Aaron Rodgers has won back to back MVP awards, and he’s worked that level of play into a four-year, $200 million contract. He can credit his success to some unorthodox methods as well.
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The Packers quarterback has turned in some of the most impressive quarterback seasons in recent memory. It’s not just that he’s lighting teams up with gaudy passing numbers, but he’s also limiting his turnovers to historic rates.
Of course, Rodgers is proud of the work he’s put into winning his MVP titles, but he’s also definitely unhappy that he hasn’t been able to turn that regular season success into Super Bowl victories.
The Packers have been the NFC favorites to make the Super Bowl the past two years, but they haven’t been able to make it over the hump. First, the Buccaneers knocked them out in the NFC Championship round, and then last year, he was surprisingly taken out by the 49ers in the divisional round.
However, Rodgers’ play was never the problem with the Packers, and the star quarterback turned his performances into a four-year, $200 million extension this offseason.
Aaron Rodgers had a ‘trip’ that resulted in the best years of his career
The last two years have been sensational for Rodgers. He’s 38 years old, and yet he’s playing like he’s the best player in the league, at the prime of his career.
Rodgers recently opened up about how a certain ‘trip’ helped him reach peak performance and stabilize his mental health. Rodgers appeared on the Aubrey Marcus podcast and talked about how he took magic mushrooms, ingested ayahuasca, and took other psychedelics in Machu Picchu before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We talk so much about mental health. Marshawn Lynch had a classic retirement press conference talking about taking care of your mentals. We talk so much about mental health, and to me one of the core tenants of your mental health is self love. That’s what ayahuasca did for me.”
“It helped me see how to unconditionally love myself. It’s only in that unconditional self love that I’m truly able to unconditionally love others. ”
“What better way to work on my mental health than to have an experience like that. The greatest gift I can give my teammates is to show up and be someone who can model unconditional love to them. Obviously it’s important I play well and show up and lead all that stuff. But they won’t care about what you say until they know how much you care.”
The Packers quarterback described ayahuasca as having “100 different hands on [his] body.” It’s definitely a more unconventional method, but if it worked for the Packers quarterback, then maybe there’s something other NFL players should look into when it comes to psychedelics and drugs.
You can see Rodgers’ talk about his experience here.
