The Psychology of Performance Under Pressure |Andrew Whitworth

Andrew Whitworth (0:00)

As a young kid, my grandmother would drop me off at a Super One or a local grocery store because I would always tell her I love to go bag people's groceries and just talk. Like I just wanted to get to know people. Like when I say all that, to say what I realized about myself as I became a player was that I'm built on empathy.

Michael Gervais (0:14)

Who are you when you've allowed the thing you do exceptionally well to define you?

Andrew Whitworth (0:20)

There's only one position in the world that plays with their back to the ball at all times, 100% of the game. You never know where the ball ends. It's a job built off feeling. I can put myself in that rush of shoes and I'm going to study them to a point where we can dance together because I can actually feel everything they're going to try to accomplish before we do it.

Michael Gervais (0:37)

Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast, where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais.

SPEAKER_3 (0:45)

A high performance psychologist named Michael Gervais.

Michael Gervais (0:48)

Who Pete Carroll brought in to work with the Seahawks.

SPEAKER_3 (0:51)

Famous for his work with Felix Baumgartner when he jumped out of space in the Stratos Project.

SPEAKER_4 (0:56)

Olympic athletes depend on something more than just training and talent. They have to stay mentally tough.

Michael Gervais (1:01)

Today's guest is Andrew Whitworth, Super Bowl champion and one of the most respected leaders in NFL history. Who did something almost unheard of. He stayed at the top of the NFL for 16 seasons and finished by winning a Super Bowl at the age of 40

Andrew Whitworth (1:16)

I've done everything I can do and I've accomplished the goal that I had. So am I doing this for me now or like is it better for me to go lead my family and figure out the next walk of life. And then it all fell into place. I went and multiplied me in the year and I went to Super Bowl and I have the epic moment sitting with them on that field because the coolest thing was I wasn't even worried about celebrating winning. It was like the meditation easiness came over me and I just was like you know what that was daddy's last game and like I'm with you guys now you know and that's what it's about.

Michael Gervais (1:47)

Andrew also opens up about the parts we don't often hear. Self-doubt, mental health and at the center of it all fatherhood.

Andrew Whitworth (1:54)

I'm somebody with extreme anxiety and negativity about myself. My wife would always tell me when I have these moments when she realizes that I've gone too far or in front of the kids I come home and be like man you know I failed like I'm gonna get fired. She'll be like don't talk about my husband like that and that makes me emotional.

Michael Gervais (2:16)

With that let's jump into this week's conversation with Andrew Whitworth. Andrew, this is, it's felt like a long time coming for us to sit down.

Andrew Whitworth (2:29)

I'm excited.

Michael Gervais (2:30)

Yeah, me too. So, you know, if we're bifurcating this conversation in two parts, Mastery of Craft and Mastery of Self, if we just start with that kind of framing, what are you more interested in your life, Mastery of Craft or Mastery of Self?

Andrew Whitworth (2:45)

I think for me, at this point in life, especially, it's really Mastery of Self, but when I go back and look, you know, at my career and really, you know, the time I spent playing football, I realized that a lot of that had to do with Mastery of Self as well. So when I go back and look at it, it's really like I look at all those pinnacles of my life, even my young life before I became a professional athlete, I go back and look at the pivotal moments that like were actually just you learning how to like master who you are, that actually led me to now. And so now it's like without football, it's like all Mastery of Self. So it's like, how many things can I master?

Michael Gervais (3:19)

Well, you've got, yeah, but you've got a new craft, you're on the desk, if you will, kind of explaining how the game is unfolding on Thursday night games, at least. And so there's other crafts that you're going to fold into, but what I hear is that you've been most interested in Mastery of Self, even when you were one of the best in the world at your craft.