Introduction
Many of us have been in situations where the strain is not only on us, but also on others. It could be as simple as a job interview or as serious as presenting a presentation at work. In this essay, I will discuss how to keep calm under pressure and potentially provide you some strategies that will help you in your daily life and possibly even in your work.
Choking
Your favorite athlete is closing in on a victory. The audience hangs its breath as she misses the important shot. The contestant had just experienced the phenomena known as “choking,” in which a person fails when it matters most, despite months or even years of effort. Choking is common in sports, since performance is frequently under pressure and is dependent on important moments. Nonetheless, performance anxiety affects public speakers, spelling bee contestants, and even world-famous artists. Most people blame it on nerves, but why does being nervous affect expert performance?
School of Thoughts
There are two schools of thought that contend that choking under pressure is mostly caused by a lack of focus. First, there are theories on distraction. These findings imply that performance suffers when the mind is engaged with worries, doubts, or anxieties rather than focusing on the task at hand. Something has to give when relevant and irrelevant thoughts compete for the same attention. The brain can only handle so much information at one time. Working memory tasks, the mental “scratch pad” we use to temporarily store phone numbers and grocery lists, are particularly subject to stress.
A group of university students were challenged to answer math questions, some simple, others more complicated and memory-intensive, in a 2004 study. Half of the students finish both types of problems with nothing, whereas the other half complete them while calm and under pressure. While everyone performed well on the simple challenges, those who were stressed out performed worse on the more difficult memory-intensive tasks.
Explicit monitoring
The second group of theories for choking under pressure is explicit monitoring theories. They are concerned about how stress can lead to people overthinking the work at hand. The argument here is that once a talent has become automatic, thinking about its specific mechanics interferes with your ability to perform it. Unconscious tasks appear to be the most sensitive to this type of choking.
A study of competitive golfers compared their performance, when told to focus entirely on putting as accurately as possible. versus when they were primed to be highly aware of their putting stroke mechanics. Golfers typically conduct this activity subconsciously, thus those who suddenly focus in to the minute details of their own movements become less accurate. Choking may not be unavoidable for everyone. According to research, some people are more vulnerable than others, particularly those who are self-conscious, restless, or fearful of being judged poorly by others.
How can we avoid choking when it really counts?
First, it helps to practice under stressful conditions. In a study on expert dart players, researchers found that those who hadn’t practiced under stress performed worse under stress, compared to those who had become accustomed to pressure.
Secondly, many performers extol the virtues of per-performance routines, whether it’s taking a few deep breaths , repeating cue words, or doing a rhythmic sequence of movements. Studies on golfing, bowling, and water polo find that short rituals can lead to more consistent and accurate performance under pressure.
Third, studies have indicated that having an outward focus on the end goal works better than having an internal focus, in which someone is absorbed by the mechanics of what they are doing. A study of experienced golfers found that those who focused on the flight of the ball when hitting chip shots performed significantly better than those who focused on the action of their arms. So, to paraphrase an old adage, practice, under pressure, with focus, and with that lovely end-goal understanding, makes perfect.
Conclusion
When you’re nervous, it’s easy to become flustered and lose your cool. Take a deep breath and realize that you have all the time in the world to do, what you need to do to stay cool under pressure. This will relieve stress and allow you to concentrate on your task.