radio, so I kept this situation in my mind as I read through her advice.

Book Summary

Sinclair is a performance psychologist, and flies all over the world to advise and help people perform their best. Her clients include opera singers, professional athletes, entire teams (she works with teams in the NHL, NBA, and MBL), business executives, ski and tennis stars, even school principles. She uses her clients stories (names changed, etc. to retain confidentiality) as examples of how a person can prepare for their own unique challenges when it comes to excelling at their job, whether it be hurtling down the side of a mountain or networking with an appropriate amount of people at a work event. The first part of the book are chapters dedicated to myth busting, including why having confidence isn’t the key to success, why superstitions are something you need to break free from, and how trying to motivate others is actually doing more harm than good in many situations. She includes a very in-depth section on the harms of parental overreach in sports, and the damage these well-intentioned actions and comments can be. The second part of the book is dedicated to creating a plan to enact before a performance, from breathing techniques to personal mantras and reminders, setting oneself up to consistently approach these situations which then makes one able to build upon and improve their performance in a concrete manner each time.

My Thoughts

This book is best suited for someone who performs physically, whether it be an athlete or actress, or whoever receives a spotlight shined on them regularly. That being said, it includes important information for everyone to keep in mind as we all face periods of pressure in our daily life, and we can apply these lessons to centering ourselves when we start to feel things go off the rails. I’ll not only keep her tips in mind when I’m about to go on the radio, but when I’m about to do a presentation at work, or have to give a short speech – these are all applicable situations to the advice she offers in this book.

Her focus on breath work is one of the most valuable chapters, as it solidifies the notion that connecting to one’s breath is really one of the most healthy things we can do as humans. If you’re anything like me, when I start to read about breathwork, I immediately change the way I’m breathing and try to slow down and deepen it, so I likely got in some great breathwork as even I read the chapter. I appreciated the fact that she offered various breathing techniques and timing so we could pick what suited us best, and she acknowledges that nervousness automatically makes breathing harder, so she starts with her best advice, and then offers little tips at the end to just keep in mind if we can’t go ‘all in’ to what she’s recommending at that very moment. Her suggestions are realistic and you’re able to customize them to the moment you are facing – a sign she is clearly used to working with lots of different personalities!

Another valuable, albeit niche chapter, is “When in Charge of Somebody, Watch It”, which offers advice to coaches and parents on what to do / not do when trying to motivate others. The best piece of advice in her entire book is found here, which spoiler alert, focuses on process, not results. This shift in focus is a common theme throughout, and as with all her advice, is easy-to-digest and remember long after you’ve put the book down.