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13 Secrets to Performing Well Under Pressure
Listen to music
By listening to music, you're able to literally distract yourself from your anxiety.
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High-pressure moments as a (fun) challenge
Most people see "pressure situations" as threatening, and that makes them perform even less well.
But, "when you see the pressure as a challenge, you are stimulated to give the attention and energy needed to make your best effort."
To practice, build "challenge thinking" into your daily life.
One of many opportunities
Is this high-pressure situation a good opportunity? Sure. Is it the only opportunity you will ever have for the rest of your life? Probably not.
Before an interview or a big meeting, give yourself a pep talk: "I will have other interviews" (or presentations or sales calls).
Focus on the task
Instead of worrying about the outcome, worry about the task at hand.
That means developing tunnel vision. When you keep your eye on the task at hand (and only the task at hand), all you can see is the concrete steps necessary to excel.
Plan for the worst
"What-if" scenarios can be your friend. By letting yourself play out the worst-case outcomes, you're able to brace yourself for them.
The key here is that you're anticipating the unexpected. Instead of panicking, you'll be able to (better) "maintain your composure and continue your task to the best of your ability."
Take control
In a pressure moment, there are factors you have control over and factors you don't.
Focus on the factors you can control, not on the "uncontrollables," that could intensify the pressure, increase your anxiety, and ultimately undermine your confidence.
Remember your past success
Remembering your past success ignites confidence. You did it before, and you can do it again.
Once you're feeling good about yourself, you'll be better able to cut through anxiety and take care of business.
Be positive
Belief in a successful outcome can prevent you from worry that can drain and distract your working memory.
Anxiety and fear are stripped from the equation, allowing you to act with confidence.
Get in touch with your senses
When you're under a deadline and the world feels like it's crashing in, you're particularly prone to making careless errors.
To depressurize the situation, focus on the here and now. Tune into your senses. What do you see? What do you hear? How's your breathing?
Listen to music
By listening to music, you're able to literally distract yourself from your anxiety.
Create a pre-performance routine
The idea here is to create a (brief) routine that you go through in the minutes before you present or perform, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry suggest.
A "pre-routine" prevents you from becoming distracted, keeps you focused, and puts you in the "zone" by signaling to your body it's time to perform.
Slow down
When you're in a high-pressure situation, it's natural to speed up your thinking. It can lead you to act before you're ready.
Slow down. Give yourself a second to breathe and formulate a plan. You'll think more flexibly, creatively, attentively, and your work will be all the better for it.
Share the pressure
Telling someone else about the pressure you're feeling has been proven to reduce anxiety and stress.
Sharing your feelings allows you to examine them, challenge their reality, and view a pressure situation in a realistic manner.
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For example, in a meeting, you could be processing:
- what happened in your last meeting with her;
When you're stressed
If during a meeting, you perceive an emotional threat, your brain will release stress hormones that will attempt to remove complexity from the situation. These stress chemicals will flush out bits of data that seem unimportant.
If just one bit of data is flushed out of your rational brain, you will be left with 120 options. (5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120). It effectively means that you just lost 600 possibilities.
Higher-order thinking
When your creative, higher-order thinking fades due to stress, all you are left with is binary thinking; Yes-no, now-or-never thinking. This makes it impossible to be innovative or to engage in any form of value creation.
You can get back to the 720 possibilities by restoring your higher-order thinking.
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