“We can all perform poorly under pressure and we can all succeed under pressure.”
~ Sian Beilock, Author of Choke
The big game. The final meet. Qualifying for State. Qualifying for Nationals. The presentation that feels like “do or die”. The race or game being watched by recruiters. These are all situations that we face. For some, the pressure and anxiety can feel overwhelming and impair our performance. Others may see anxiety and worry spill over into their day-to-day performances. Whether you’re looking to control performance anxiety or want to learn how to focus your mental training to be MORE prepared, these 7 tips will help.
1. PERFORMANCE DAY ROUTINE
Routines let our brains and bodies rest, while decreasing stress and anxiety. We know, more or less, what to expect and we can rely on those things. Depending on the ‘bigness’ of what you are preparing for, you may want to write it down. Write out your schedule. What time do you arrive? When are warm-ups or practice? When is go time? As you complete each part of your schedule, such as eating, warm-ups, stretching, and visualizing, you are accumulating wins, building confidence, and remaining in control.
2. USE ANXIETY AS FUEL
When reviewing your schedule, you may ruminate on things several times. To help stop yourself, think about how you can prepare for those things. If you’re traveling, what should you bring with you? Do you need extra? Pre-pack. Do you need to remember something later you’re afraid you’ll forget? Set an alarm on your phone for when you can receive the alarm. Will you be in a place to do what the reminder is supposed to do? Utilize flexible thinking if your brain is running through “what-if” scenarios.
If this happens, then….. Use your anxiety as fuel by planning, preparing, packing, etc. If your “what-if’s” are irrational, move on. Don’t waste time on irrational thinking.
*Download your FREE guide to Use Anxiety As Fuel https://www.psychedge.club/form-download
3. FIND COMFORTABLE IN THE UNCOMFORTABLE – MENTAL TRAINING
“If you're training to give a performance on stage or a pitch to a client or even an athletic event, you've gotta train under the conditions you're gonna perform under. And I talk about it as closing this gap between training and competition because it is a different skill you’re learning to some extent, to do it when other people are watching you. That's why taking practice tests can be so important. “ ~ Sian Beilock
So how do we do this? Focus on your mental game plan. PsychEdge helps clients put together mental game plans to find comfort in the uncomfortable. These may include patterned breathing and awareness, SMARTER Goals, self-talk such as affirmations and cue words, a growth mindset to increase resilience, emotional intelligence, and visualization.
Finding comfort in the uncomfortable can be inducing anxiety when there isn’t anxiety to desensitize yourself and mentally practice, so that you’re not as nervous as you thought you’d be. Practice feeling pressure and rehearsing those feelings and self-managing them. Find and create opportunities to manage pressure and anxiety in order to self-manage your emotions and condition yourself to perform well. We need to practice how we want to perform.
4. RECOGNIZE STRESS AND ANXIETY ARE NORMAL
We are human. We need stress to grow. Anxiety helps us protect ourselves. These are natural and normal emotions that everyone encounters, but not everyone knows how to manage them. Expect a surge of adrenaline or shorter breaths that you intentionally lengthen to calm yourself. Expect people to be watching, taking photos, yelling, etc. As I say, find a way to “lean into it”. Do not beat yourself up or think something is wrong with you if you have anxiety or get overwhelmed. We are all human and experience stress, anxiety, and being overwhelmed. Have self-compassion. Learn how to manage it.
5. STAY POSITIVE AND FLEXIBLE
Make it a priority to “go with the flow”. If something happens or changes, choose to accept it to figure out how you’re going to roll with it and make things still work for you. There are ways to deal with things and/or navigate around things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. If we want to perform well, we will exhaust every resource possible.
Vulnerability breeds growth!
*Example: “I didn't think I could do this before and I was really successful.” Positive changes in mindset can be really helpful.
6. DO IT YOUR WAY
Although we are all human, we are all unique. Maybe giving a presentation, someone needs more affirmations and positive self-talk, whereas a cross-country runner or swimmer needs more visualization.
We all need patterned breathing to control our minds and body. Some get lost in funny shorts on their phones. Many utilize music. Maybe certain genres, beats, or particular artists. Mental training can include thinking of a song in your head over and over again. The monotony can help us. It’s like routine, giving our brain a chance to chill. Repeat the same song. Repeat the same mental game plan. Focus on patterned breathing counts.
Remember previous successes to build confidence and know you can do it again or perform even better.
7. DON’T FOCUS ON THE PRESSURE
The only time to focus on the pressure is when we’re trying to induce pressure and anxiety to accept reality, mentally train, and self-manage our emotions. Outside of this, focusing on the pressures is only distraction, pulling our heads out of the game or performance. Focus on being mindful, music, mental game plan, form or skill, visualizations, etc. We are not ignorant of the pressure and know it’s there, but focusing on it will only impair our performance. This is why we mentally train!
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