The Psychology of Youth Sports | AMA Victoria Garrick Browne and Dr Michael Gervais

What questions are tugging at you right now, and how might exploring the answers to those questions help unlock your potential?For this 30th installment of our popular Ask Me Anything series, Dr. Michael Gervais is joined by co-host Victoria Garrick Browne, a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, former Division I volleyball player at USC, mental health advocate, creator, and speaker. Victoria turned her own private struggle with performance anxiety and depression into a gift for millions, and she founded The Hidden Opponent, a nonprofit that brings mental health education and support to student-athletes on campuses around the country. She's the ideal person to sit alongside Mike for this AMA and help answer these questions with care.The questions our community submitted are honest and vulnerable, and they keep circling the same root: identity. What happens when who you are gets fused to what you do? Mike and Victoria explore why the culture around us so easily hands young people a performance-based identity, what it looks like to move toward a purpose-based one instead, and why the way a parent talks about their child at the dinner table quietly shapes how that child sees themselves.This is a practical and useful conversation for anyone who competes, coaches, parents, or is simply trying to figure out who they are.In this conversation, we explore:How to help young people build an identity rooted in who they are, not only in how they performWhy the way you talk about your child, even at Thanksgiving, is shaping their identityHow to tell the difference between healthy competitiveness and unhealthy pressureThe warning signs of burnout in a young athlete, and why competing too early can backfireHow to share a mental health story in recruiting without it becoming a liabilityWhether real confidence can exist without external validationThe difference between formal instruction and guided discovery in coaching and parentingA simple, honest way to work with imposter syndromeIf your sense of who you are has ever felt a little too tied to what you do, this one is well-worth your time.Links & ResourcesTo learn more about Victoria, please visit: https://victoriagarrickbrowne.com/To learn more about The Hidden Opponent, the non-profit Victoria started, please visit: https://www.thehiddenopponent.org/ Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and wellbeing: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet 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/newsletterDownload Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine: findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and XLearn more about The Hidden Opponent: thehiddenopponent.orgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.