Building High Achieving Resilience with Dr. Carla Caturia
In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with Dr. Carla Caturia, an elite mental performance coach, former educator, and founder of The House of Rise. Together, they explore the hidden mental health struggles facing today’s high-achieving youth—young men and athletes who crush it in academics and sports on the outside, yet wrestle with crippling anxiety, burnout, and self-doubt behind closed doors. Dr. Caturia breaks down why kids put intense pressure on themselves to attach their identity to external achievements and how parents inadvertently reinforce praise-seeking behavior.
Key Takeaways
- Praise the Process Over the Outcome: Praising results can accidentally teach kids to work for external approval; redirecting focus back to their internal experience builds lasting self-trust.
- Embrace Productive Struggle: Shielding kids from failure deprives them of essential problem-solving skills, making low-stakes failures in middle school or sports crucial learning opportunities.
- Train in the Mind Gym: Mental conditioning, emotional regulation, and pattern recognition require daily intentional practice just like physical training.
- Regulate Before You Relate: Parents cannot force motivation onto their sons; instead, parents must manage their own emotional reactions, step back, and observe before correcting.
- Master the Four Pillars: Sustainable self-worth relies on systematically developing Resiliency, Identity, Self-confidence, and Emotional intelligence.
00:00:00 - Praising Kids Through Self Reflection
00:00:23 - Guest Intro Dr. Carla Katuria
00:02:06 - High Achievement and Youth Anxiety
00:04:03 - Gender Differences in Athlete Burnout
00:06:48 - Separating Performance From Self Worth
00:08:29 - Shifting Mindsets Over External Motivation
00:11:00 - Allowing Productive Struggle in Youth
00:13:43 - Risks of Early Sports Specialization
00:16:48 - The RISE Framework Pillars
00:20:44 - Pattern Recognition and Mindset Resetting
00:24:14 - Achieving Flow and Strategic Recovery
00:31:00 - Essential Parenting Principles for Sons
Books, Links and Frameworks Mentioned
- The RISE Framework: A four-pillar performance model focusing on Resiliency, Identity, Self-confidence, and Emotional intelligence.
- The House of RISE: Dr. Carla Caturia’s organization and mental performance coaching platform.
- The Mind Gym Concept: A mental exercise approach for recognizing emotional patterns and building self-regulation alongside physical athletic training.
- Flow State & Recovery Cycle: The intersection of skill and challenge to achieve peak performance while integrating essential mental and physical recovery.