Build Mental Toughness & Perform Under Pressure | Dr. Lenny Wiersma

April 15, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In the 1989 Super Bowl, Joe Montana walked into the huddle with 92 yards to go, down by three, and instead of a tactical speech, he pointed to the stands and said, "There's John Candy." The moment was so unexpected and composed that it signaled to his exhausted, tight teammates: I'm not throttled at all. Let's go win this game. That story, told by Dr. Lenny Wiersma, captures a central theme of his conversation with Dr. Andy Galpin: high-pressure performance is less about eliminating nerves or fear and more about learning to regulate yourself in their presence. Wiersma, director of sports and performance psychology for Olympic sports at UC Berkeley, spent the episode unpacking the mechanisms behind confidence, self-talk, visualization, and emotional regulation—and what they look like in real, messy moments.

Visualization is not just for the good stuff

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

Never miss an episode of Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin

Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

What you'll learn

1 (00:47) **Why Alex Honnold Isn't a Thrill-Seeker & the Psychology of Extreme Risk** - The conversation opens with the Alex Honnold skyscraper climb to illustrate the difference between consequence and risk, and why extreme athletes aren't motivated by a death wish.
2 (06:48) **Are Extreme Athletes Born Without Fear? No, They Train for It** - Dispelling the myth that people like Honnold don't feel fear, Dr. Wiersma explains that their performance is built on years of deliberate, small-step preparation.
3 (11:17) **The Wipeout Plan: How to Eliminate Fear by Planning for Failure** - Dr. Wiersma reveals that the key to managing fear is not positive thinking, but detailed coping visualization for worst-case scenarios.
4 (13:54) **Visualization: It’s Not Just for the Good Stuff** - A deep dive into the three distinct purposes of visualization: confidence, coping, and familiarization.
5 (19:45) **How to Do Visualization Right: Timing, Duration & Sensory Details** - Dr. Wiersma provides a practical protocol for effective visualization, warning against common mistakes.
6 (24:09) **Visualization for Non-Athletes: Exams, Presentations & Weddings** - Dr. Wiersma explains that performance psychology applies to any high-stakes scenario, from a job interview to officiating a wedding in sign language.
7 (30:15) **The Balance: Visualizing Success vs. Failure & The Danger of Negative Self-Talk** - A practical guide on how to balance visualizing good performance with visualizing potential problems.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Dr. Andy Galpin

Show Notes

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Lenny Wiersma — one of the most respected and quietly influential figures in sports psychology — for a conversation on what it actually takes to perform when the stakes are highest. A professor for over 25 years and a highly published scientist,

We discuss Alex Honnold's recent skyscraper climb and unpack what's really happening psychologically at the absolute edge of human performance, including why the "he just doesn't feel fear" narrative is both academically wrong and deeply unfair to what Honnold has actually built. From there, we draw on Lenny's work with major league baseball players, UFC fighters, big wave surfers, and extreme athletes of all kinds to go deep on confidence versus belief, why the positive/negative self-talk distinction is the wrong frame entirely, how psychological distancing changes your internal dialogue, and what visualization actually requires to transfer under pressure.

Lenny also walks through his 3-2-1 reflection tool, the critical difference between emotional control and emotional regulation, what the best coaches do in high-stakes moments, and how biofeedback gives athletes a real physiological window into their own regulation.

This episode is for athletes, coaches, and anyone navigating high-pressure moments in daily life — you don't have to be jumping out of helicopters or riding hundred-foot waves for this to apply to you.

Sponsors

Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/perform

Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/perform

David: https://davidprotein.com/perform

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/perform

Chapters

(00:00:00) Show Intro

(00:00:48) Alex Honnold Mindset

(00:02:18) Risk And Confidence

(00:06:45) Extreme Athletes Trainability

(00:11:12) Wipeout Planning

(00:13:54) Visualization Basics

(00:15:53) Phelps Coping Visualization

(00:19:46) Visualization Best Practices

(00:24:09) Visualization Beyond Sport

(00:26:35) Sleep Stories Unhooking

(00:32:47) Balancing Failure Imagery

(00:37:33) Self Talk Framework

(00:40:37) Coach Yourself With You

(00:41:04) Borrow a Trusted Voice

(00:42:46) Nicknames and Second Person

(00:45:34) Research and Best Timing

(00:48:41) Rethinking Discomfort

(00:53:19) Confidence Versus Belief

(00:57:14) Build Robust Confidence

(01:01:14) Tools to Grow Belief

(01:08:34) Overconfidence and Honesty

(01:10:52) Resilience Mental Toughness

(01:13:47) Emotional Regulation Skills

(01:16:11) Label Emotions and Purpose

(01:17:12) Labeling Emotions Fast

(01:18:06) Next Play Mindset

(01:18:28) Co Regulati