When I come across motivational quotes or inspirational pictures on social media, I like to start putting them to use in my own mind. A lot of these messages are more powerful than their surface value, and if you “dig in” to how it fits your current situation, you can have some very insightful moments.

I often do this for myself, but being a coach and working with so many hockey athletes, I find that I am more often doing it for them than I am doing it for myself. In the moments where they most need to hear some encouragement, perhaps I can summon the perfect words and turn them around. These motivational or “wisdom” quotes you see online are popular for a reason—they resonate with people.