Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

Why are young people today reporting the highest levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and despair in modern history?
Dr. Angela Duckworth is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the world’s leading voices on grit, self-control, and the science of thriving. In this conversation with Dr. Michael Gervais, Angela reflects on how her thinking about grit has evolved, where it’s often misunderstood, and why perseverance without purpose can become harmful instead of helpful.
They explore what excellence really looks like behind the scenes. Not the highlight reel, but the long stretch of deliberate practice and repeated effort that most people never see. Angela also reframes passion as something that develops over time, and offers a practical lens for staying committed when enthusiasm fades and outcomes take longer than expected.
The conversation expands beyond performance into family life and parenting. They examine the cultural forces shaping today’s youth: the rise of social media, the erosion of in-person connection, the displacement of nature, and the unintended consequences of modern parenting. Angela shares what the data actually shows about the mental health crisis, and what we as parents, educators, and leaders can do about it.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
What grit really is, and what it isn’t
Why excellence comes from high-quality practice over time
How passion develops slowly, and why it can be treated like a skill
How to stay committed when motivation fades
Why environments shape kids more than pressure does
Why young people’s happiness has sharply declined since 2010
What the research says about anxiety, depression, and loneliness in Gen Z
How screens and social disconnection may be reshaping well-being
Practical ways parents can create environments where kids can truly thrive
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Links & Resources
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David Blanchflower Article: Blanchflower DG, Bryson A, Xu X (2025) “The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age.” https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327858
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What if one of the biggest nutrition mistakes we’re making isn’t what we eat, but what we’re missing?
Dr. Tim Spector is one of the world’s leading researchers on the gut microbiome and how it shapes metabolism, immunity, and even mental wellbeing. In this conversation Tim challenges the conventional nutrition playbook, explaining why calories are a poor guide to health, why most diets backfire, and how ultra‑processed foods can disrupt hunger signals in ways that make “willpower” a losing game.

A central theme in this conversation is that many of us are focused on the wrong problem. Tim argues we’ve been sold a story that we need more protein, when what many people are actually missing is fiber, the essential fuel our gut microbes depend on. From there, the conversation becomes refreshingly actionable, focused on diversity over restriction, whole plants that support microbial health, and why fermented foods can punch far above their weight.

This episode is a grounded, science‑backed reframing of nutrition. It’s less about rules and more about understanding the system inside you, then feeding it well.
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Links & Resources
Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and wellbeing: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMastery
Get exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors!
Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/
Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter
Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine: findingmastery.com/morningmindset
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Data on an NFL sideline is immediate. Decisions are filtered through fear, experience, and instinct.
In this episode of The Game Inside the Games, Dr. Michael Gervais and NFL legend Brandon Marshall explore the tension between analytics and intuition—what happens when information is instant, comprehensive, and impossible to ignore. As technology reshapes decision-making on the NFL sideline, the real question becomes: when the moment arrives, what do you actually trust?
Gervais draws on his conversation with Hillary Kerner, CMO of Insight, to examine the human side of AI adoption and why more data doesn’t automatically lead to better choices. Using fourth-down decision-making as a case study, the episode reveals how fear of blame, social pressure, and the need to justify decisions often outweigh what the numbers clearly show.
This is a grounded look at how people make decisions under scrutiny—and why learning when to trust the data and when to trust yourself may be one of the most important skills in high-pressure environments.

Follow Finding Mastery all week as The Game Inside the Games continues to unpack the inner game at global sporting events,, available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

🔥 Don’t miss this deep dive into the mind of an NFL mastermind.
🎧 Subscribe and follow along with Finding Mastery all week as we unlock championship‑level thinking from the biggest moments in sports. Watch The Game Inside The Games on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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This episode is brought to you by Insight and Microsoft.
Insight is redefining integration for the Agentic Era by closing the 65% execution gap currently leaving enterprise AI at a standstill. As a leading Solutions Integrator and top 1% Microsoft partner, we don’t just provision licenses; we build the high-performance infrastructure and secure data estates AI requires to thrive. By converging AI-optimized networking with our proprietary Radius™ Microsoft 365 Copilot framework, we solve the infrastructure-AI paradox. From silicon to skills, Insight leverages "Customer Zero" expertise to transform software into a high-yield autonomous enterprise—enabling seamless, secure collaboration between your people and your AI.

https://aka.ms/InsightMicrosoftCopilot

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Some moments don’t fade. They wait.
In this episode of The Game Inside the Games, Dr. Michael Gervais reconnects with Ricardo Lockette as returning to the Super Bowl setting brings old emotions back to the surface. The conversation moves beyond the game itself into grief, loss, and the weight of moments that never fully resolve.
Lockette speaks candidly about the Super Bowl heartbreak, the injury that ended his career, and why public grieving can be harder than physical pain. Drawing on their close relationship, Gervais helps him unpack what those experiences still mean—and how resilience is built in the aftermath, not the moment.
This is a raw, human conversation about survival, leadership, and learning how to live with moments that don’t come with clean endings.
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This episode is brought to you by CDW and Microsoft.

AI is revolutionizing how work gets done. CDW and Microsoft can play a vital role in unlocking the transformative potential of Microsoft Copilot. By leveraging this technology, organizations can achieve significant productivity gains, enhance innovation and streamline workflows.

Unlock opportunities to improve both employee and customer experiences when you partner with CDW to deploy your Copilot solutions. Our experts can help maximize the capabilities of Copilot, by building out roadmaps, use cases, and agent experiences that supercharge efficiency for your organization.

Aka.ms/CDWMicrosoftCopilot

Learn more about CDW’s internal Copilot adoption story: CDW rolls out Microsoft 365 Copilot to 10,000 employees, reporting 85% productivity gains | Microsoft Customer Stories

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The huddle is one of the quietest moments in football—and one of the most revealing. Before the play is called, before anyone moves, a team comes together in a space where trust, tone, and connection matter more than words on a whiteboard.
In this episode of The Game Inside the Games, Dr. Michael Gervais and All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall go inside the huddle to explore what really happens in the moments before action. Rather than breaking down strategy or schemes, the conversation focuses on culture—how relationships show up under pressure and how teams signal belief, accountability, and presence when it counts.
Drawing on lived experience, Gervais and Marshall examine how the huddle becomes a mirror for a team’s inner life. Who speaks. Who listens. How people respond when the moment feels heavy. These subtle dynamics often shape what happens next, long before the ball is snapped.
This is a grounded, human conversation about connection, leadership, and shared responsibility. And while the stories come from the highest level of football, the insight applies far beyond the field—to meetings, decisions, and the moments we all face just before we act.

Follow Finding Mastery all week as The Game Inside the Games continues to unpack the inner game at global sporting events,, available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
_____________
This episode is brought to you by CDW and Microsoft.
AI is revolutionizing how work gets done. CDW and Microsoft can play a vital role in unlocking the transformative potential of Microsoft Copilot. By leveraging this technology, organizations can achieve significant productivity gains, enhance innovation and streamline workflows.
Unlock opportunities to improve both employee and customer experiences when you partner with CDW to deploy your Copilot solutions. Our experts can help maximize the capabilities of Copilot, by building out roadmaps, use cases, and agent experiences that supercharge efficiency for your organization.

Aka.ms/CDWMicrosoftCopilot

Learn more about CDW’s internal Copilot adoption story: CDW rolls out Microsoft 365 Copilot to 10,000 employees, reporting 85% productivity gains | Microsoft Customer Stories

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.