Does pressure typically tend to help or hurt your performance? 

Feeling pressure is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, healthy amounts of pressure demand successful results. On the other hand, unmanageable amounts of pressure can derail those results. It’s almost second nature to feel pressure from yourself, your coach, your teammates, the scoreboard, the crowd, the opposing team, and so many other sources. Some people thrive on this pressure and their performance flourishes, while others become intimidated by the pressure and “choke” in their performance as a result. Picture yourself sitting in first place during a medal final that you worked all year to qualify for. Hoping to keep the lead and win the class, there is one last work-off round. After hearing the test, the judge tells everyone to switch horses. Not only do you have to execute a difficult test beautifully, but you also must do it on an unfamiliar horse. Most riders would feel a level of pressure in this scenario, some more than others. For non-riders, think of the last penalty kick in a championship soccer game. If the player scores, their team wins the final, but if they miss then the game is over and they lose. These are examples of very pressure-filled, “clutch” moments, but some people feel similar amounts of pressure before they even mount their horse or step on the soccer field. 

If pressure is something you struggle with, you are not alone. However, pressure isn’t necessarily a negative experience, or at least it doesn’t have to be. The presence of pressure means that you care about your performance, you want to perform well, and you ultimately want to succeed at whatever activity you may be doing. Think about how you may feel in other situations outside of sport, such as making an important phone call or attending an interview for your dream job. Very few people go into important situations feeling little to no pressure, while the majority of people feel the pressure immensely. Pressure is present in daily life, but it intensifies in certain situations, such as making it to work or school on time when you’re running on time versus running late. It’s nothing new, and you don’t have to work so hard to completely eliminate the pressure. Odds are that it’s still going to be present, but there is still something you can do about it to allow your performance to thrive.  

You have the ability to learn how to keep the presence of pressure, but then shift it in your favor. What exactly does this mean? It means to take the negative pressure you are experiencing and reframe it in a manner that is both motivating and helpful to achieve a successful performance. For example, instead of feeling pressure about not making a mistake, put that energy into your performance preparation so that you are focused and have a high chance of performing successfully. Instead of worrying about what may go wrong, shift that pressure to acting upon what you actually can control in the moment. In the example of the medal final, instead of feeling pressure about holding the lead and winning the class, focus on planning and executing your final work-off round. For the example of the penalty kick, hone in on what needs to be done to make the goal rather than filling your mind about the possibility of missing the goal. The point is to reinvent the pressure in a positive manner and use that new, useful energy to your advantage. Negative pressure is valid, but feeding off it will only result in a decrement in your performance. You’re able to thrive off the pressure when you welcome it in and use it in a way that favors your performance. Your mindset goes from, “What if I mess up and choke?” to, “What do I need to do in order to perform at my best right now?”. This mindset takes the threat out of potential performance outcomes and replaces it with empowerment and control over your performance.

Pressure is not bad unless it is framed in a negative manner and perceived as a negative experience. The key is to first recognize it, reinvent it into something useful, then thrive off of it. You have the power to view all types of pressure in a positive light. If you feel as if you are experiencing negative, stressful pressure, remember that you have the ability to shift and reframe it in your favor. Anything can happen in performance and many of those outcomes cannot always be controlled. What we do have control over is ourselves, and it starts by changing the way we view and perceive the experience of pressure. The next time that pressure seems to be negatively affecting you, think of how you can shift it in your favor, invite it into your performance, and use it to your advantage. Take all that energy and put it towards something useful that will set you up for future success. So long as you do everything in your power to have a successful performance, then you have done all that you can do. Some days we win, most days we learn, but on all those days we have the power to transform negative pressure into positive energy for performance.  

The next time you feel the unbearable weight of pressure on your performance outcomes, remember that it is a natural and common human experience! You don’t have to let the pressure affect you in a negative manner. You have the ability to take all that energy and channel it into an area that will influence successful performance. View the negative pressure as evidence that you care and want to perform at your best. Then, shift your focus on what needs to be done to achieve just that performance. You can transform your thoughts and “talk back” to negative thoughts that tend to pop up automatically. Remember, you are in control of yourself and don’t have to take the first thought that pops up and run with it! Shift any negative pressure into your performance preparation, let go of the “what ifs”, and focus on what you can do and have power over to achieve a successful performance. If you would like more guidance on this topic, please reach out!