EXCELLENCE UNDER PRESSURE with John Havlik
Capt. John Havlik knows a thing or two about stress. He retired in 2014 after more than 30 years of distinguished military service, nearly all of them as a Navy SEAL. He graduated from West Virginia University as the first swimmer in school history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. He served as tri-captain of the first undefeated men’s swim team in WVU history his senior year.
Just this spring, he defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania, a study comparing stress-management strategies of U.S. National Team swimmers and Navy SEALs. Today’s conversation focuses on four key commonalities:
Absolute trust in their training
Adherence to a strict routine
Focusing only on what they could control
Utilizing healthy and adaptive distractions
Havlik earned his doctorate in education from the Penn CLO (Chief Learning Officer) Program in 2023.
EPISODE NOTES
Learn more about Coach Havlik’s life and work here.
Today’s episode features two special instrumental versions of Shayfer James songs, “Battle Cry” from Counterfeit Arcade (2011) and “Devil Throw Roses” from Haunted Things (2015). To see what Shayfer is up to lately, find him on Spotify or here.
SPECIAL THANKS
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