Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
By Rachel Sugar
Let's get this out of the way right now: Nobody performs well under pressure. A lot of us think we do, but we don't, or, at least, we don't perform as well as we could perform.
We may feel more creative when we're under the gun, but it's a feeling,
not a reality. It's true that you might be more productive, but the
products you create are usually worse.
In their new book, "Performing Under Pressure: The Science of Doing Your Best When It Matters Most,"
Hendrie Weisinger and J.P. Pawliw-Fry deliver the sad truth: The
difference between regular people and ultra-successful people is not
that the latter group thrives under pressure. It's that they're better
able to mitigate its negative effects.
Or maybe that's good news, because, as they lay out in the book,
handling pressure is a skill, and you can learn it. In the book, they
offer 22 tactics for doing your best when the heat is on. We took a deep
breath and picked out 13 of our favorites.
Think of high-pressure moments as a (fun) challenge, not a life-or-death threat.
Most people see "pressure situations" as threatening, and that makes
them perform even less well. "Seeing pressure as a threat undermines
your self-confidence; elicits fear of failure; impairs your short-term
memory, attention, and judgment; and spurs impulsive behavior,"
Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry write. "It also saps your energy."
In short, interpreting pressure as threat is generally very bad.
Instead, try shifting your thoughts: Instead of seeing a danger
situation, see a challenge.
"When you see the pressure as a challenge, you are stimulated to give
the attention and energy needed to make your best effort," they write.
To practice, build "challenge thinking" into your daily life: It's not
just a project; it's an opportunity to see if you can make it your best
project ever.
Remind yourself that this is just 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.
"The fact is, it is realistic to think that additional opportunities
will come your way," Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry write, who encourage you
to consider how many people needed multiple chances to ultimately
succeed. (We have a few examples here.)
Before an interview or a big meeting, give yourself a pep talk, they
advise: "I will have other interviews" (or presentations or sales
calls).
Focus on the task, not the outcome.
This might be the easiest tactic of all, according to Weisinger and
Pawliw-Fry: Instead of worrying about the outcome, worry about the task
at hand.
That means developing tunnel vision, they explain. 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.
For a student writing a paper, that means concentrating on doing stellar
research — not obsessing about the ultimate grade, what will happen if
you don't get it, and whether you should have majored in economics after
all.
Let yourself plan for the worst.
"What-if" scenarios can be your friend. By letting yourself play out the
worst-case outcomes, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry say, you're able to brace
yourself for them.
What if you're giving a presentation and you lose all your slides? What
if you find out at the last minute you only have half the time you
thought you did? What if, three minutes before you're supposed to begin,
you spill coffee all over your shirt?
The key here is that you're anticipating the unexpected. "It can protect
you from a pressure surge by allowing you to prepare for and thus be
less startled by 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.
But when you focus on those "uncontrollables," you end up intensifying
the pressure, increasing your anxiety, and ultimately undermining your
confidence, write Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry. What you want to do is focus
on the factors you can control.
In the case of an interview, for example, don't let yourself think about
who else might have applied for the job, ways the manager could be
biased against you, or whether the interviewer will like your outfit.
The only thing that matters? Preparing to show them you're right for the
role.
Flash back to your past successes.
"Remembering your past success ignites confidence," Weisinger and
Pawliw-Fry write. "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 before and during high-pressure moments.
In what comes as a surprise to no one (but bears repeating anyway), cultivating a positive attitude goes a long way.
"Belief in a successful outcome can prevent you from worry that can
drain and distract your working memory," Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry
explain. "Anxiety and fear are stripped from the equation, allowing you
to act with confidence." This will work out. You will be great. You're
going to succeed.
Get in touch with your senses.
When you're under deadline and the world feels like it's crashing in,
you're particularly prone to making careless errors — slips you never
would have made if you'd felt on top of the situation.
To depressurize the situation, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry advise focusing
on the here and now. Tune into your senses, they say. What do you see?
What do you hear? How's your breathing?
Listen to music — or make some.
"What makes this pressure solution so effective is that it reduces the
culprit behind choking — increased anxiety," Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry
explain.
By listening to music, you're able to literally distract yourself from
your anxiety. And conveniently, this trick is extremely easy to put into
practice: The next time you're facing a high-pressure situation — a big
presentation, for example — spend the few minutes before listening to
your pump-up tunes right up until it's time to take the stage.
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 (how can you panic
when you're doing your push-ups?), keeps you focused, and puts you in
the "zone" by signaling to your body it's time to perform. Here are
their tips for creating yours:
- Keep it short
- Do it immediately before The Event
- Include a mental component (reviewing key points, anticipating the types of problems your about to face, etc.)
- Include a physical component (breathing, power posing, etc.)
- Include a visualization of yourself succeeding
- Finish with an "anchor word or phrase that signals you're ready for showtime"
Slow down.
When you're in a high-pressure situation, it's natural to speed up your thinking. Don't do it!
Moving too fast often leads you to act before you're ready. You don't
think as clearly as you normally would, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry
observe. You jump to conclusions. You miss key information.
The solution? Slow down. Give yourself a second to breathe and formulate
a plan. You'll think more flexibly, creatively, and attentively, they
promise, and your work will be all the better for it.
Squeeze a ball (really).
Yes, "stress balls" are an office cliché — but according to Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry there's a good reason for that: They work.
One of the reasons you clam up in high-pressure situations is that
there's a constant, unhelpful thought loop running through your head.
"How am I doing?" you keep wondering, even though you're doing fine — or
you would be, if you could shut your brain up.
That's where the stress ball comes in. When you squeeze a ball with your
left hand, you're able to activate the parts of your brain that control
unconscious responses, while simultaneously suppressing the parts of
your brain that oversees self-conscious thinking.
Share the pressure.
Telling someone else about the pressure you're feeling has been proven
to reduce anxiety and stress, Weisinger and Pawliw-Fry report.
But there's another bonus: Sharing your feelings allows you to "examine
them, challenge their reality, and view a pressure situation in a
realistic manner." And it's likely the person you're sharing your
feelings with will have some feedback, too — feedback you might never
have gotten had you stewed solo.
Keep this in mind: You may not be the only one feeling the heat. If
you're under pressure about a work project, there's a good chance
raising the issue will make everyone feel less alone.
