American Olympic champion Shaun White made a name for himself in the snowboarding and skateboarding circuit from a very young age. He quickly rose to fame as a prodigy, befriending and getting mentored by Tony Hawk. The three-time Olympic gold medalist won 15 X Games titles and became the first person to participate in both the Summer and Winter editions of the X Games. Apparently, the credit for a lot of the retired snowboarder’s progress goes to his mother.

Shaun White recently appeared on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast and revealed a piece of wisdom his mother granted him when he was young that helped him in his career.

He narrated, “I think my mom pointed it out. Cause there were these kids trying to learn backflips. She’s like, ‘Watch.’ Couple of them made it, and one of them decided halfway through he didn’t want to do a backflip anymore.” 

Naturally, the consequences of giving up halfway in the air proved to be pretty bad.

“He comes around, lands on his head, knocked out—the whole deal,” White continued.

Right then and there, White’s mother pointed out the importance of seeing every move through to the end. “She’s like, ‘If you’re gonna do something, you gotta commit.’ That stuck with me for a long time.”

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White puts snowboarding as at least a 70% mental sport. While the physical ability to launch oneself 40 feet in the air certainly plays an important part, the same feat becomes incredibly dangerous if one does it half-heartedly. At that height, with much at stake, bailing out midway is not an option. That’s a lesson White learned pretty early, thanks to his mom.

Shaun White knew how to play the mental game

According to the athletic champion, skateboarding, to a certain extent, doesn’t require the same commitment to seeing moves through to the end. It’s easy to bail out of a trick by running out of it or sliding on your pads. But in snowboarding, where you gain heights equaling a five-story building, the decision comes before you start.

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In 2017, Shaun White talked to Graham Bensinger about his pre-event rituals. He explained that instead of feeling the thrill and nervousness of the run; he mellows out. White just sits around calmly until he gets to the start gate. He stated that his conviction became the difference between him and his competition.

“I just feel like my mindset is what’s putting me maybe a little bit ahead of others. I show up and I’m convinced that this is the outcome, and that’s all that there is,” White stated. “So, I don’t really let that kind of seed of doubt come in and I don’t really accept anything, but this is what’s going to happen.” 

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In his exceptionally long career as a snowboarder, White dominated the sport for a long time. And his mentality played a big part in it.