MindStrong

#161 - Dr Mustafa Sarkar - How to Build Resilience in Sport & Life

Jun 6, 2023

Dr Mustafa Sarkar, Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology, discusses resilience in sports. Topics include the difference between resilience and mental toughness, building resilience within teams, creating environments for resilience, and personality traits of resilient people.

01:28:15

Creator website

Episode guests

Mustafa Sarkar

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Creating a facilitative environment with high challenge and high support is crucial for resilience development.

Developing a challenge mindset involves practicing cognitive behavioral therapy techniques and challenging thinking traps.

Resilience in team environments requires a facilitative environment that combines high challenge with high support.

Deep dives

The Challenge Support Matrix: Creating a Facilitative Environment

The Challenge Support Matrix is a tool that helps identify different types of environments in terms of challenge and support. It is based on a two-by-two matrix with high challenge and low support in the bottom right, low challenge and low support in the bottom left, high support and low challenge in the top right, and high challenge and high support in the top left. The goal is to create a facilitative environment that combines high challenge with high support, as this is most beneficial for resilience development. It is important for coaches and individuals to assess their current environment and identify any red flags that may indicate a move towards an unrelenting or stagnant environment. By creating a facilitative environment, individuals can thrive and develop their resilience.

Introduction

2min

Resilience in Sport: Introduction and Background

20min

Resilience vs Mental Toughness

23min

Personality Characteristics and Resilience

6min

Creating Resilient Environments in Team Settings

11min

The Importance of Accountability and Constructive Feedback

20min

The Importance of Focusing on the Environment for Resilience

2min

Resilience and ongoing research projects

3min

Dr Mustafa Sarkar is an Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. His research addresses the psychology of performance excellence with a particular focus on resilience, psychological safety, and mental health.

Expect to learn, what resilience is and what it is not, the difference between resilience and mental toughness, how to build resilience, the cost of not facing challenge, how to create resilience within teams, creating environments to develop resilience, and much more.

[00:00] Introduction

[02:03] Learning to Leg Spin Bowl

[05:51] Lowest Point in Mustafa's Early Career

[10:01] Mustafa's Journey to Sports Psychology

[13:49] The Lack of Research in Sports Resilience

[15:55] What is Resilience in Sports?

[19:36] The Difference Between Resilience and Mental Toughness

[21:57] Do Today's Young Athletes Lack Resilience?

[24:03] Why You Need to Ensure You're Not Spoon Feeding Your Kids

[28:34] Resilience in Different Fields and Different Contexts

[33:24] The 3 Main Components of Resilience Development

[39:47] The Role of Humor in a Team Setting