Have you ever worked with a sports psychologist? If so, how did it help you?

I’ve been working with Carly Anderson for 3 years now. She has helped me to improve in so many ways. My mental strength and resilience have improved dramatically. I’ve learned to see difficult situations as challenges to overcome rather than disappointments.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

“Have fun.” It seems silly but when you take a sport as seriously as we do, having fun can seem difficult as times. But having fun, playing loose is much easier than being stressed.

What’s a big obstacle that you’ve overcome in your life?

Graduating nursing school while being a competitive curler!

What is your biggest fear when competing?

That I’ll look back at my curling career and wish I would’ve worked harder. This thought pushes me to work as hard as possible every day.

Read the full interview at Q&A with Nina Roth -NBC Olympics

“I think Minnesotan’s are very, very gun-shy about any type of expectations for winning. So, when you talk about superstitions, I think it’s more about ‘Geez, they don’t want to jinx this expectation and they don’t want to get their expectations too high,” said Dr. Justin Anderson, the founder of Premier Sport Psychology in Minneapolis.

Dr. Anderson says, since the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, fans point back to the heartbreaking history. And, when something bad happens, it’s here we go again.

“There is this collective energy that does tend to happen between humans when we start to feel the momentum shift, things can shift because our realities are really based around our beliefs,” said Dr. Anderson.

And, with it, the pressure builds.

This can negatively affect the team, too, because they’re hearing about the painful history everywhere.

But, what if this year is different?

“I think (Mike) Zimmer can be the strong personality to say that things are different here,” said Dr. Anderson.

So, Skol Vikings!

Watch the video and read more at How to Handle the Vikings Success – Kare11