WVU sport psychology expert explains science behind sticking to resolutions

WVU sports psychology researcher Sam Zizzi is an expert on how athletes and others can use mindfulness to achieve "flow state," or mental control, which can be helpful in maintaining New Year's resolutions. (WVU Photo)

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Sam Zizzi 's return to West Virginia University wasn't supposed to be permanent.

A native West Virginian who had traveled out of state for his undergraduate and master's degrees, Zizzi expected to leave again after completing his doctorate at WVU. When his academic advisor left the University unexpectedly, however, he stepped into what he thought was a temporary faculty role.

That was 25 years ago.

"I never planned on coming back to West Virginia," he said. "But sometimes your career finds you before you recognize it."

Now, the Dr. Pat Fehl Endowed Professor at the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences is an expert in sport, exercise and performance psychology, intent on improving community health and physical activity in the state of West Virginia.

Zizzi's research wheelhouse encompasses motivation and health behavior change, including why most people abandon exercise or wellness goals within weeks of starting them, often at the beginning of a new year.

"The motivation to start is not the motivation to stick," he said. "People set big goals - run a marathon, lose 25 pounds - because they're exciting. But they rarely align those goals with real-life constraints like work, child care or health limitations. That mismatch leads to frustration, relapse and the cycle of starting over every January."

Sam Zizzi, Dr. Pat Fehl Endowed Professor, WVU College of Applied Human Sciences (WVU Photo)

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His research indicates that setting smaller, realistic goals helps resolutions stick, and that people who seek social support are more likely to succeed than those who attempt to make a change alone.

It's also important to view setbacks as feedback rather than failure, he said.

"People who experience setbacks think they have failed. But it's just information. Athletes understand that, but most adults don't apply that mindset to their own lives."

Much of Zizzi's work with athletes and other performers focuses on mindfulness. While that's a popular term, he explained that athletes often misunderstand its meaning and purpose.

"They think mindfulness is about calming down or focusing," he said. "It's not. It's about the quality of attention you bring to the moment."

He describes two major psychological approaches. Control-based approaches, like cognitive behavioral strategies, change or reframe thoughts. Acceptance-based approaches, like mindfulness, teach athletes to tolerate internal experiences - stress, perfectionism, nerves - rather than battling them.

"It's freedom for some athletes," he said. "They realize they don't have to fight every thought or feeling. Those thoughts and feelings aren't facts."

Zizzi teaches sport psychology students different approaches for helping athletes train their brains, not just their bodies. Athletes who use acceptance-based strategies, for instance, tolerate stress and perfectionism rather than fighting those feelings. (WVU Photo/Corey Roberts)

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Some of Zizzi's more recent studies have examined whether mindfulness can be effectively taught in team settings and how meditation affects athletes' mental focus or "flow state." His findings indicate mindfulness and meditation can play a role in whether athletes thrive on the field or at school. Some athletes apply mindfulness-based interventions to performance, while others find the biggest benefit of mindfulness to be in academics or stress management.

"There are many well-being or mental health-related outcomes," he said. "We've shown that interventions can be successful."

Students from all over the world come to the College of Applied Human Sciences to study with Zizzi and his colleagues in the sport psychology program, which he called "one of the shining spots at WVU. We are a mecca for sport-psych training. Our grads have gone on to the highest level in the field, so we're attracting amazing students at the PhD level, and they're engaged in the research process."

His approach spans both sides of sport psychology - mental performance and mental health.

Graduate students in the program develop dual expertise, becoming licensed mental health professionals as well as certified mental performance consultants. They learn how to help performers of all kinds manage pressure, navigate competition, improve focus and maintain well-being.

"A coach is trying to get a team ready to compete," he explained. "But a sport psychologist is trained to support performance and well-being through entirely different tools. It's very human work. AI can't replicate it. You need real interpersonal connection."

Zizzi's undergraduate students practice communication and applied performance skills that will help them work effectively with teams and individuals. This has included collaborations with the WVU School of Music and the WVU School of Theatre and Dance, as well as conducting wellness-focused programs with the WVU College of Law.

As a researcher and professor, Zizzi specializes in both sides of sport psychology, helping athletes hone their mental performance while also helping them protect their mental health. (WVU Photo/Corey Roberts)

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"We work with Waynesburg University and Fairmont State, too," he said. "So it's a win for the community, it's a win for our students. We're providing hundreds of service hours within the University and in the community every year."

Beyond the classroom, Zizzi serves as associate director for research and evaluation at the WVU Center for Active West Virginia, where he helps lead the WVU land-grant mission to support healthier communities by increasing physical activity levels of adults and children around the state.

West Virginia consistently ranks near the bottom in national health indicators, but at the Center for ActiveWV, Zizzi focuses on success.

"We highlight the things that are going well," he said. "We have partners around the state - tiny towns, schools and community organizations that are doing amazing things with very little money. We've traveled to many counties. I've really enjoyed that part of being a West Virginian and getting to honor that work."

ActiveWV brings in grant funding and invests it in communities that need it most. In partnership with counties and schools, support has gone to community design projects, local physical activity programs and improvements to infrastructure.

Despite his early desire to leave West Virginia, Zizzi's choice to stay has made all the difference.

"This place has shaped everything about my career," he said. "The students, the community work, the chance to honor the good things happening here - it turned into something beautiful. I'm staying to the end."

-WVU-