Managing
Performance Stress
We all know the feeling of sickness
in our stomach before an important presentation
or performance. We have all experienced
the sweaty palms, the raised heart rate,
and the sense of agitation that we feel
as these events approach.
In the Understanding
Stress section of this site, we showed
that these are just unpleasant side effects
of the important fight-or-flight
response that helps us to run faster and
fight harder. A raised heart rate brings
more oxygen and blood sugar to power important
muscles. Sweaty palms are the most noticeable
part of an increase in sweating across our
bodies - this increases cooling of muscles
and helps them stay efficient. Agitation
is just a negative word for a level of increased
alertness to threat.
This section also looked at the “Inverted-U”
relationship between pressure and performance.
We saw that at low levels of pressure, we
can find it difficult to get motivated to
give a top class performance. At excessive
levels of pressure, we experience stress.
Anxieties and negative thinking crowd in
on our minds. Concentration suffers, our
focus narrows and we find it difficult to
think clearly and perform well.
Our ideal state is to manage the pressure
we experience so that we can find our own
area of peak performance. Here we can enter
the state of flow
described by Professor
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, “being
completely involved in an activity for its
own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies.
Every action, movement, and thought follows
inevitably from the previous one, like playing
jazz. Your whole being is involved, and
you're using your skills to the utmost."
This section introduces you to the important
techniques that help you to manage the performance
stress that can disrupt this state of flow.
Many of these techniques come from sport
psychology, as these are the mental techniques
that help top athletes deliver exceptional
performances under intense pressure.
And this is why good stress management
gives you a competitive edge when times
get tough.
Introducing the Tools
The first part of this section introduces
four tools that help you to ensure that
you are fully prepared for the stressful
event.
The first of these, “Anticipating
Stress” helps you to think through
the upcoming event, rehearse your performance,
and understand and manage the uncertainties
that can disrupt it.
The next technique, “Thought
Awareness, Positive Thinking and Rational
Thinking” helps you to prepare
mentally to counter any negative thinking
that may cause you problems, while “Performance
Planning” gives a good framework
for brainstorming the problems and distractions
that you may encounter before the event.
This helps you to prepare to manage them
appropriately, which can be a real boost
to self-confidence.
The final tool in this group, use of “Post-Performance
Reviews”, helps you to learn lessons
from the performance and reward yourself
for success. This helps to further build
your self-confidence.
These techniques are supported by the tools
explained in the Relaxation
Techniques section of this site. Used
together, these tools help you to prepare
well for the event and help you manage the
nerves of the occasion.
The next
article explains how to anticipate and
prepare for stressful situations...
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