Author: Mark Sapsford

What a quiet start to my blog means, and how I hold my nerve while I find the path A few weeks ago, I pressed publish and almost nobody noticed. That’s the honest version of where I am with this blog. There’s a book here, three parts built over years of work with people under…

What children learn when adults stay calm enough to listen Sarah came to see me because she was worried about her son. Callum was thirteen, bright, and had strong opinions about most things. That had always seemed like a good sign. But something had shifted over the past year. Arguments with friends were getting more…

Break down the problem, act on the next step, and keep your thinking moving under pressure There is a scene near the start of Project Hail Mary where Ryan Gosling’s character wakes up on a spacecraft, alone, with no idea who he is or why he’s there. He can’t remember his name. He doesn’t know…

What the players revealed in the language they used under pressure Augusta National interviews its players before they have had time to think. Within minutes of finishing a round, sometimes on the course itself, they answer questions in front of cameras and microphones. Under that kind of pressure, on that stage, language is the most…

Thirty years on, golf’s most famous collapse shows the strength and cost of an unshakeable mind There is a photograph from Augusta National on the evening of 14 April 1996 that has stayed in golf’s memory for thirty years. Nick Faldo, six shots behind at the start of the day and now the Masters champion,…

How Identity builds the mind that holds firm under pressure I knew Vic and Bob were done before they reached the bunker door. That sounds harsh. They were fit, capable officers, well-liked on the course. But over the previous days I’d been watching them closely, and I could see what was unfolding. The physical challenge…

What his doubt, self-talk and tearful comeback teach us about building resilience Andy Murray sat in a press conference in Melbourne in January 2019 and could not hold back tears. He had played his first round match at the Australian Open, won the opening set, and been overhauled in four. But the result wasn’t why…

What everyday moments teach children about behaviour and self-worth: I met a friend for breakfast recently. It was just a casual catch-up and a chat, nothing formal. His wife was away, which is why he had brought their six-year-old daughter along. Not long after we sat down, his phone buzzed. An email had come through…

What your child is learning in the rushed moments you’d rather forget: A Rushed Winter’s Morning It was a Tuesday morning in February, and Amara was already ten minutes behind. Her daughter, Mia, then nine years old, had lost a shoe. The kitchen was a mess from breakfast. The car needed defrosting. Somewhere in the…