The Pressure Principle
The Pressure Principle starts with Anxiety because that is the source of the majority of our problems with pressure. It is through our perception of a threat, usually in objectively non-threatening circumstances, that our worries about our performance and our stress levels begin to increase. Our nerves produce the physical effects of our anxiety – the butterflies in our stomachs, the tightness in our chests – that can be mobilized and used to our advantage. By understanding and becoming more conscious of the effect our anxieties have upon us, we can, through our body language and posture, turn them into excitement.
It is our use of Language that enables us to reframe how we feel about pressure; it is language that allows us to effect this change from anxiety to excitement, so that we can begin to perceive these feelings as high-octane fuel for a great performance. It is language that can boost our self-esteem and raise our confidence – the lifeblood for any performer, be it a Premier League footballer or the sixteen-year-old school-leaver starting in the post room. It is language too, in its careless and thoughtless application, that can sadly inhibit and destroy these qualities. So it is through the use of powerful, productive language, of recognizing what we do well and setting our approach in how to do well through our affirmations, that we can give ourselves the platform to benefit from all the other aspects.
Managing Learning is simply developing the impetus to commit to improving at our own margin and from our individual starting point. We have to give ourselves the opportunity to commit to the ugly zone, the place where true improvement is made, and repeatedly hack our way through the forest to clear our paths. The ugly zone can be a tough place to be, but it’s a place we’ll never revisit if we don’t inject some enjoyment into proceedings, celebrating our successes and remembering to keep it ‘little and often’ so we don’t burn ourselves out. For those teaching others, the mantra ‘The response we get is the meaning of the message’ applies. We should always be working from the learner’s map of reality, so that we can communicate effectively and empathize accordingly. We’ve all heard someone say, ‘I’ve told them that a hundred times!’ Yes, but have you thought about changing the message?
The weighing scales of our minds is the Implicit–Explicit Balance, the importance of learning with the minimum amount of information and performing with the minimum of essential explicit thought. Too many of us attempt to start our improvement by overloading on detail and theory first and build up to the actual execution of a task, rather than having a go first and working on the detail and theory while we do so. Think about assembling flat-pack furniture, about using the information in bite-size, manageable chunks. It’s the same when we perform under pressure: thinking too much about aspects of a process we should be doing implicitly will only lead to trouble – and potentially cause a system jam.
The most productive approach to improving any skill is to see it as a Behaviour change. Take a leaf out of the dolphins’ book and learn to accept and reinforce the behaviour you want to repeat and ignore that which you don’t. Once you learn a new behaviour, remember that initially the previous one is just below the surface. In the beginning, it’s easy to slip back into old habits, to re-enter the comfort zone, but if we are able to commit to the process of repair, training and match, so that the behaviours we produce when we practise are closer to those we need when we’re doing it for real, then we will be as well prepared as possible. Never underestimate the power of effective, deliberate and enjoyable practice.
The importance of the Environment in which we perform cannot be overstated. It does as much good for a child to do a full dress rehearsal of a school play on the stage in the main hall as it does for an international rugby team to have their final team run in the stadium in which they are going to play. Familiarizing ourselves with our environment helps narrow the potential for a dislocation in our expectations, so that there are fewer nasty surprises for us when the pressure is really on. But it’s not just the match environment that is important: it is the more general environment – the culture – in which we exist. If the company culture where we work is one of inspiring initiative without fear of unnecessary repercussions, then it becomes a much more stable base for us to take measured risks and feel less pressure about the consequences. If the environment at home is one of understanding, support and encouragement, then no matter how pressured things get we have a safe haven to help alleviate the stress and give us the tools to really flourish.
Sensory Shutdown is the inevitable decrease in our awareness as the pressure mounts. Sensory shutdown affects us all, but that doesn’t mean we have to be a slave to it. We can delay its impact by adopting a routine that will keep us in the present and allow us to attend to those aspects that might otherwise become lost as the pressure rises and our awareness narrows. Through finding our own way to ‘Fly, navigate, communicate, administrate’ we can delay the impact of sensory shutdown, which will allow us to manage stress more effectively.
Finally, Thinking Correctly Under Pressure, is our formula for what to think and how to think about it when the pressure is on. Your T-CUP formula is separate from your preparation – your ‘pre-shot routine’ – and it is the method by which you can fully engage your conscious mind with specific, precise process thoughts and displace those unhelpful, destructive thoughts about the outcome. Your T-CUP develops as you do, and the more you work effectively by using other aspects of the Pressure Principle, the shorter your formula will eventually become. But thinking correctly under pressure isn’t just a formula: it’s a holistic way to look at our approach to pressure. If we don’t tackle it with the right thought processes, then we cannot hope to perform as we’d like.
You Can Do This
So there we have it, your recipe for performing under pressure. Of course, a liberal seasoning of the no limits mindset is required, and this is the mindset that underpins every aspect of the Pressure Principle. It is the belief that, whatever your level, no matter where you are now, you can always improve. It is about starting with what you can do, not what you can’t.
As children, we had no fear about failure, no anxieties about performing under pressure. We didn’t really understand what pressure was – we’d have a go at something and if it didn’t work, we’d simply try again. We’d throw ourselves into learning without thought of the outcome. We were close to perfect in this way: constantly in the moment, always growing and developing. But as we became adults, we learned about pressure. We learned about failure and its consequences. Many of us grew to fear it, to do what we can to avoid it.
It doesn’t have to be that way. We might not be able to go back to being children again, but the Pressure Principle can help us do our best to recreate that feeling – to help us conquer our fear of failure and the obsession with outcomes.
The Pressure Principle is a philosophy. It is through organizing our thoughts, and opening up the reciprocal relationship between body and mind, that we can conquer the negative impact of pressure on ourselves. Our performance in pressure moments might well define our lives, but we can use the Pressure Principle to improve our response to these moments.
My biggest hope is that, through reading this book, you can see that dealing with pressure isn’t a gift that some are born with, while others must struggle on. Performing under pressure is a skill, just like any other. It is a skill that you can work on and practise to improve. You don’t have to come home at the end of the day thinking, I wish I hadn’t let my nerves get the better of me.
This can be a thing of the past for you. By implementing the Pressure Principle, as you enjoy and celebrate your own success, you’ll discover that there really are no limits at the margins of everything you do. You can rekindle that youthful vigour, that fearless, curious approach to challenges – and you will rekindle it, if you’re prepared to commit. We can all continually improve and enjoy the thrill of getting better.
You can do it. You’ll see.
Under Pressure Now
A hush descends. All eyes turn to you. One shot for glory.
You set your feet firmly on the ground and make yourself big. You stretch your neck and set your shoulders into the now familiar command posture. Your butterflies are stirring but you can already feel them starting to fly in formation. Your heart rate is up in expectation; under the watchful eyes of all of your colleagues, you take a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
You take the screwed-up paper ball in your hands – it feels reassuringly familiar between your palms – and roll it tight. All part of your pre-shot routine. You hold it now in your throwing hand and its weight and size feel so right – you’ve done this a hundred times before, gone through the process of repair, training and match. Not that you’re consciously aware of that right now. You’ve closed your eyes and you’re visualizing the ball of paper landing perfectly in the waste-paper bin. This is inevitable. Now you open them, and even that thought is pushed from your mind now as you fill it with your T-CUP formula: High elbow, forefinger and thumb along the flight. If you adhere to the process, the outcome will take care of itself.
You take dead aim at the smallest spot in the middle of the bin. You raise your elbow, arm cocked, and then bring it forward to release the ball of paper. It leaves your hand and the room takes a collective intake of breath as it arcs through the air …
… and lands plumb in the bin, a satisfying bong! ringing out like a muffled dinner gong, breaking the silence. A split second of hush ensues and then uproar as you jump to your feet, fists pumping, grinning from ear to ear. Your colleagues have erupted into cheers, whistling and applauding. You’ve done it! Your putt for victory in the Ryder Cup, the last-minute penalty to win a World Cup final – you have made office history.
You feel like a child on Christmas Day, absorbing the adulation with a sense of pride, celebrating what you have achieved, reinforcing what you’ve done right. It’s like being five years old all over again. You are beaming with excitement – not to mention over a thousand pounds better off.