Podcast 159: Super Bowl Champ Steve Weatherford Discusses the Game, Performance Mindset

Steve Weatherford, who won Super Bowl XLI with the Giants in 2012, returns to the WHOOP Podcast for a discussion on mindset, fitness, and Super Bowl LVI.

Steve Weatherford spent 10 years as a punter in the NFL, and was twice voted the fittest man in the league. He had one of the best performances of his career in the Super Bowl, but explains why that didn’t fulfill him at the time and what he’s learned about mental health since that moment. Steve also discusses why it’s critical to create a life filled with the things most important to you, and how relationships, in his words, are the “currency of life.” Stay healthy and stay in the green!  

Steve Weatherford Super Bowl Podcast Quotes & Highlights

6:33 - Steve’s Road to Athletics. Steve talks about his childhood and his ADHD diagnosis, and how that led him to an unhealthy relationship with sports and athletics. “I created this identity of myself at that young age that I'm only valuable when I win. So you would imagine what that would do to somebody who's 9, 10 years old. I went all in on sports.” 8:52 - Searching for Meaning. “I [was] trying to achieve something outside of myself to plug this God-sized hole inside of me. [I was looking for] meaning [and] purpose. I would achieve these things and nothing would feel different.” 10:32 - Winning the Super Bowl. Steve talks about how winning Super Bowl 46 did not fulfill him like he thought it would. “I just remember this massive wave of depression coming over me because it was at that point I realized it really didn't matter what I did extrinsically, there was nothing that I could achieve or do, or there was nothing that the scoreboard could say, that would make me feel better about who I [was]. And so I knew at that point my seasons in the NFL were numbered.” 12:40 - Finding Purpose. Steve talks about the importance of finding purpose on the journey to your goals. “I don't want you to set a bunch of really big goals for yourself and every single time you get to one of those big goals that you'd never thought that you would get to, you get there and you realize that it didn't make you feel the way that you thought it was gonna feel, or it didn't change your life or your mindset.” 17:25 - Health and Wellness Mindset. “I believe, in the name of Jesus, I'll live longer than 78 (the average lifespan for an American man). However I'm going to live my life like there is no tomorrow, but I want to live my life like there is no tomorrow with the highest quality of life.” 20:45 - Focusing on the Important Things. “Write down the things that matter most to you, and then start to design a life that includes those things that matter most to you. if you live a life of meaning, you'll live a life that matters most to you.” 26:18 - Picking the Bengals. Steve says he thinks the Bengals will win Super Bowl LVI. “I like the teams that have momentum going into the Super Bowl,” Steve says. ”Joe Burrow’s flying high. He doesn't realize how big of a game this is. That’s a good thing.” 30:02 - Rest. “Don't be afraid to rest, and I feel like a lot of us feel like we need to work for rest, but I believe the most effective way for you to perform mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually is for you to work from rest.” Podcast No. 46: Steve Weatherford, Super Bowl Champ, Entrepreneur, Fitness Expert