Athletes are often taught that toughness means pushing through, staying quiet, and never showing weakness. This week, Olivia Papakyrikos, M.Ed, LMHC, LPC, joins us to challenge that idea.
Olivia is a Boston-based therapist and mental performance consultant, and a former collegiate field hockey player at Wheaton College. She shares two personal stories that shaped her work: a coach who asked “How are you?” a second time, and a moment on a grocery store floor when her friends chose to sit down beside her instead of telling her to get up.
We talk about why relationships matter as much as resilience, what perfectionism and pressure do to athletes behind the scenes, and how asking for help is part of sustained success rather than a sign of failure.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why athletes get so good at saying “I’m fine”
Balancing school, sport, leadership, and social life while trying to be perfect
What real support looks like (hint: it’s not always fixing the problem)
Redefining mental toughness and resilience
Practical tools for navigating pressure and adversity
Supporting the person behind the athlete
Connect with Olivia on her website here
Connect with Olivia on IG here
Email with Olivia here
Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here
Connect with Morgan’s Message here
