Applying Olympic Thinking to Everyday Life: Lessons from a Performance Psychologist
What if we approached our daily lives with the mindset of an Olympian?
That’s the question we explored when Melbourne-based performance psychologist and former athlete Caroline Anderson joined me on the Ideal Day podcast. There’s no doubt that Caroline is an expert on this topic, having used her unique experience as an athlete and psychologist to help young athletes do their best work.
Caroline is the Director of Performance Edge Psychology, represented Australian Taekwondo in the 2004 Athens Olympics, and worked at the Australian Institute of Sport as the Lead Psychologist for the recent Australian Olympic Committee in Paris. She is also the author of ‘Jet’s Secret Strength, How Nerves Became His Superpower.’
In this blog, we’ll share her insights on using lessons from elite sports to enhance our everyday wellbeing, resilience, and performance.
7 Lessons from an Olympic Psychologist
1. Establish Powerful Support Systems
A strong support system is one of the most foundational elements of high performance, whether in sports or everyday life. It helps us stay motivated and resilient; Olympians rely on coaches, teammates, and mentors to push them forward.
Research shows that high-support teams allow athletes to get the most out of their skills, primarily when replicating high-pressure environments. Conversely, when athletes are in a high- pressure environment with low support, it can be detrimental to their training and preparation.
According to extensive research by Amy Edmondson, a Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, psychological safety is one critical factor in team success. It occurs when team members feel open enough to take risks, share concerns, be vulnerable, and respect each other’s perspectives.
Caroline uses the term ‘co-regulation’ to emphasise our extraordinary ability to help regulate each other’s emotions. ‘When we laugh together, we reduce cortisol in our system. When we connect and feel supported and loved, we get oxytocin. All these things help us be productive, healthy, high-performing individuals.’
2. Mental Recovery Is Just as Important as Physical Recovery
Athletes train hard, but they also prioritise recovery to sustain peak performance. Caroline highlights that while most people recognise the importance of physical recovery, mental recovery is often neglected. We’re not born with the tools and skills necessary for mental recovery, yet it frequently gets dismissed, usually because we feel it’s not important enough or we don’t have time to learn these tools.
However, Caroline explains that recovery is foundational for being the best we can be in any domain.
One thing we can all practice is psychological flexibility, a tool that helps us adapt to life’s many transitions and accept that we can’t control every aspect of our lives, including how we think and feel; we can’t stop thoughts or feelings, but we can learn better ways to respond to them.
‘Anything we can do to buffer the inevitable things that are going to knock us off course is valuable.’
As a psychologist, Caroline often talks to people about the psychological processes that affect their thinking. So, Caroline needs to help people cultivate the ability to stop, pause, listen, and notice their thinking. That, in and of itself, is a powerful tool we have again for managing the challenges we experience.
3. Learn Tools to Stay Present
A central theme of Caroline’s insights was how our mindset and approach to tasks influence stress levels and productivity. The same task can either be performed in a rushed, distracted state—leading to more stress—or in a present, intentional manner that fosters calm and focus.
Two brain networks are responsible for this: the Default Mode Network (which is responsible for mind-wandering) and the Task Positive Network (which is engaged when we focus on the present). The Default Mode Network isn’t bad; it can be a great thing to look back on fondly on achievements or think about plans you’re excited about. However, it becomes unhelpful when we get stuck in this mode, either trying to control the future, ruminating on past events, or being unable to think about the present because we constantly worry.
So it’s really beneficial to learn how to switch your brain from this default mode to the Task Positive Network, which focuses our attention and sensory experiences on the present. To activate the Task Positive Network (or TPN), ask yourself these questions: 1) What is the task at hand? And 2) What can I see, feel, hear, taste, touch, and smell?
Deliberately activating our TPN engages us in the present moment, whether writing a report, working on a complicated project, or even brushing our teeth. The more you engage your TPN, the better you’ll become at staying present.
4. Be Aware of Your Thoughts (Not All Thoughts Are True!)
As you become better at noticing your thoughts, you’ll also realise that although you’re automatically thinking something, that doesn’t make it true.
We’re especially inclined to accept our negative thoughts as truths without questioning them, from imagining worse-case scenarios to worrying about judgment or comparing ourselves to others.
While these thoughts have some practical protective measures, they become obstacles when we believe everything they say without recognising what is happening or if they are persistent and intense. By practising self-awareness, pausing to listen to, reflect on, and examine our thoughts, we can be more intentional about how we respond to them and learn healthier thinking patterns.
So next time you recognise a thought isn’t helpful or necessarily accurate, be intentional about tuning into other things, such as what you’re doing or experiencing in the present moment.
5. Focus on Your Values More than Your Goals
While goal-setting is important, it can sometimes lead to a never-ending cycle of chasing achievements without fulfilment, so Caroline encourages people to focus on their deeper values rather than just outcomes.
‘It’s okay to set intentions and to have goals. Of course, you need to know where you’re heading. But much more important is the why - why are you heading there? What’s going to bring us meaning? How do we want to behave and respond to situations? What matters to me?’
Caroline notes that Olympians who win gold often ask, “What’s next? What do I have to achieve now?” as they’re so used to being goal-driven that they don’t necessarily stop to enjoy themselves or feel rewarded. Meanwhile, those who don’t win may feel like failures, unsure how to reset and progress.
So, instead of defining success by a single milestone, she suggests anchoring our efforts in a larger sense of purpose and meaning. ‘It means it’s permitting people to be hungry for it, to be passionate, to know again why they want it. But [also recognise] it’s not life or death.’
‘Don’t let your goals drive your whole identity, meaning, and purpose.’
Allowing your values to guide you can have wonderful consequences. For example, Caroline never expected to return to elite sports. In fact, she never expected to be an athlete in the first place; her first love at school was psychology, so she studied it full-time while continuing her passion for competing as an athlete.
Although Caroline never deliberately aimed to return to elite sports as a psychologist, following her passions led her to beautifully combine these two crucial sides of herself: psychology and athletic sports.
6. Prioritising Recovery as a Daily Habit
Many assume well-being requires a significant time investment, but it’s really about integrating manageable habits into daily routines. So, instead of waiting for the weekend to unwind, incorporate daily micro-moments of recovery.
These don’t need to be grand gestures—they can be simple acts like taking a deep breath before a meeting, stepping outside for fresh air, setting boundaries around work and taking that lunch break, or taking a moment to call a friend or connect with someone. When you don’t have time for an hour-long gym session, take a 10-minute walk.
‘Thinking creatively about how we can build in these moments whilst living our busy, productive lives is essential.’
A helpful technique discussed was habit stacking, where new positive behaviours are attached to existing routines. For example, if you already make coffee every morning, you could add a moment of deep breathing or gratitude reflection while waiting for it to brew.
‘Don’t aim too high. The research now shows that we can be overwhelmed by all the well-being research because we feel guilty about everything we should be doing. So, we have to be realistic when planning and setting those intentions. Do not think you have to do hours and hours of it. Create small changes. Little things make a big difference.’
Wellbeing is also much easier when you engage in healthy activities you enjoy. For Caroline, that means making time for outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, snowboarding, and mountain biking. As a mother of three, these activities create opportunities for deeper connections and spending time together.
She also takes care to prioritise exercise and reading, including fiction books. ‘There’s a lot there in that ability to focus and concentrate and almost be in that flow state while we’re reading, which is becoming harder and harder with our modern technology and everything we’re dealing with in modern society. So reading is something I’m very passionate about.’
7. Confidence, Setbacks, and the Willingness to Fail
Many believe confidence means never experiencing self-doubt or fear, but Caroline explains this is a misconception; confidence grows from understanding and accepting these feelings. Even elite performers experience self-doubt and nerves—we’re all human.
It’s OK to feel bad sometimes, and things like imposter syndrome are really normal. ‘However, a crucial aspect is being willing to fail in order to succeed. Sometimes, we’re so scared of the outcome that we actually hold ourselves back. We must be willing to make mistakes, be kind to ourselves, acknowledge setbacks, and keep going.’
Olympic athletes don’t let setbacks define them; they use them as stepping stones and persist.
The same applies to everyday life.
Final Takeaway: Olympian-Level Wellbeing Is Built Daily
At the core of Olympic thinking is recognising that sustainable performance doesn’t require being superhuman. Still, we can cultivate better wellbeing through small, intentional habits, such as prioritising recovery, staying present, embracing psychological flexibility, and living by our core values.
By making these small but powerful shifts, anyone can apply an Olympic mindset—not just to sports or high-performance fields but to pursue a balanced, fulfilling, and resilient life.