Training the Brain | Dr. Michael Gervais

The Darin Olien Show

Your brain is the tissue that sits in your skull, and your mind is the software that controls that tissue. Little tweaks in thinking can completely transform how you approach life. Training the brain is about understanding what kind of tweaks you need.WELCOME TO THE DARIN OLIEN SHOWDr. Michael Gervais is a sport and performance psychologist that helps world-class athletes train their brains.There is a direct relationship between the mind and elite performance. As one of the world’s leading experts on this relationship, Dr. Gervais knows how to train the brain. Throughout his 20-year career, he has worked with Olympians, NFL players, MVPs from every major sport, famous music artists, and high-profile CEOs. But training your brain is not just for the rich and famous. We all could benefit from understanding how our minds affect our performance in life. The framework of mental skills Dr. Gervais has created is beneficial for anyone that has to deal with pressure-packed environments. (So basically all of us.)I met Michael through a mutual athlete friend, and he definitely speaks my language. I talk a lot about nutrition and exercise on this show, but I was so excited to spotlight another vitally important aspect of health: the brain. Whether you’re an Olympian or an accountant, we all face stressful situations where your mind can either make or break you. Simple tweaks in thinking and creating new brain patterns can make all the difference. Dr. Gervais had some pretty amazing stories of working with his clients to illustrate this point.One of the main themes of this conversation was confidence. What is confidence, and how do you get it? Like me, Michael is not a proponent of the “fake it till you make it” mentality. Faking anything is not being honest. And honesty and confidence go hand in hand. He had some great points on how being honest in every aspect of your life inevitably breeds confidence. We could have gone for hours. And when you’re talking about the brain and mindsets, it’s hard not to. If you’re fascinated with the psychology of why we are the way we are, you’re going to love this episode. BREAKDOWN [00:06:43] Where it all began for Michael[00:10:30] How to apply these principles even if you’re not an athlete[00:18:20] What is the flow state of mind?[00:25:14] Honesty and confidence [00:30:00] Skills and self-discovery[00:38:20] How does your spaceship work?[00:44:04] The power of forming habitsLINKS Finding MasteryFollow Dr. Gervais on InstagramFinding Mastery on FacebookTake the Finding Your Best online courseListen to the Finding Mastery PodcastSPONSORSGet 20% off your order at Vivo Barefoot with code DARIN20Get $15 off your first order at Public Goods by using code DARIN at checkout Download Episode Transcript Here I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Darin Olien Show! If you want to support or follow the podcast, here's how: Subscribe, rate or listen on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher Follow my Instagram to keep updated on the podcast, weekly deep dives and other projects that I'm supporting (and the occasional Chaga appreciation post)Sign up for my Monthly Email to keep up with what I’m tuned into each month.For feedback or suggestions, email my team at [e-mail] Find the list of brands & products that get the big tick of approval from me here.Comment below to join the discussion!