Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

How a UFC Fighter, Olympic Skier, and Extreme Climber Master High-Pressure Moments | The Mindset Roundtable

44 snips

Feb 12, 2025

Join Kaya Turski, an Olympic and X-Games champion slopestyle skier, Vitor Belfort, a UFC champion known for his mental toughness, and Tommy Caldwell, a renowned big wall free climber, as they dive into high-pressure moments. They share how to navigate fear and adversity, emphasizing resilience through sports. The trio discusses innovative mental strategies that help them perform at their peak, the importance of self-awareness, and how humor can lighten even the toughest situations, making every challenge an opportunity for growth.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Vitor's Childhood and Martial Arts

Vitor Belfort, born in Rio de Janeiro, was a hyperactive child considered a "genius".
He found an outlet in sports, specifically martial arts, which helped him overcome bullying and a stutter.

INSIGHT

Martial Arts as Self-Discovery

Belfort views martial arts as a way to discover oneself and manage life's battles.
He believes everyone should practice "martial science" to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

ANECDOTE

Kaya's Transition to Skiing

Kaya Turski, from Montreal, transitioned from rollerblading to slopestyle skiing at 17.
Self-taught, she thrived in the sport, embracing speed, air, and creativity.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

How do a UFC fighter, Olympic skier, and extreme climber manage high pressure moments?

This is an episode unlike any we’ve done before.

Last summer you may remember that a few members of the Finding Mastery Team, along with Olympian and X-Games Champion Kaya Turski, UFC Champion Vitor Belfort, and famed climber Tommy Caldwell, went aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, while she was on deployment in the Western Pacific. We were there to work with the crew on mindset and high performance. Now these men and women understand high stakes environments. They know what it takes to live on their edge and push the boundaries of what’s possible. They do it everyday, and it was so inspiring.

While we were on board, we recorded a podcast with the ship’s Commanding Officer, Captain Daryl Cardone and the Commander of the Air Group - Captain Patrick Corrigan. It’s a great episode. If you haven’t listened to it or watched it, I really recommend you go check that out HERE.

Now… before we went onboard, we were stuck at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, waiting out a typhoon that was wreaking a little havoc in the western Pacific. The weather was terrible, and we were all waiting in the hanger for the storm to blow through. We had a high performance psychologist, an MMA fighter, a climber, and a world class Olympic skier… it’s like the start of a bad joke, yet there we were. So, we decided to make the most of our time. We sat down on cases and whatever we could find in the hanger and had a conversation. A kind of roundtable... It was a wide-ranging discussion that delved into adversity, resilience, and high-performance mindset. Each of them has faced extreme challenges, from high-altitude survival to fight-night pressure to life-threatening injuries. And in this conversation, we break down the mental frameworks and strategies that helped them do more than survive; they emerged stronger and more invigorated than ever.

If you’ve ever wondered how elite performers navigate fear, setbacks, and the unknown, this is a conversation you will want to take the time to listen to.

_________________

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMastery

Get exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/

Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter

Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindset

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.