Sidd Sampla

@Basesuk Sport & Exercise Scientist (Psychology)

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

In the light of #Easter, let us allow ourselves to be amazed by Christ! Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us! Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!

[Prof. Carl Sagan @ProfCarlSagan]

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

- Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

[Adam Schwarz @AdamJSchwarz]

She never lived to see this moment, but it’s worth remembering that none of this would have happened without Virginia Giuffre.

She had the courage to speak out against power & privilege when it was just her word against Andrew’s.

Thanks to her, justice may finally have its day.

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

Beautiful. Welldone Manchester.

[CaughtOffside @caughtoffside]

🚨 Pep Guardiola hits back at Jim Ratcliffe: "We treat immigrants or people that come from other countries like they are the ones causing problems for our country. It's a big problem because the fact I am Catalan and you are British? What influence did we have on where we were born?

"Everyone wants to have a better life, everyone wants to have a better future for themselves and their families. Sometimes the opportunities are where you are born and sometimes it is in the place where you go.

"The colour of your skin or the place where you were born don't make a difference.

"Most people run away from their countries for the problems that are in their country, not because they want to leave.

"The more we embrace other cultures, truly embrace it, then we will have a better society - I do not have any doubts about that."

[UtdDistrict @UtdDistrict]

🚨🎙️ | Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's immigration comments:

"If ANY criticism is needed, it should be directed towards those who have offered LITTLE contribution to our life here and have instead spent years siphoning wealth OUT of one of our proudest institutions..." 😳

[Kick It Out @kickitout]

Kick It Out statement:

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments are disgraceful and deeply divisive at a time when football does so much to bring communities together.

In addition to the inaccurate figures mentioned, it’s worth reminding him that Manchester United has a diverse fan base and plays in a city whose cultural history has been enriched by immigrants.

This type of language and leadership has no place in English football, and we believe most fans will feel the same.

[Scotty @arghkid]

In light of Sir Jim's colonised quotes, I'd like to bring attention to the words of Eric Cantona...

[The Overlap @WeAreTheOverlap]

“I don’t think they are ready for a black superstar!” 🗣️

A powerful response from @IanWright0 following Jude Bellingham’s recent criticism in the media.

Watch the full conversation now on The Overlap YouTube channel.

[Sidd Sampla @PsychSidd]

Really important perspective here,
it invites athletes to hold identity lightly, detach from performance narratives, and return to process, which is what allows us to move ahead.

[Bayern & Germany @iMiaSanMia]

Kompany on the 16 wins in a row: "I always tell my players: 'When there's hype please don't believe it, you're not that good - and when you lose a game or you have a bad performance, don't believe that you're bad, you're not that bad' - that's something I always keep with me. Now we've won 16. But from tomorrow it's back to zero and we have to win the next game"

[Spencer Hakimian @SpencerHakimian]

“When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist”, the Nobel Committee said in its citation.

Wow.

[Eddie Burfi @EddieBurfi]

Big up the man in the checked shirt.

“The vast majority of people in this country live very happily and very peacefully together.”

“Tonight you will say everything is about immigration…. not everything in this country is the ‘problem of immigration’.”

#bbcqt

[Sky Sports News @SkySportsNews]

Brentford's Kristoffer Ajer spoke with club psychologist Michael Caulfield and David Richardson about the importance of having a safe space to talk.

The Premier League have launched Together Against Suicide, an initiative to support fans affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts.

[Sidd Sampla @PsychSidd]

"Pressure is a privilege" is an often used phrase, but it can be problematic.

Why?

👉🏽 Romanticizes stress, glorifying environments that may be usafe or unsustainable.

👉🏽 Not all pressure is equal. For some athletes, pressure stems from toxic coaching or financial precarity.

[Sidd Sampla @PsychSidd]

Sometimes, life stays hard longer than you imagined and anticipated. Some days feel heavy, and you can't show up the way you hoped. Yet you're still expected to keep going. On those days, let it be slow. Let it be kind. Let it be gentle. You’re allowed to move through it softly.

[Sidd Sampla @PsychSidd]

Myth: “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

Truth: Applying peak effort to every task isn’t noble, it is unsustainable. We’re sold the idea that every small act defines us. But chasing perfection in everything is a fast track to burnout.

[Sidd Sampla @PsychSidd]

Thinking about winning doesn’t make you win.
Thinking about losing doesn’t make you lose.
It’s the grip we tighten around outcomes, our need for control, our fear of falling, that keeps us stuck.
Let go. Detach. Move with purpose & presence. That’s where performance lives.

[Michael 'Buck' Maris @buckotb]

People reduce Dele Alli’s career to a Mourinho soundbite, ignoring the fact he was abused as a child, grew up in foster care, and still made it to the top of world football. That’s not failure that’s resilience. His story is a success, no matter what comes next.

[Sidd Sampla @PsychSidd]

Refine success on your own terms.
It doesn't have to just be outcomes, medals & trophies.

Success can also be:

➡️ Personal best
➡️ Growing as a person
➡️ Lifting others as you rise
➡️ Being someone others feel inspired around
➡️ Overcoming hurdles
➡️ Making memories

[Brad Stulberg @BStulberg]

A study with over 70K people found those who obsess about being the best have much worse outcomes than those who are focused on being the best at getting better, and who define success on their own terms.

[Sidd Sampla @PsychSidd]

Your mind will wander—it's what minds do. The practice isn’t stopping it. The practice is returning, again and again, with patience and presence.