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Under Pressure – Are You A Winner or A Choker?

Guest post by: Susan Bagyura

Article Overview: Have you ever noticed that some people seem to thrive under pressure? Surely there are people that do perform better under pressure; it’s as though the situation actually gives them more power, strength and determination. It is a matter of how they have learned or been conditioned to react to crisis situations. A crisis is a situation that can either make or break you. If you react well to a crisis, it can empower you with strength, wisdom, intuition, timing that you normally don’t possess. In order to perform well under pressure, we need to learn certain skills. Basically here's a short list of 5 attitudes and skills one must learn, exercise and develop to come out on top in crunch situations. Remember, above all else, that you are the key to any crisis situation. Learn and practice these simple techniques.

Under Pressure – Are You A Winner or A Choker?

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to thrive under pressure? I can’t count the number of times that I’ve seen Tiger Woods down the leader board by being 6 over on the 3rd day of a 4-day tournament only to come back the next day to take the winnings. I’ve seen it in football games just at the point when you are ready to walk out because nothing is happening and suddenly 2 scores comes out of nowhere.

On the other hand, have you seen really good players get to a point of contention and they lose it? They had the advantage or as we say, it was theirs to lose, and they actually do. They choke right at the critical point.

You may have seen this in the corporate world as well. There one CEO running a company and just making a botch of it. Then the next one comes in with the same people, products, services, etc., and they achieve phenomenal growth.

What is it that makes the difference between the two? It isn’t skill; as both the winner and the loser are skillful. It isn’t that one made mistakes and the other didn’t; both had their share of mistakes. Surely there are people that do perform better under pressure; it’s as though the situation actually gives them more power, strength and determination.

There are students who fully understand the coursework, perform well in classes and on their homework, but choke when it comes to a test or an examination. Conversely there are students that are just average in the classroom and they ace the exam without any difficulty.

Understanding why pressure makes some people perform better while wrecking havoc with another person’s performance is key to consistently, reliably and assuredly being at your best. You see, what it all gets down to in the end is the person’s self-image and their internal gauge setting in response to pressure.

The difference between the people in all of these situations is not an inherent quality that one either has or doesn’t have. It is a matter of how they have learned or been conditioned to react to crisis situations.

A crisis is a situation that can either make or break you. If you react well to a crisis, it can empower you with strength, wisdom, intuition, timing that you normally don’t possess. However, if you react improperly, the crisis can leave you feeling unskilled, inexperienced, weak and out of control.

The people that come through in a clutch, thrive under pressure, and are highly paid for their performance. Their lifetime earnings can easily be 5, 10 even 100 times more than their counterparts.

In order to perform well under pressure, we need to learn:

1) certain skills under pressure-free conditions. This allows one to practice without being over-motivated.

2) to react to crisis with aggressive, rather than a defensive attitude. This way, we respond to the challenge in the situation rather than the pressure and keep our focus on a positive goal.

3) to evaluate the crisis situation in its true perspective rather than making a mountain out of anthill. When we make it much bigger than it is, it could defeat us unnecessarily.

Basically there is a short list of 5 attitudes and skills one must learn, exercise and develop to come out on top in crunch situations.

1) We must practice without pressure and where we feel safe. Being thrown off a diving board and told to swim might give rise to someone somehow getting themselves over to the edge of the pool, but it doesn’t create a championship swimmer.

There’s a story from a famous boxer where he coined the phase ‘shadow boxing’. He actually developed his timing and perfect control by looking at his image in a mirror more than 10,000 times in preparation for a bout. People in all types of professions practice their craft/skill in this type of safe environment to prepare them for the real thing.

2) It’s all about making your nerves work for you. Every so-called crisis is really just a fork in the road. Instead of focusing on what the other person is doing or might do, just think about what you want to have happen, feel that you can make it happen and then just do it.

3) Keeping your goal in mind. Have the intention that you will go through the crisis experience in order to achieve your goal. By looking at it this way, you actually release additional power which helps you achieve the goal. An important thing to remember is that each crisis has a different opportunity to accomplish something linked to your ultimate goal.

4) Don’t mistake excitement for fear. Everyone is always nervous or apprehensive just before a crisis situation and some people mistakenly see this as a sign of inadequacy. It’s not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of additional strength that you must direct towards your goal.

5) Hold an image of yourself as someone who responds well to crisis and is frequently successful at finding opportunity in adversity. The person who sees themselves as no good in an emergency certainly isn’t.

Remember, above all else, that you are the key to any crisis situation. Practice and learn the simple techniques. You will soon see that you can make crisis situations work for you by making them a creative opportunity for you to shine.

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Article Tags: attitudes and skills, choker, crisis sitution, intuition, learning new skills, perform better under pressure, wisdom



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