PRO BLOG: DOJO MINDSET | October 6, 2025
By: Josh Paul
OCTOBER’S FLOOR
Every October, broadcasters love to talk about players “rising to the occasion.” The idea fits the narrative drama of playoff baseball, but it doesn’t match the reality of high-level performance. In truth, no player suddenly discovers new powers under the bright lights. The stakes may feel higher, but athletes don’t defy gravity in the postseason—they sink to the level of the habits and routines they’ve spent months, even years, building. That “floor” is what keeps them steady when everything around them is shaking.
Pressure doesn’t create skills, it exposes preparation. The hitter who practices his breathing between pitches doesn’t need to think about nerves in a bases-loaded, two-out moment; his body already knows what to do. The pitcher who has trained to control tempo and focus on the glove isn’t inventing calm in October—he’s leaning on a foundation poured during hundreds of bullpen sessions. Postseason execution, then, isn’t about rising, but about trusting what’s already been grooved into muscle memory and mental routines.
This truth is both humbling and empowering. It means you can’t fake your way into clutch performance; wishful thinking won’t cut it when the crowd is roaring. But it also means the postseason doesn’t belong to mythical heroes—it belongs to the disciplined. The steady, repeatable practice habits you commit to in March are the same ones that carry you in October. The difference isn’t in “trying harder,” it’s in falling back on the work you’ve already done.
For amateur players and parents, that’s the lesson to take home: the moment will not magically elevate you. Instead, the spotlight will magnify what you’ve trained to handle. Champions prepare so thoroughly that when pressure comes, they don’t rise—they remain grounded, steady, and consistent. The floor of their training holds them up. And if you want to thrive when the game is on the line, the time to build that floor is not in October, but in every rep long in the twelve months leading up to it.
The floor for October is built in November…
Enjoying the Dojo Mindsets? You can collaborate more with Josh Paul at his website The Lobo Dojo