76. Developing a Competitive Mindset with Sports Psychiatrist Dr. T
Dr. Arman Taghizadeh, aka Dr. T, is a Board Certified Psychiatrist who specializes in sports psychiatry, and today he joins Laura on the podcast to discuss the significance of developing a positive mindset for athletes to become confident competitors. Together, they explore how the mindset of an athlete affects their attitude, perspective, and responses, and review The Confidence Journal, a guided journal that helps athletes develop a positive mindset, move closer to achieving their goals, and grow their confidence along the way. Dr. T also shares his journey into psychiatry, beginning as a former athlete himself, and how he found his passion for building meaningful connections with patients, similar to the relationships built in sports.
He notes that the lack of understanding around mental health challenges in sports motivated him to focus on this area, and he highlights the importance of relatability and understanding in the mental health field. He and Laura also discuss the importance of simplifying life to improve mental health, especially for young athletes and those struggling after the pandemic, and emphasize how focusing on three areas of their lives each day can help individuals identify and achieve small goals that add up over time. The significance of coaches in helping athletes with mental health challenges is also discussed, including the need for them to engage in active listening to create a collaborative approach to problem-solving. Join Laura and Dr. T here today for yet another ‘must listen’ episode of the Pursuit of Gold podcast, and gain valuable insights into the significance of mindset, communication, and collaboration in sports and mental health.
Episode Highlights:
Dr. T's background as an athlete growing up
The importance of mindset in sports
How your attitude, perspective, and responses come from you and you alone
Developing a competitive mindset
The Confidence Journal and its benefits
The importance of focusing on your own mindset rather than others'
The lack of understanding around mental health challenges faced by athletes
Dr. T’s journey to becoming a psychiatrist
Building ongoing relationships with patients in psychiatry
Working to revolutionize the mental health field
The underserved athletic population in mental health
Simplifying life to improve mental health
Breaking each day down into three areas of focus
Coaches helping athletes with mental health
The importance of knowing your athlete and engaging in active listening
A collaborative approach to problem-solving
Creating a safe and supportive environment for athletes
Empowering athletes to take ownership of their performance
The importance of communication between parents and children
The role family dynamics can play in mental health issues in sports
Caring about athletes as people
Contextualizing the athlete's environment
The need for coaches and parents to recognize and address mental health issues
Quotes:
"Becoming a confident competitor begins and ends with your mindset."
"Through simple guided journaling, your focus and thought process will begin to shift."
"The Confidence Journal will begin to show you the beauty of your journey and just how tangible your goals really are."
"It's one thing to sort of understand psychology and the brain. It's another thing to understand the grit and the determination and the work ethic and the discipline and the sacrifice that comes with really trying to be an elite athlete."
"The competitions and the challenges are just sort of little benchmarks that are part of it. But when we really look at it, the meaningful experience is all the other stuff."
"Simplifying is really important... and even writing it down... starts to build those synapses and those connections, and again, starts to build that confidence."
"Small victories, small achievements, they all add up."
"The best way to win is to have your athlete perform at their best. And the best way to help them perform at their best is to have them be the most confident and motivated and self driven individual."
"I have been so blessed to be under a coach for like 30 years that is one of the best in the world. And he has exemplified all of these things that I've seen in the greatest coaches in the world. And he knows every single one of us on our own level."
"Helping coaches understand the appropriate language and when to use it and how that impacts an athlete is so important because they may say something, intending one thing, but the athlete may be hearing it differently and processing it differently."
“The reality is today's athlete, in a lot of ways, is probably tougher because they're managing so much more and navigating so much more and have more expectations and more pressures, but their brain development is the same.”
"If you give athletes the opportunity, even the younger ones will sort of figure out what works best for them."
"Ask them what they think, what they saw, give them an opportunity, because number one, you get a sense of where their head's at and what they were thinking."
"I want to get to know you as a person, as an athlete, I'm going to ask a lot of different questions."
"I also think you show them that I care about you as a person, not just an athlete."
"It takes a lot of courage to say, ‘I'm struggling and I don't know why.’"
Links:
The Confidence Journal (25% off with coupon code: TOPDOC)
Laura’s Social Media:
Dr. T’s Links:
72. Enjoy the Journey with Olympic Diving Coach Kenny Armstrong
On this episode of the Pursuit of Gold, Laura welcomes her diving coach of thirty years, Kenny Armstrong, to the podcast. Not only is he a two time Olympic diver, but he’s also a coach turned father figure who helps aspiring divers get Division One scholarships and even gold medals. The pair dive into Armstrong’s origin story as well as his ‘out of the box’ training style, and why it works. As a young boy, Kenny began his diving career rather uniquely: diving into a pond. A decade and a half later, he would find himself at the 1972 Olympics, diving in front of a large audience for the first time. It wasn’t until the University of Calgary, however, that he got his start coaching.
Since then, his career earned Kenny a legacy defined by consistency, adaptability, culture, and fun. Like Laura says at the onset of the episode, “A good coach can change the game. A great coach can change your life,” and for so many athletes, Kenny has done just that. Today, he talks about why he loves it all so much, what it is about the sport that gets him excited, and why the athletes’ success is far more important than his own. Reminiscing on ‘offbeat’ diving retreats during which he lost half of his squad, his team’s special comradery, moments of victory with Laura, and practicing sports psychology, he notes that the journey always supersedes the destination to him. He and Laura strongly hold the belief that the two minutes of victory on the podium are too fleeting to hold onto; it’s the moments in between that really matter. So listen to this special conversation to hear about the legend that is Kenny Armstrong and his unique and highly successful career.
The Finer Details of this Episode:
Armstrong’s first dives into a pond
The ‘72 Olympic Games
Reckoning with his international status
Getting his coaching start at the University of Calgary
Creating culture
Why consistency wins
Knowing your people and letting them know you
Winning gold together
Why the journey > the destination
The freedom of diving
Father figure and mentor
Quotes:
“A good coach can change the game. A great coach can change your life. I feel like that describes Kenny in a nutshell.”
“These athletes would want us to continue, which was probably true. I mean, if they had a vote… we'd have been probably still going.”
“Well, I finally found out that I could be competitive on an international level. I did pretty well in Nationals and in the Olympic trials. Finally, I think the year of 1980, I beat Greg in his home pool.”
“Everybody says we have to separate politics and sports, but it's impossible. You can't do it.”
“You have to have a culture. Like it's one thing for me to tell somebody how to win a gold medal. It's another thing if they get to train with somebody that is doing that.”
“People seem to say about all the greats from different sports that these coaches knew each one of their athletes so well individually, how to push their buttons, or how to back off– and they had to back off.”
“This whole culmination of your life has to be about more than two minutes standing on the podium.”
“So don't lose the fun in sport. That's what brings kids, and when they get too serious about it, that takes the fun away. So you've got to be obviously serious, or you're not going to make it, but you have to also be very careful with that.”
Links:
Grab the Black Friday Catalog!
Laura’s Social Media:
71. How to be Champion Minded with Allistair McCaw
In this week’s episode, Laura welcomes Allistair McCaw, a best-selling author and speaker who is recognized as one of the world's foremost figures in leadership, team culture, and mindset. Throughout his 30-year-long career, Allistair has worked with some of the most successful athletes and organizations in the world, from Olympians and Paralympians to World Champion Athletes and Grand Slam Champions. He’s also a 29-time marathon finisher and a former five-time world championship competitor in the sport of triathlon. Today, Allistair is committed to his lifelong purpose of teaching, inspiring, and motivating others to be champion minded and achieve their full potential.
In this episode of the Pursuit of Gold podcast, Laura and Allistair dive deep into the growth mindset of professional athletes. Allistair begins by discussing the biggest struggles that athletes face today and explains the key difference between choice and sacrifice. As he nicely puts it, when you’re passionate about something, it’s not a sacrifice; it’s a choice. Then, Allistair goes on to explain the importance of learning to deal with failure and overcoming perfectionism as an athlete. Being a perfectionist won’t get you far in sports, but embracing failure will. Next, Laura and Allistair talk about the power of vision, the importance of developing self-leadership, and the differences between excellence and success. If you want to learn more about being champion minded, make sure you tune into this episode to hear what Allistair has to say.
Episode Highlights:
Allistair’s background
The biggest struggles that athletes face today
Choice vs. sacrifice
Embracing failure and overcoming perfectionism
The inspiration behind Champion Minded
The importance of vision for professional athletes
The differences between team sports and individual sports
The importance of developing leadership skills
Why authenticity is key for coaches
Excellence vs. success
The power of the growth mindset
Quotes:
“We all know that progress is different for every single athlete. Sometimes you'll have spurts of growth, sometimes, you'll have spurts of confidence, which helps, and so on and so forth. But we're all on a different journey. ”
“Nobody can make you hungry. No one can give you a passion. No one can tell you to enjoy it more. That really comes from within.”
“You're not always going to feel like a million dollars. You're not always going to jump out of bed in the morning and can't wait to go to practice. It's impossible, no matter how dedicated or passionate you are. So for me, it was that vision or that purpose of wanting to be a champion one day, wanting to be the best I could be - that's what got me through those tougher days. ”
“It has to come from within. You can't make somebody passionate. You can't make somebody do something that they don't necessarily want to do.”
“You can't lead others if you're not leading yourself effectively.”
“I believe that great coaches, great leaders are more about excellence than about success.”
“Enjoy it; that's the most important thing. And I know that's very hard when you're in the middle of it, and especially when things aren't going well, but the journey is the most important thing about it.”
“All the hard work, no matter what level you get to, no matter what your destiny is, it will never go unused; it will always be worthwhile because these are qualities that you learn in sports that will help you afterward in your relationships and in business and corporate, whatever direction you go into.”
Links:
Grab the Black Friday Catalog!
Laura’s Social Media:
Connect with Allistair:
53. Anything is Possible with Olympic bronze medalist Krysta Palmer
Today’s guest made history in Tokyo this summer, becoming the first woman to medal in springboard diving at the Olympics since Kelly McCormick won Bronze 33 years ago in Seoul, Korea in 1988. Krysta Palmer made her first Olympic team this summer at the age of 29. Watching her smile and giggle at the podium with her Bronze Medal proudly hanging around her neck warmed hearts all over the country. Krysta’s positivity is infectious and her perseverance throughout her journey to get to the Olympic podium is absolutely inspiring. Today she opens up about the injuries that took her out of contention in the sport of trampoline, what it was like to start a brand new sport at the age of 20, and she walks us through her extraordinary adventure in Tokyo, from a close call in the preliminary round to the very moment she realized she had medaled. Krysta offers mindset tips all along the journey, and she shares with us her favorite way to process both the good and the bad so that she can keep coming back stronger.
Krysta begins with her unique journey in sports, and reflects on coming back stronger from her recurring injuries, as well as how she ultimately found diving at the age of 20. She talks about transitioning her skills from trampoline to diving, working with her coach, Jianli You, to change certain habits, and entering the 2016 Olympic Team Trials following her graduation from the University of Nevada. Krysta tells Laura about a training trip to China that served as a turning point in her path to becoming an Olympian, as well as how her own experience as a coach has helped her as an athlete, and what she learned from competing in the 2017 and 2019 World Championships (her first international meet). She explains how her mindset to learn and grow from setbacks has helped her through the pandemic, and shares the moving story of receiving her Olympic ring from Laura. You’ll hear about Krysta’s memorable experience at the Tokyo Olympics, how her faith keeps her grounded, and the surreal and exciting moment she realized she had medaled in Tokyo.
Krysta’s honesty and perseverance throughout today’s conversation are sure to motivate and inspire as she shares her incredible journey, and everything she has overcome to be able to do what she loves to do.
Episode Highlights:
· Krysta’s journey in sports, beginning with gymnastics and trampoline at a young age
· Coming back stronger from her heartbreaking injuries and finding diving at the age of 20
· Transitioning her skills from trampoline to diving, changing certain habits, learning new dives on the fast track
· Entering the 2016 Olympic Team Trials following her graduation from the University of Nevada
· Her training trip to China in 2016, and how it brought her closer to becoming an Olympian
· The difference between platform and springboard diving, and Krysta’s transition from platform to springboard
· Supporting her athletic training after college through coaching, and how this has helped her become a better athlete
· Her experience at the World Championships in 2017 and 2019
· Learning and growing the most from disappointments or poor competitions
· How this mentality helped her make the most of trials and tribulations brought on by the pandemic
· Training through injuries and her family’s support throughout her career
· Krysta’s very special memory of receiving her Olympic ring from Laura
· Her unique experience at the Tokyo Olympics
· The importance of Krysta’s faith
· The surreal and exciting experience of realizing she had medaled in Tokyo
· How Krysta continues to process her accomplishment and what the next season of her life looks like
· Continuing her education and studying toward an MBA
Quotes:
“At the age of five, when I was young, I really really had this lifelong dream of being an Olympian one day.”
“You're always having to use your visual awareness to spot where you are. And make changes based on where you are. So I learned that through trampoline, and that actually really progressed well into my diving career.”
“I've had two big struggles in learning how to make a proper entry. And also learning how to get the rhythm and the timing with the springboard, because also trampoline is very quick - quick twitch muscle work.”
“I competed platform in the 2016 Olympic Trials because we weren't quite there yet with springboard. And my coach had always said, Give it time. Because springboard diving...you need time to develop the skill of it.”
“I came into the team mid-semester, so in January. And I had to learn all my springboard dives for 1-meter/3-meter before Conference in February.”
“I think the biggest thing was just trusting my coach [Jianli You], because I knew that she has the knowledge and the skill to teach me, whatever it is. I'm learning and I have the talent to try it. And it only takes me trying it to learn something new.”
“That was the trip that made me stronger as a diver and as a person.”
“I really gained a whole other level of respect for my coach at that time, because I really saw how respected she is amongst all the Chinese coaches and athletes.”
“For me, it really made me appreciate my sport and my country and our freedom to choose to be able to do sports.”
“I think that was the biggest takeaway for me from the trials is just feeling like I fit in. But I know that there's still more in me and I still need to learn more in order to get to that point.”
“We really did take a step back from platform at that time. Then springboard started to pick up, and I was competing in it at all the Nationals and getting better and better.”
“The springboard is very similar to trampoline, and I can do a lot of the same skills that I would typically do on a trampoline as well.”
“I was coaching our club team. And that's really the majority of where I got money in order to survive and make a living. And so I was starting to see things from a coaching perspective, which actually helped me as an athlete as well.”
“That's been a big learning lesson as I transition from a college athlete to now a professional athlete, is just to really pay attention to everything that surrounds me as an athlete, and what's going to help me achieve my dream.”
“My first ever international competition was the World Championships in 2017.”
“Coming back from that competition, I really had done a lot of processing and journaling, writing things down of what went wrong. What I learned was my mentality going into this event - I really learned that I had put a lot of pressure on myself. And nobody else did that. I was the one that did it to myself.”
“I really needed to learn from that. And not necessarily get dragged down by the failure of it. But stepping into, kind of, that failure and learning from it, and then growing from it, and taking the next step into the next chapter, and facing what happened… These competitions were actually the ones that I've learned and grown the most from.”
“I think my mentality through all my injuries really helped me through the pandemic, because it was really, Be stronger than you were before the injury. And coming into the pandemic, I could see it two different ways - I could see it as a disappointment and as a setback. Or I could see it as an opportunity and an area to grow, and another year of training, which is really beneficial for me because I’m still a new diver.”
“I really chose to look at it that way and took that mentality from the injury standpoint and said, Hey, I'm going to be stronger than I was before the pandemic.”
“For me, it's a performance. I love getting out there and just showing off what I love to do.”
“That was just a beautiful, beautiful moment for me to receive [my Olympic ring] from you. And you're telling the story - I'm still getting chills because it's special for me.”
“For me, what keeps me grounded is reading the Bible and getting my time with God.”
“At that point, [Coach Jianli You] knew that I had medaled. And so I gave her this big hug. And she just held me tight. And she just said, We did it. We did it. And so that's just - that was a beautiful moment.”
“I don't think this is my peak performance as a diver... I know that there's so much more that I still have left in me.”
Show Links
Life at 10 Meters: Lessons from an Olympic Champion
5 Smart Strategies to Confidence
Laura’s Social Media:
Krysta’s Social Media:
27. How to be resilient through adversity & improve performance with Dr. Ben Houltberg
Dr. Benjamin Houltberg, VP of Research and Practice at Search Institute, is Laura’s very special guest on today’s episode. Ben is a developmental scientist, and an experienced licensed marriage and family therapist, as well as a former elite athlete. He is widely published in topics such as the socialization of adolescent emotion regulation, promoting resilience through adversity, character, and identity development in sports. As you will discover, he is also well versed in the practice of Mindfulness, and he is here to share his vast amount of experience, knowledge, and advice with you today.
Ben begins by sharing his journey from his first interest in sports and his running career, through to his current position, and then offers a thorough analysis of both performance based and purpose based identity, as well as the continuum between them. From this analysis, he expands upon performing out of fear and coping with it, mental health, his perspective on overcoming the challenges that this past year has provided, and the importance of gratitude and positive emotions. While examining the foundation for dealing with adversity, Ben explains the concept of Mindfulness, and actually leads Laura and our listeners through an exercise. He finishes the conversation discussing virtue development and high performance and sharing his advice for young athletes. Ben’s overriding belief that we are all of value, not because of our performance, but because of who we are, is evident throughout this inspiring episode. His is an impactful and important message for absolutely everyone to hear and to heed.
Episode Highlights:
· Ben’s journey from his start in sports to his current position
· Performance based identity, purpose based identity and the continuum between the two
· The impact of ‘performing out of fear’ and recognizing when you are struggling with it
· Steps to follow for coping with the fear
· Emotional regulation and co-regulation
· Mental health in the world of sport and society in general
· Michael Phelps’ ‘Weight of Gold’ documentary
· Ben’s observations and guidance regarding 2020 and moving forward from it
· The importance of feeling gratitude and expressing it to others
· The impact of positive and negative emotions
· 3 foundational aspects to preparing for adversity
· Mindfulness and its importance
· A mindfulness activity
· Virtue development and high performance
· A study regarding the impact of negative emotions and connection
· Ben’s advice to young athletes
Quotes:
“My same exhilaration for sports began to transfer over to my desire to want to understand how the mind works and how relationships work.”
“In the process of trying to study this, I experienced my own kind of healing in some of the wounds that I experienced as an athlete.”
“When results start to get wrapped up as the main definer of your self-worth, then it has devastating consequences.”
“I really firmly believe that there’s a lot of athletes who ‘choke’ or ‘bonk’, or whatever you want to call it, that really comes from an overstimulated sympathetic nervous system.”
“Often, our body responds even before we are able to process it cognitively.”
“Our external lives and relationships and stressors all can have positive or negative consequences physiologically on us.”
“We deal with stress and pain better when we have a purpose that’s bigger than ourselves.”
“These athletes that have this more purpose based identity, they achieve at really high levels as well, but they don’t have the consequences of high levels of depression or anxiety or shame.”
“Throughout history and throughout research, we just do better when we’re connected to others and we have this connection to some type of transcendent purpose.”
“What do I value? What is most important to me?”
“Relationships are so powerful for our emotional health.”
“How can I serve the people around me right now?”
“The foundation of the self becomes really important…the mindset skills are also really important.”
“Invest in your relationships – in healthy ones.”
“Being mindful in your day-to-day is really just…a non-judgmental awareness of being in the present moment.”
“For me, breath also represents a connection to God or even for some people to everybody around them, the source of life.”
“You are valued. You are loved. You are known. You are free. And your worth does not depend on your performance. And you have something to offer this world that nobody else can take away…there’s a purpose in what you can contribute to those around you.”
“When we do have that solid foundation, we are able to also give our best, and I think that’s where virtue development and high performance come together.”
Links:
Mental Training: https://www.laurawilkinson.com/learn
Laura’s Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lala_the_diver
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLauraWilkinson
Connect with Ben:
Search Institute: https://www.search-institute.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drbenhoultberg/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benhoultberg
3. Learning to perform instead of compete with legend, Greg Louganis
Joining Laura today on a very special episode is the man, the myth, the legend, Greg Louganis, currently the Sports Director for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. As you probably already know, Greg is a 4 time Olympian, and the only man to ever win consecutive double gold medals in diving at the Olympics. He is also, of course, the man who came back to win Olympic gold in dramatic fashion after hitting his head during a dive, and we do discuss that as well as many other topics during the show.
In our discussion, Greg shares how elite athletes, including himself, handle cancelled or boycotted competitions, deal with distractions, and maintain motivation while processing criticism. We also explore the importance of the trust between a coach and athlete, dealing with feelings of failure, and the incredible story of Greg’s 1988 Olympics experience. We finish up by looking at his perception of challenges actually being opportunities, and I ask him how he would like to be remembered. Throughout this fascinating conversation we discover Greg’s lifelong focus upon learning to perform to the best of his ability rather than competing for awards – a valuable attitude for us all to emulate in both sports and life in general.
Episode Highlights:
How athletes are handling the cancellation of the Red Bull Cliff Diving Season
How Greg dealt with the boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games
Managing distractions while competing, maintaining motivation and processing criticism
Building coach-athlete trust
Dealing with feelings of failure
The story of the 1988 Olympics
Seeing challenges as opportunities
Performing instead of competing
How Greg would like to be remembered
Quotes:
“If you think of an elite athlete in many sports, it’s like a carton of milk…it has an expiration date.”
“I always wanted my performance to speak for itself…I was out there to prove something.”
“It’s human nature to root for the underdog, and for many, many years, I was not the underdog.”
“I think the most important thing is to observe and listen.”
“It was never my goal to win gold…my goal was to have the best performance that I could on that given time, and just be the absolute best that I could be…the results will take care of themselves.”
“This pandemic is proof – we have such little control, ultimately.”
“As long as I was in the pool in training, HIV didn’t exist, nor did my relationship… that was my safe space, my sanctuary.”
“I always thought…a bad takeoff was a great opportunity.”
“Emulate what you admire, but be your own person.”
Links:
The Pursuit of Gold homepage: http://thepursuitofgold.com/
Greg’s homepage: https://greglouganis.com/
Greg’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greglouganis/