Simone Biles Tokyo 2020 journey explained by sports psychologist

Dr. Rob Gilbert, a professor of sports psychology at Montclair State University, explains the mental challenges facing Simone Biles and how athletes must shift events from a "special mindset to the important mindset."

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: I think a lot of people were cheering when Simone Biles won that bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but she has been going through quite a bit. So we're inviting into the stream Dr. Rob Gilbert, professor of sports psychology and professional speaker at Montclair State University. And it's good to have you here, Dr. Gilbert. What is it like for someone as young as Simone Biles, and yet as accomplished as Simone Biles-- the pressure that this person faces to pull themselves off the world stage and then to get back on it?

ROB GILBERT: Well, I'm sure very few people in the history of the world have ever felt the pressure she felt. I kind of felt something was going to happen when I was listening to New York talk radio two weeks before the Olympics. And one of the experts that they were talking about the Olympics, they said, Simone Biles might arguably be not the best gymnast of all time, but the best athlete in the history of the world. I mean, they never called Michael Jordan the best athlete in the history of the world.

So she had an enormous amount of pressure on her. But as you saw, she came through because-- and it was a great story. They say there's never a great story unless there's a great problem. And she had a great problem, and she did-- you know, she came through under pressure.

SEANA SMITH: Professor, what do you think the last couple of days looks like for Simone Biles, and specifically her-- if-- I guess, if you were her mental coach or offering her some advice over the last several days, what would that have looked like, and what would you have told her?

ROB GILBERT: That's an excellent question, but it's really-- I can't talk about Simone Biles because I know very little. But what about for the rest of us? When I talk to people-- and I've dealt with scores of people over the years that have what's called performance anxiety. And I try to explain to them, there's a difference between important and special. You know, everything should be important. But as soon as we use the 14 killer words-- this is it, it's now or never, it's do or die, there's no tomorrow-- and we make something important into the special category, whether it's an interview, whether it's an audition, it's a tryout, a date, we don't perform well.

I'm reminded, I think, in 2004, President Clinton had a very, very serious heart operation. This was when he was out of office. And that night, I was watching the nightly news, and they had the head of the surgical team on the news. And they interviewed him. They said, what was the like operating on a former president?

And he said, well, we knew it was President Clinton, but we treated them like any other patient. So basically, what he was saying is he didn't operate in the special category, just the important category. So if I said-- if anything that might have happened to Simone, she might have gone from this special mindset to the important mindset, and she performed-- you know, when you could do your best when it means the most, then you're a champion.

ADAM SHAPIRO: As we wrap up, what's the lesson for the rest of us, us mere mortals?

ROB GILBERT: Well, the thing is that a lot of people, they start studying-- they pull the all-nighter the night before the test. Well, on mental skills like concentration, relaxation, motivation, and focus, you can't pull an all-nighter. It's something you have to practice. You know, just like you practice physical skills, you have to practice mental skills.

And the mental skills are out there. They're all over the internet. There are mental skills at work. So rather than hoping that I'm confident, you could actually practice being confident. Rather than hoping, you know, I'm not overly anxious, you can actually practice it. So the mental skills are there, and I think they can be practiced.