Summary

In this episode, Jamila Godfrey and Certified Mental Performance Consultant and Member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association Erin Brennan explore the importance of creating emotionally safe coaching environments that foster human connection and accountability. They discuss the skills learned through sports, the value of early exposure to different sports, and the significance of navigating failure to build resilience. The conversation emphasizes the need for a process-over-outcome mindset, the impact of communication, and the role of cognitive flexibility in youth development. They also touch on the importance of self-awareness and values in guiding decision-making and goal setting. In this enlightening conversation, Jamila and Erin explore the intersection of mental health and youth sports, emphasizing the importance of psychological safety, emotional regulation, and open communication. They discuss how cognitive flexibility can be nurtured through play, the critical role of adults in modeling emotional regulation, and the need for supportive environments for neurodivergent children. The dialogue also highlights the empowerment of girls in sports and the necessity of focusing on the process rather than just outcomes to foster resilience in youth.

Takeaways

• Emotionally safe coaching environments foster human connection.
• Accountability is crucial for both athletes and coaches.
• Multi-sport participation enhances adaptability and resilience.
• Sports teach time management and teamwork skills.
• Early exposure to various sports helps children find their passion.
• Sitting in discomfort is essential for personal growth.
• Focusing on the process rather than the outcome builds resilience.
• Impact over intention encourages thoughtful communication.
• Cognitive flexibility is a key skill developed through sports.
• Values-driven behavior guides decision-making and goal setting. Kids often show initial apprehension but can quickly become engaged.
• Fun should be a central focus in youth activities.
• Cognitive flexibility is essential for growth and learning.
• Creating psychologically safe environments enhances performance.
• Emotionally regulated adults can positively influence children.
• Open communication is crucial for youth mental health.
• Advocacy for neurodivergent kids is essential in education.
• Empowering girls in sports leads to greater equity.
• Supporting youth in sports requires community involvement.
• Focusing on the process over outcomes fosters resilience.

For youth and adult practical, brain fitness skill-building workshops and programs, learn more at https://www.villageofplay.com/

To learn more about mental performance training for youth athletes, you can connect with Erin at [email protected]

Warning: May include slight explicit language.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset or needs to talk, there are people who can help with confidential support across Canada:

Call or text 988 for immediate suicide crisis support, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in English and French.

Kids Help Phone offers free, confidential support for children, teens, and young adults. Call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868.

Talk Suicide Canada provides national support and resources. Call 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645 during evening hours.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

In this conversation, I reflect and explore the intersection of faith, emotional regulation, and community. Faith has been a foundational aspect of my life, akin to how others may rely on nature or philosophy or anything else that anchors you in life, and I ponder on how concepts of emotional regulation and executive functioning are deeply rooted in scripture, highlighting that practices like patience and peace are not inherent traits but skills developed over time. The importance of community in personal growth and emotional stability is critical in my life, and believe that isolation hinders our ability to thrive. Ultimately, the call is for all of us to use a holistic approach that integrates faith and neuroscience, encouraging all listeners to find your anchors and rebuild your communities.

Takeaways

• Faith is a foundational aspect of life.
• Emotional regulation is a practice, not a trait.
• Community is essential for personal growth.
• Scripture and neuroscience complement each other.
• Patience and peace are skills developed over time.
• Isolation hinders emotional stability.
• We need each other to thrive.
• Spiritual and emotional lives are interconnected.
• Connection is more important than conversion.
• Small daily movements lead to significant change.

Long before we had language for it, the signs were there. My cousin Monica babysat me when I was just four or five years old, and even then, she noticed something different about how my brain worked.

This was decades before we understood that girls could have ADHD, before executive functioning challenges were recognized as something treatable and trainable, before we knew these weren't character flaws but neurological differences that show up early and persist throughout life.

In this deeply personal conversation, Monica Figueiredo, a registered nurse with over 30 years of experience in pediatrics, neonatal intensive care, and psychiatry joins me to explore what she saw in me as a child and what it means through the lens of what we know now.

As a mental health nurse educator who has worked in acute child, adolescent, and adult mental health settings in Toronto, Monica brings a uniquely practical perspective on executive functioning that bridges the gap between clinical understanding and real-world application.

We talk about the early signs that often go unnoticed, particularly in girls, and how these challenges compound over time when left unaddressed. Monica has seen firsthand how executive functioning deficits layer into more complex mental health disorders as people age, when you can't regulate your emotions, when you can't shift priorities, when basic planning feels impossible, these struggles don't just disappear. They evolve, creating cascading effects on mental health and daily functioning.

But here's the hopeful part: these skills are trainable at any age and stage of life. Monica shares stories from her current work as a primary care nurse in a community clinic, where she's helping everyone from four-year-olds to clients in their sixties develop these foundational cognitive skills. Whether you're 4 or 60, your brain can learn new patterns, build new pathways, and strengthen executive functioning capabilities.

This conversation matters because executive functioning isn't just about productivity or organization, it's about mental health, quality of life, and our ability to show up as our whole selves. Monica's three decades in Canadian mental health care have given her a perspective that's both clinically informed and deeply human. She understands that these aren't abstract neurological concepts but daily realities that affect how we parent, work, maintain relationships, and navigate the world.

Join us for a conversation about recognition, compassion, and possibility and why talking openly about executive functioning challenges is one of the most valuable things we can do for ourselves and future generations.

Monica is a registered nurse with over 30 years experience in pediatrics, neonatal intensive care and psychiatry. Her psychiatric experience is in acute child and adolescent as well as adult mental health. Monica is currently working as a primary care nurse in a community clinic providing mental health and physical health care. She can be reached via email at [email protected].

What happens when someone who can run 250 marathons in a year finds themselves unable to manage daily stress?

In this deeply honest conversation, I sit down with Cochrane resident and local inspiration Martin Parnell - author, keynote speaker, world record holder, and the man behind The Secret Marathon: Empowering Women and Girls in Afghanistan Through Sport.

Martin and I met at a speed networking event where multiple people told us we needed to connect. They were right. Despite our different paths, we share a mission: promoting brain health, executive functioning, and the power of village, play, and community in supporting kids and families.

Martin's resume is extraordinary: He's run 250 marathons in one year. Climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours. Set 5 Guinness World Records. In 2016, he ran a marathon in Afghanistan, advocating for women's rights and gender equality in one of the world's most dangerous places. Through his Quest for Kids initiative, he raised $1.3 million for Right To Play, impacting over 27,000 children worldwide. He's met Malala Yousafzai, delivered TED Talks, and inspired thousands.

He's also recovered from a life-threatening blood clot on his brain.

But here's what makes this conversation so important: despite all these achievements, Martin experienced a breakdown year where he couldn't manage his own stress. The man who conquered extreme physical challenges found himself overwhelmed by everyday life.

In this episode, we explore:

• How someone trains their brain to accomplish seemingly impossible endurance feats
• The executive functioning skills required to organize and execute massive goals like 250 marathons
• What it was actually like running a marathon in Afghanistan and why Martin felt compelled to do it
• The cognitive impact of recovering from a brain blood clot
• The paradox of high achievement and mental health struggles
• What "breakdown" actually looked like for Martin and how he recovered
• Why the skills that make us successful can also make us vulnerable
• The role of community, village, and asking for help in sustainable achievement
• What resilience really means after you've been broken and rebuilt
• Practical advice for anyone trying to accomplish meaningful goals while protecting their brain health

This conversation gets real about the gap between external achievement and internal struggle, something so many of us experience but rarely talk about. Martin's vulnerability in sharing both his triumphs and his breakdown is exactly what the Everyday Executive Functioning Village is about: honest conversations about the highs, the lows, and all the in-betweens of how we move through the world with our beautifully imperfect brains.

Whether you're a high achiever burning out, a parent trying to model healthy ambition for your kids, someone recovering from health challenges, or anyone interested in the intersection of extreme performance and mental health, this conversation will resonate.

Martin reminds us that executive functioning isn't just about productivity; it's about sustainability. Sometimes our greatest achievement isn't pushing through, it's learning when to stop, when to ask for help, and how to build a life we can actually maintain.

Technical Note: Due to technical difficulties, approximately the last 2 minutes of this episode were cut off. We apologize for this issue. The conversation concludes with Martin's final piece of advice and closing thoughts, and while the very end of the outro is affected, the complete interview and all key insights remain intact.

About the Guest:Martin Parnell is a Cochrane-based author, keynote speaker, and humanitarian. His book The Secret Marathon chronicles his journey running in Afghanistan. He's a member of Rotary Club of Cochrane, a husband, father of three, and grandfather of three.

Summary

In this episode, Jamila Godfrey shares her personal journey with executive functioning skills, emphasizing their importance for everyone, not just those with ADHD. She discusses nine key skills: self-monitoring, emotional regulation, impulse control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, task initiation, organization, planning and prioritization, and goal-directed persistence.

Each skill is explained in relatable terms, with practical strategies for improvement. Jamila encourages listeners to practice these skills intentionally to enhance their capacity and thrive in daily life.

Takeaways:

Executive functioning skills can change your life.

Self-monitoring helps you catch mistakes before they become problems.

Emotional regulation is about managing feelings, not suppressing them.

Impulse control allows you to pause before reacting.

Working memory is essential for holding information long enough to use it.

Cognitive flexibility helps you adapt to change and see different perspectives.

Task initiation is about overcoming inertia to start tasks.

Organization reduces cognitive load and helps keep track of your life.

Planning and prioritization help you navigate life's demands effectively.

Goal-directed persistence is crucial for sticking with tasks even when they get tough.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Executive Functioning Skills

04:52 Understanding Self-Monitoring and Self-Awareness

09:28 Emotional Regulation: Managing Feelings

13:46 Impulse Control: The Power of Pausing

16:57 Working Memory: The Brain's Sticky Note

21:21 Cognitive Flexibility: Adapting to Change

25:25 Task Initiation: Overcoming Inertia

29:01 Organization: Keeping Track of Life

32:35 Planning and Prioritization: Making Sense of Tasks

37:01 Goal-Directed Persistence: Sticking with It

Welcome to the very first episode of Everyday EF Village.

This is where it all begins, with my story.

And fair warning: it involves a pandemic, grief, Google Classroom chaos, and a life-changing realization that came about 40 years too late.

I'm Jamila Godfrey, founder of Village of Play, and for most of my life, I thought something was fundamentally wrong with me. I couldn't hold onto information. I struggled to start tasks. My emotions felt too big. I failed more than I succeeded. And no matter how hard I tried, I always felt like everyone else got a handbook for life that I somehow missed.

Then, in my late 40s, while juggling full-time work, homeschooling a first-grader during lockdown, and grieving the sudden loss of both my parents...my son was diagnosed with ADHD.

Our paediatrician told me to learn about it so I could support him. So I did what any hyper-focused person does: I went all in. And that's when I heard the line that changed everything:

"ADHD isn't a knowledge disorder. It's a performance disorder."

Suddenly, my entire life made sense. I wasn't broken. I wasn't lazy. My brain just worked differently, and no one had ever taught me how to work with it.

But here's the kicker: This isn't just an ADHD story.

As I dove into Executive Functioning, the 9 core brain skills that drive how we focus, plan, regulate emotions, start tasks, adapt, organize, persist, and self-monitor (all affected if you have ADHD), I realized everyone struggles with at least some of these skills.

The neurotypical parent yelling to get kids out the door.

The burned-out colleague barely holding it together.

The teacher managing 30 kids with zero brain-science training.

We're all out here winging it. And most of us were never taught the actual skills that make life work.

That's why I started this podcast.

Because I got tired of watching people think they're broken when they're just missing the toolkit or a village to support them. I got tired of the clinical jargon, the expensive waitlists, and the "just try harder" advice that makes you feel worse instead of better.

Executive Functioning is the foundation of everything we call success: emotional intelligence, relationships, leadership, parenting.

But nobody talks about it in plain English.

Nobody says, "Hey, that thing where you forget why you walked into a room? That's working memory. Here's how to work with it."

So that's what we're doing here.

Every week, we'll talk about EF the way real humans experience it, in the car, at the dinner table, in the middle of a meltdown. We'll share stories, strategies, and honest conversations about what strengthens us, what challenges us, and what connects us.

Whether you're neurodivergent, neurotypical, parenting, teaching, leading, or just trying to survive Tuesday...you're in the right place.

Welcome to the village. Come as you are.

Because if we want to change the world, we have to teach the brains that build it. And that starts right here.