Packaging & Delivering My Mined Diamonds to You
Nov 04, 2025
After all this talk about discovering who you are and how to unpack that in the pursuit of mining your diamonds, you may be wondering what my mined story and diamonds are.
My Journey
Sports have been a part of my life since the age of 10, when I tried my hand at various activities like tee ball, soccer, football, softball, tennis, and hockey. While I continued playing softball until high school and tennis alongside hockey during those years, none resonated with me quite like hockey did. It wasn't until around the age of 12 that hockey truly became my primary focus. At that pivotal age, I formulated my first real dream—to become an Olympian in hockey someday. From that moment on, every aspect of my life centered around reaching that ambitious goal. I was driven, ambitious, and eager to constantly learn and improve in the sport. This unwavering dedication and thirst for knowledge only grew stronger as I got older.
However, like most athletes, I was met with my own challenges along the way. These challenges are also known as limiting beliefs.
Limiting Beliefs
Limiting beliefs can steal our dreams if we are not careful. Below are some examples, primarily created by others, that became my own self-talk throughout my career.
Outside Voices
- “You started hockey too late; you're already far behind and less developed than most."
- “You're still too underdeveloped to play high school hockey as an 8th grader, and you're going to have to really work to improve to be able to seriously compete once you re-tryout as a 9th grader."
- “You're a late bloomer, meaning you're not strong nor big enough to get college looks and be recruited at a Division I school during the time that everyone was beginning to commit as freshmen in high school."
- “You'll never be a top producer in your high school hockey career, let alone a candidate for Ms. Hockey after that slump you were in your junior year."
- "You may struggle to make the transition into college hockey your freshman year."
- “You aren't the type of player that is capable of holding school records in your college hockey career."
- “You will not win a National Championship in your career."
- “I am not enough, nor will I ever be, for those around me based upon my performance."
- “I am only loved based on my performance; when I am not performing well, I do not qualify as someone capable of being loved."
- “I do not belong because not everyone likes me. I just want to make everyone happy so I’ll fit in.”
- “I will always be someone that lets others down."
- “I will be haunted by anxiety for the rest of my life."
- “I won't be able to play another college hockey game without worrying about having a panic attack."
- “I will live with the fear of failure for the rest of my life."
During my journey through these limiting beliefs, I ended up playing 4 years of varsity high school hockey, 5 years of Division I college hockey, as well as gaining experience playing for the USA Women's National and Collegiate Teams. During my time playing high school hockey, by my senior year, I was a finalist for Ms. Hockey, an all-state selection, and won the Athena Award for the most outstanding female athlete at my high school. In my career playing at the Division I collegiate level, I set a school record within a season for shots on goal, was second all-time in career goals, and third all-time in career points at Minnesota State University, Mankato. I transferred after my senior season at Minnesota State and went on to win a National Championship at Ohio State University. Within my career, I was also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play for the USA Women's National Team as I was a part of the 2022-2023 Rivalry Series.
Those accolades and accomplishments, however, are not the real diamonds. The real diamonds lie much deeper.
During my time of struggle, if it wasn't for my faith, loved ones, role models, mentors, and my mental skills coach, I would not be here before you today with such a drive and passion to implement positive, lasting change and impact in other athletes' lives. I have learned that these challenges and roadblocks I met in my journey as an athlete, paired with my successes, do not define me, but they help empower me. They have taught me what it means to be resilient, confident, focused, clear, consistent, self-aware, calm, adaptable, responsible, and grateful. These are my diamonds: resiliency, confidence, focus, emotional regulation, clarity, creativity, responsibility, gratitude, optimism, peace, and joy.
These same qualities describe and define what it means to have mental toughness. If you can possess one or more of these characteristics—among some others—you have developed some level of mental strength. For me to get there, I had to first learn and implement the mental skills necessary to combat these limiting beliefs that I, along with others, had placed on myself. Embarking on this journey to the pathway of mental strength was not easy, but I am here to be a spokesperson who can attest that it works, and it can work for you too.
The Never-Ending Journey
This process is never a one-and-done; the process to mastery in mental strength is a never-ending journey. But when you have access to the map that leads you there, you may learn to love that very adventure in your continual journey of life. Everyone's journey is different; we all face our own limiting beliefs, and although they may differ, we do not have to mine them alone.
My goal with Mental Edge is to provide you with what was provided to me—the map. This map can be used to lead you down the pathway toward acquiring mental skills and ultimately to the destination of your diamonds, where mental strength is found. I will say it again: it is not easy, and not everyone's process looks the same, but with the right person helping to guide you, the possibility that will come with being able to mine your diamonds is endless.
I leave you with a final question:
What is your story, and what are you going to do with it?
What is your story, and what are you going to do with it?
I write to you not just to tell you my story but because I want to hear yours as well. I want to help you mine your own diamonds that lie within you.
Kelsey King
Mental Edge
Mental Edge
