Overcoming The Top-10 Mental Obstacles In Sport - https://go.sportmind.io/Mastery
The SportMind Portal - https://go.sportmind.io/Portal
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What if the very things you’ve been told to get rid of — the nerves, the fear, the doubt — were actually the very keys to performing your best?
That’s exactly what today’s guest, Dr. Michael Passaportis, has devoted his career to exploring.
Michael’s journey began on the rugby fields of Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Europe, where he experienced the highs of professional sport — and the crushing lows of repeated injuries, contract cancellations, and the mental battles that came with them. When his body forced him to stop playing, he turned that struggle into a mission: helping athletes master the mental game.
Now a sport and performance psychologist, lecturer, and researcher — with a PhD in collaboration with the English Institute of Sport on how Olympic environments can promote both wellbeing and performance — Michael’s work is all about taking the theory and turning it into tools athletes can actually use when the pressure is on.
In our conversation, he unpacks why overthinking drags athletes into the past or future, and how mindfulness isn’t about sitting cross-legged on a mountain but about training mental reps in the gym of the mind. We explore the difference between flow and clutch — the letting go and trusting versus the moment where you demand the ball and make something happen. We talk about why courage doesn’t come from waiting to feel confident but from choosing actions aligned with your values, even when fear is screaming at you. And we go deep on redefining success — shifting from chasing uncontrollable outcomes to building an internal scoreboard that makes performance both more sustainable and more enjoyable.
And perhaps most powerfully, Michael reframes acceptance — not as weakness or resignation, but as the ability to carry frustration, nerves, or fear with you, and still play the way you want to play.
This is one of those conversations that will leave you rethinking how you approach your sport — and maybe even your life. Michael explains it with clarity, honesty, and the authority of someone who’s lived both sides: as the athlete under pressure, and as the psychologist guiding athletes through it.
Let’s get into it.
Website: https://www.michaelpassaportis.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmpsportpsych/
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