Hello and welcome to Upgrade Thought! Today, I will be talking with Taylor Stadden, a certified mental performance consultant. Taylor works with athletes of all levels, helping them improve their minds, in the service of elite performance. Taylor is the founder of Upper Mentality, a company that he started in 2019, which provides these services to athletes. In this conversation, we discuss what mental performance is, how youth sports can start to feel like a job, how athletes (and others) can cultivate a growth mindset, athletes’ misconceptions about mindset, what healing imagery is, mindfulness, client/consultant relationships, and more. 

Enjoy the show! 

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

0:50 - What is mental performance?

1:40 - Relearning to love sport

9:00 - Misconceptions about mindset 

15:00 - My favorite interview ever

17:50 - Mental struggles of injury 

20:30 - Client/consultant relationship 

23:40 - What is healing imagery?

25:00 - Growth mindset 

31:00 - Is there a stigma? 

34:30 - Tools for dealing with risk aversion 

43:00 - Mental skills in entrepreneurship 

45:00 - Multi-sport vs specialization in youth athletics 

48:40 - Transition from HS to College sports 

51:00 - Mindfulness/meditation thoughts 

1:00:00 - Do our beliefs influence reality?