May 12, 2026 · 53 min · 20 segments
On this episode of We’re Out Of Time, Richard Taite sits down with sports and performance psychologist Dr. Mark Aoyagi to explore what truly separates elite performers from everyone else. From Olympic…
Richard TaiteHost
At the highest level, what actually separates people who perform under pressure from those who collapse? Is it talent or psychological durability or something else?
[lip smack] Well, [laughs] if I had an absolute answer to that question, I would be, uh, you know, selling that product for millions and millions of dollars.
Um, the reality is, especially when I, I'm, I'm a sports psychologist, and so we work with individuals for the most part.
Obviously with teams as well, but the study of psychology is really the study of individuals.
And there's tons of individual variability, you know? The-- One of the things that I've helped with professional sport teams with their, uh, pre-draft player selection, and one of the things that sports psychology has looked at for years is personality.
And, you know, we have these beliefs that maybe there's some personality that lead- leads to elite performance or, as you're saying, performance under pressure.
Michael Jordan and Steph Curry, for example, same sport, personalities couldn't be more different, and they're both elite players.
But with me, when they were speaking about it with me, they wanted his personality, you know? They were saying, "He's a killer." And I said, "Yeah, he is.
But, but then you've got the, um, uh, uh, uh, the work ethic, right? Like the thing-
... that I loved most about him, you know, in preparation to get to, you know, your highest peak performance is the contracts you make with yourselves-
At the highest level, what actually separates people who perform under pressure from those who collapse? Is it talent or psychological durability or something else?
[lip smack] Well, [laughs] if I had an absolute answer to that question, I would be, uh, you know, selling that product for millions and millions of dollars.
Um, the reality is, especially when I, I'm, I'm a sports psychologist, and so we work with individuals for the most part.
Obviously with teams as well, but the study of psychology is really the study of individuals.
And there's tons of individual variability, you know? The-- One of the things that I've helped with professional sport teams with their, uh, pre-draft player selection, and one of the things that sports psychology has looked at for years is personality.
And, you know, we have these beliefs that maybe there's some personality that lead- leads to elite performance or, as you're saying, performance under pressure.
Michael Jordan and Steph Curry, for example, same sport, personalities couldn't be more different, and they're both elite players.
But with me, when they were speaking about it with me, they wanted his personality, you know? They were saying, "He's a killer." And I said, "Yeah, he is.
But, but then you've got the, um, uh, uh, uh, the work ethic, right? Like the thing-
... that I loved most about him, you know, in preparation to get to, you know, your highest peak performance is the contracts you make with yourselves-
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3 of 10
Confidence Is An Action
First, he redefines confidence from scratch.
Why We Choke Under Pressure
Now, what actually causes choking moments.
Redefining Failure In Baseball
Next, he reframes failure versus results.
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