By R.V. Baugus
In performing arts call it an encore. In sports call it overtime or extra innings. In meetings call it extending the hours. Whatever you choose to call it, we call it a return welcome to Dr. Justin Anderson, Founder and CEO of Premier Sports Psychology, as following his outstanding session earlier this year at GuestX he is again on the docket to present at VenueConnect on the topic of Prime the Mind: Top Mindset Approaches to Weather the Pressure of Today’s World. Ask anyone who attended Dr. Anderson’s GuestX session and you will discover why this is a must-attend session coming up in Atlanta.
This will be a highly engaging mindset training session. Participants will hear stories and learn 
applicable psychological tools and strategies that the world’s best athletes, coaches, and front office leadership employ to navigate the stressful and chaotic landscape of professional and elite sports. You will learn how to train your mind to think, feel and behave more optimally while under pressure, on-demand, or when fatigued.
Obviously a speaker in demand, we were fortunate to catch up with Dr. Anderson to ask a few questions in advance of VenueConnect.
We have had you present at GuestX, where your session drew rave reviews. Can you give us a glimpse of what you will be sharing in Atlanta at VenueConnect?
Stories and models aside, I’ll be sharing innovative and impactful tools that all attendees can learn and apply – both in their professional and personal lives. Everything – whether in business or sport – all comes down to how we function, or rather, perform – and it begins with our mindset. Whether it’s the end zone or the bottom line, performance is performance. We can clearly see and measure it. What isn’t always as distinct is what’s occurring internally and how our minds can shape our perceptions and interactions in our day-to-day experiences. We’ll talk about what it means to understand mental health and cognitive functioning in real-world ways so that attendees can optimize not only their own well-being and performance, but support that of those around them.
You work with all levels of teams and leagues, so what can you tell us that will make this session a “must” for folks to attend at it relates to Universities?
Mental health and wellness is a huge topic at universities right now. Studies are showing that our most depressed and anxious populations tend to be our adolescents and young adults – so we’re looking at a critically important group of people in society. Understanding some of the background of where people are coming in and how to manage them – not just from a reactive, but rather, a proactive place – can be a game changer.
How are we now beginning to emerge from the pandemic as it relates to what you see and hear in your daily work?
The epidemic of mental health that America is experiencing doesn’t appear to be improving or changing for the better – and COVID certainly didn’t do anything to help this. Although it feels like we’re nearly “out of the weeds” with COVID, there are new stressors and fears emerging for people. Whereas a year and a half ago, it was life and death to protect yourself and your family, now we see challenges around re-integration and socialization – on top of what COVID has exacerbated. A recent article in Forbes explained that 93% of managers are seeing mental health impacting their employees – and their bottom line, citing, “Top issues included grief, burnout, discrimination, and stress…coupled with the strain on families due to the pandemic…creating a mental health crisis.” We’re seeing a ripple effect throughout our society, our economy and everywhere in between. Our worlds have been up-ended, and we’re going to need more tools and resources for our mental health and well-being if we hope to have any chance of successfully coming out of this on the other side.
We love for our attendees to go home from a session with a solid takeaway that they can implement or act on. What would it be from your upcoming session?
My hope is for attendees to understand just how much our attention impacts everything we do, see, feel, and experience. Most of us have no clue where our attention is, but what we choose to focus on matters and makes a difference. If we can utilize the latest research and models and begin to apply the tools coming out of high-performance psychology, we can move the needle. And if we can move the needle, we can begin to optimize our mindsets to achieve anything we put our focus toward.
