The Winning Mindset Interestingly, my experience is that a so-called ‘winning mindset’ is not so much about knowing how to win—all top athletes do—but rather about how well they manage and bounce back from loss. A practical example comes from my experience working with Gukesh D in preparation for the World Chess Championship final. After […]
By Paddy Upton Why do some people succeed more often than others? We know it’s seldom about sheer talent alone. In my time working with elite performers across sports and business, there are some common factors that keep coming up. These four stand out. Successful people prepare excellently. They don’t skim through the syllabus; they study […]
A few decades ago, the biggest challenge for most people was lack of access to information. Today, the challenge is almost the opposite—there’s too much information. Just like our shift from a world where food scarcity was a major issue to one where obesity is a dominant health concern, our mental diets have followed a […]
Confidence and arrogance often get mistaken for each other. From the outside, they can look remarkably similar—strong-willed, unwavering, even bold. But spend enough time around high performers, and the distinction becomes glaringly obvious. One fuels growth and elite performance; the other stifles it. Confidence is Earned, Arrogance is Assumed When Virat Kohli walks onto the […]
Over my years coaching elite athletes, I’d confidently say that the three most common mental obstacles to success are i) an inability to move on from past mistakes, ii) pressure to succeed and iii) fear of something going wrong at some point in the future. Fear of failure. Fear of injury. Fear of judgment. Fear […]
For 25 years, one experience sat firmly on my bucket list: stepping into an Olympic Village to live among 15,000 of the world’s best athletes, coaches, and sports scientists In 2024, that dream became a reality. I walked into the Paris Olympics alongside the Indian men’s hockey team, knowing that what lay ahead would push […]
This ‘kid’ had just suffered a crushing loss in the 12th (of 14) games of the World Chess Championship. With scores now tied and two games to play, his attitude towards the loss—and the upcoming games, arguably the most significant in chess history—convinced me to take that flight. On the plane, I played a movie […]
As we step out of 2024 and prepare for 2025, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and set the tone for the year ahead. Here’s some key pointers for leaders to approach the new year with purpose and ease, setting up a strong start for themselves and their teams. Reflect on 2024: Celebrate and […]
When High Performance Becomes Toxic High performance is sought after and celebrated in the corporate world, but there’s a hidden danger when productivity becomes an obsession. When the relentless pursuit of results pushes teams too far, the line between excellence and toxicity can blur. In a toxic productivity culture, the focus shifts from quality to […]
Nearly every pro sports team and business aspires to be a ‘high performance’ team, but most fall short. Here’s one perspective on what sets those rare elite groups apart. It’s well known that the world of sports and business is complex, ever-changing, exciting, and sometimes intimidating. Like sailing across the ocean, it’s far from the […]
Credit: https://businessnewsthisweek.com/author/admin/ Mind guru Paddy Upton shares his insights on putting the nation’s favourite pastimes – cricket and hockey – to greater use London, 28 August 2024 – Paddy Upton, the globally-revered mental guru who recently helped guide the Indian men’s hockey team to the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, believes there is no […]
Seven useful reminders. I never thought breakfast at the Taj, Fisherman’s Cove in Chennai would dish up such a smorgasbord – that had nothing to do with food. It started as just another hotel buffet – I’ve averaged about 180 of them per year for the last 17 years of my professional life. This one […]
On Christmas weekend, I visited my sister and parents, who I hadn’t seen for a number of months due to touring with the Indian cricket team. I had asked my sister, Nicky to arrange some different or interesting activities around the Stellenbosch/Paarl area where she lives. For the first morning‘s activity, I was told me […]
‘Exposure’ was one of the significant events that rolled into town with the covid circus. The carpet was pulled back to expose things like pre-existing leadership ineptitude, business weaknesses and relationship flaws. Unhappy employees became unhappier. Unhappy couples separated. Unhappy clients cut ties. The character of political leadership was revealed. Two areas of exposure that […]
It was almost exactly a year ago that I was struck with one of those aha-moments in life! It happened at the beginning of lockdown and during a mental coaching conversation with the captain of a national sports team. For the umpteenth time in my life, I found myself discussing the concept of our ‘A-game’.
