Performing Under Pressure by Saul Miller WRFY

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Performing Under Pressure

Gaining the mental edge in business and sport

By Dr Saul L. Miller Presented By Dr Gabriell Prinsloo Inspiring thought leadership

across Africa

Date: October 2014

The Author

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• PhD in Clinical Psychology

• Performance specialist consulting in sport, business, health care and the arts

• Sport teams include NFL, NBA, NHL, CFL, Major League Baseball, PGA Tour golfers, NCAA athletes, and Olympians in over a dozen different sports

• Business clients included Bell, Cisco, Cominco, Envision, Honda, Investors Group, Kraft, Motorola, Nike, Roche, TD, Telus, Toyota, Visa, and 24 Hour Fitness

• He ran an interdisciplinary clinic treating chronic pain and disability

The Author

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Performing Under Pressure: Gaining the Mental Edge in Business and Sport 2010

Why Teams Win: 9 Keys to Success in Business, Sport and Beyond 2009

Hockey Tough: A Winning Mental Game 2003

The Complete Player, The Psychology of Winning Hockey 2001

Sport Psychology for Cyclists 1999

A Little Relaxation 1993

Food for Thought: A New Look at Food and Behavior 1979

The Book

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• Techniques based on his experience

• Provides many personal case studies and stories - from both business and sport

• Only presents the success stories

• A lot of repetition

• The themes are clear, but the practical information a bit unclear

Chapter 1: Pressure

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The mind operates on two levels: 1. Instinctive 2. Conscious

• Good performance requires an effective and complex balance

• Decreased performance and well-being occur when out of balance

• Many things press on us daily – career, relationships, sport, thoughts

• ‘For most people the biggies are the needs to feel good about ourselves, striving to meet the expectations of others and operating with what we believe is a limited supply of time, talent or money.’

• ‘Pressure is a force we experience as a feeling of dis-ease, growing out of an intense desire to be or do something more, accompanied by the uncertainty and fear that we may not succeed.’

Pressure vs. stress:

• Pressure tends to be more situational and time-specific

• Stress seems to be more general and diffuse

Chapter 1: Pressure

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Effect of pressure

• Pressure makes us tense and prepare for fight or flight

• Prolonged or excessive pressure causes us to worry about the past/future

• Our thinking shifts from positive and creative to fearful and defensive

Pressure needs to be OPTIMAL

• Pressure is a part of normal function in physiology and medicine

• Some pressure is necessary

• Too much pressure is undesirable and dangerous

• Marked individual differences

What does pressure feel like?

• Many different symptoms

• Everyone experiences it differently

Chapter 1: Pressure

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2 approaches to feeling less pressured:

1. Psychodynamic

• Much of the pressure we experience relates to how we feel about ourselves – low confidence and self-esteem leads to vulnerability

• Our FEAR pressures us into feeling stressed and avoiding failure

• Ideal therapy - Focuses on insight and self-acceptance rather than performance

- Can be a lengthy process

2. Behavioural

• Addresses the specific behaviours involved in experiencing pressure

• Training to release tension, change feelings, refocus on thoughts and images that enhance performance, and create effective pressure-reducing routines

• The ideal is to develop more psycho-physical control

• Ideal therapy - Focuses directly on enhancing performance

- Usually brief

Chapter 1: Pressure

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2 separate aspects of consciousness:

• The Doing:

- A performer who is motivated to be the best he or she can be

- Goal-orientated and focused primarily on what it takes to achieve goals

• The Being:

- The part of us that appreciates that we are something more than our performance

Most people are more in their DOING mind-set

To excel and thrive, a balance between doing and being is ideal

Section 1: Winning Programs

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• This section is about creating and running positive mental programs

• It discusses thoughts and images that enhance performance and make us less vulnerable to the limiting effects of pressure

• The mind is like a super computer or fancy TV

• If what you are tuned into doesn’t empower you or give you an edge, then change the channel - Tune into positive, empowering programs

Performing under pressure is learning how to run positive winning programs on our bio-computers

Chapter 2: Power Thoughts

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• Power thoughts are thoughts that enhance performance

• Once a goal is defined, our programming leads to success or disappointment

• Our thoughts, imagery and attitudes comprise our mental programming

• We think 50000 to 60000 thoughts per day

- two thirds of the thinking of most people is critical and limiting

- consistent high level performance, needs positive empowering thoughts

• Focusing on problems is exhausting and stressful

• Focusing on opportunities is stimulating and enhances performance


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Personal thoughts

• Positive, self-affirming ways of thinking about who we are as individuals

• Deal with power, possibility, confidence, ease and control

• Tend to be general

Professional thoughts

• Deal with positive aspects of the tasks that challenge us

• Relate more to specific tasks and techniques, and the performance process

• Tend to be specific

• He commonly uses the power thoughts “attack” and “smooth”


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HOW

• Create 8 to 10 power thoughts

• Explore who you are as a performer and who you are as a human being

• Professional thoughts : “when I play/perform at my best, I ___________.”

• The ideal power thought is positive, relevant and appealing, expressed in positive language

• Repeat these statements often – especially when the mind wanders to self-criticism

• Repeat positive performance statements before a competition or challenge.

• Say them, listen to them or write them

• Combine power thoughts with breathing and release


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Different styles for different people

• Different personality types respond best to different power thoughts

- Task-oriented people – power thoughts related to task specifics

- Feeling-orientated people – power thoughts of personal validation

• Supportive reassuring vs. challenging critical

• 1st person vs. 2nd person

Love

• Another way to focus on the positive is to accentuate what we love about our process

• When we love something we move towards it with more energy, power and enthusiasm

• Instead of thinking, “I’ve got to ___”, take a breath and think “I love to _____”

Chapter 3: High Performance Imagery

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• Clear positive intention leads to peak performance

• Imagination is a powerful quality of the mind

• What we focus on we magnify in our minds

• The body doesn’t distinguish what’s real from what’s imagined. It simply reacts to the mental pictures

3 kinds of imagery to help people excel under pressure:

1. Goal imagery 2. Mental rehearsal 3. Identity or stimulating images

Goal Imagery

• A goal image is a clear image of something you commit yourself to achieve

• A target set in your mind – a driver

• Goal images both push and sustain us

• It can relate to a specific achievement or gaining a personal sense of self

• It is more productive to focus on process rather than end result


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Mental rehearsal

• The process of rehearsing in your mind the specific behaviours and feelings you want to manifest

• Relates to performance power thoughts

1. Define what you want

2. Relax and breathe

3. Imagine yourself performing well, doing what's necessary to achieve your goal

• Be positive

• Easy first

• Create winning MOVIES

• Keep it brief

• Use all the senses

• Use BEFORE a game or event


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Stimulating or Identity images

• Images that evoke feelings/qualities that you want to bring to the moment

• Focusing on these images heightens certain performance elements and boosts confidence, particularly under pressure

Examples:

• Image of a rock or wave - greater sense of calm, patience, ease

• Image of an animal – performance, without negatives

Three guidelines for using your identity or stimulating images

• Choose something with which you want to identify (person, animal, object)

• Keep focal images brief

• Enrich your images with feeling

Use negativity or dis-ease to REMIND you to focus on your image

SECTION 2: THE SHIFT Positive Focus, Positive Feelings

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• We get more of what we think about

• Having positive thoughts and images leads to positive outcomes

• Sometimes under pressure we get nervous, we tense up and contract

• Then we need to be able to

- change channels

- release tension

- tune into power thoughts and high performance images

Chapter 4: Changing Channels

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• Thinking positively especially under pressure can be a challenge

• Our emotions directly affect our thinking

• We need to develop the psycho-physical control to manage our emotions

• Pressure – anxiety – tension – increases pressure

• Telling someone to “relax” often isn’t enough

• Breaking the cycle involves learning to recognise those anxious feelings and being able to transform them into feelings of confidence, power and ease

How to change channels under pressure

1. Be aware of negative limiting thoughts and feelings

2. Release tension

3. Conscious control of breathing

4. Refocusing on clear positive productive programs

Chapter 4: Changing Channels

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• Important to explore thoughts, images and feelings which limit performance:

- Fear

- Pain

- Difficulty

Chapter 5: Tension Release

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• When we are pressured our fight flight response is triggered

- In response to both internal and external stimuli

• There is a natural tendency to contract – neck, shoulders and other muscles

• Each thought we have is expressed in our physical bodies and breathing

- Fear, worry and negativity

- contraction, tension, limitation and feelings of dis-ease

- Confidence and competence

- inspiration, expansion, feelings of power and ease

• To relax means to regain a natural sense of looseness and ease

• Contraction vs. expansion/release

Chapter 5: Tension Release

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Tension-release exercise

• Popular relaxation technique - process of tensing and releasing muscles

• This is different: It is paired with breathing

Part of the bigger performing-under-pressure process

2 reasons to use it:

1. Creating tension increases the feeling of release

2. Tensing and releasing specific muscle groups is a focusing exercise

- Goal is to greater awareness and mind-body control

• Practicing the release reflex in relaxed situations first – more effective

• Over time you can simply scan the body, tune in, feel the tension, release, breathe and refocus

SECTION 3: Conscious Breathing

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• Explores breathing as an aid to both performance and well-being

• Breathing - Enhances performance

- Brings balance

• The way someone breathes reflects the way they deal with stress and tension, and the way they perform under pressure

• Breathing connects mind and body – teaches us greater awareness and control

• Three breathing keys: rhythm, inspiration and continuity

• There are no rigid patterns – what feels right for you

Chapter 6: Rhythm

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• Tuning into the rhythm of your breath

- regulates emotions, prevents disease, increases performance

- integrates the left and right hemispheres of the brain

• Rhythm is about using your time

• Power point is the point where the breath changes

• Technical suggestions:

- Breathe through your nose

- Allow your chest and abdomen to be free to expand and contract

- Not about taking large breaths

- Don’t rush. Don’t force or control. Take time

• Your breath has a wave-like rhythm of its own

Chapter 6: Rhythm

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• Many people don’t believe they have enough time, talent, opportunity or money

• A sense of limitation can shape our thoughts and feelings

• One way to transcend that limited way of thinking - take time to breathe

• Shift focus into the rhythm of the breath

• Within a few minutes of rhythmical breathing you can begin to reprogram yourself out of a rush and struggle mentality into feelings of greater confidence, power and ease

• While one can’t control each and every situation, you can control how you react

• With rare exception, the most efficient use of energy is focusing on feelings of ease, power and flow

Chapter 7: Inspiration

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‘If breathing is respiration then the in breath is the inspiration.’

• When we experience self-doubt, fear or anxiety, breathing becomes more shallow and limited, tension builds

• Pushing or forcing the outbreath is often a sign of nervousness and impatience

• Tensing, becoming impatient and pushing too hard limit performance and well-being

• When people are performing well they appear confident and relaxed. They breathe easily and naturally

• People tend to look to something or someone else for inspiration

• A simple effective way to inspire yourself is to focus on breathing in energy and focusing on the positive

Chapter 8: Continuity

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• The breathe can be likened to:

- the continuous waves of the ocean

- the endless turning of a wheel

• When experiencing a negative thought, difficulty or anxiety

-focus on breathing, turning the wheel/flow of the waves

2 ways to strengthen positive feelings of power and ease, to calm and nurture:

• Release reflex: From time to time throughout the day, be aware of releasing tension and breathe easy, centre

• Power break: 5 to 10 minutes of tuning into your breathing, releasing tension and focusing on some calming, empowering personal thoughts

Anchoring

• Pairing a powerful positive feelings with a simple physical response

Chapter 8: Continuity

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Benefits of breathing include:

• integrating body and mind, reducing over-thinking and worry, helping to optimise emotional arousal levels, facilitating powering up and calming down, tuning out distraction, releasing tension, refocusing and enhancing the clarity and quality of thoughts and images

Meditative breathing also benefits our being:

• transforms consciousness, helps shift perspective from a state of striving to a state of being where there is no doing or struggle to achieve, promotes inner peace and a sense of connectedness to all things, and an awareness of ‘being’ as opposed to ‘doing’

Chapter 9: Streaming

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• Channelling the flow of energy internally or externally

Release tension

• Streaming can be very relaxing.

Enhance performance

• Streaming increases power and flow - 2 qualities of peak performance

Reduce pain and promote healing

• Streaming can be used to relax, to manage pain, to direct blood flow and facilitate healing

He recommends daily use:

• 10 to 20 seconds - instantaneous, energizing, stress reducing

• 10 to 20 minutes - a relaxing, recharging, regenerative

Chapter 10: Blowing of Tension - Energizing

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• Sometimes walking or breathing to get rid of pressure isn’t enough

• Another way is to blow it off

- Exploding and acting out – can be damaging

- Focused, explosive expression of energy

• Leads to balance and equilibrium

- Blow off tension and calm down

- Energize and pump up

• OPTIMAL ENERGY

• Used by executives and athletes

• Used by individuals and by groups

SECTION 4: Attitude, Individual Differences and Lifestyle

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Explores 3 areas that relate to personality and lifestyle that have an impact on performance, well-being and our ability to handle pressure

1. A winning attitude

2. Personality characteristics

3. Lifestyle

Chapter 11: A Winning Performing Under Pressure Attitude

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• A winning attitude is a way of thinking, feeling and acting that predisposes us to success

• A negative attitude is one that predisposes us to disappointment, dis-ease and failure

• A performing-under-pressure attitude is one that enhances success in high-pressure situations

• Our attitudes colour our perceptions and affect our actions

• Our attitudes are our own, we create them

• Our attitudes can be changed

• Both sports and business look for a combination of attitude and skill

• Many different qualities contribute to a performing-under-pressure attitude

Motivation Commitment Confidence Deserving Mental toughness Identity


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1. Motivation

• Healthy people possess a natural desire to excel

• Positive driver that facilitates performance

• Influenced by: Clarity, Meaning, Belief

2. Commitment

• Willingness to do what is necessary to get the job done and achieve your goals

• Use a positive situation to build confidence, a negative one to improve yourself

3. Confidence

• Confidence is a knowing and feeling that ‘I can’

• Enhances performance and strengthens ones resistance to pressure

• 2 things build confidence: Success, Preparation


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4. A Sense of Deserving

• Strengthens confidence and reduce anxiety and pressure

5. Mental toughness

• The stimulus you focus on is magnified while other stimuli are diminished

• Mental toughness is a process of releasing, breathing easily, tuning out distractions, and refocusing on thoughts, images, words and feelings that give you power

6. Positive identity

• Enhances confidence

• Makes us less vulnerable to pressure, stress and disappointment


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4. A Sense of Deserving

• Strengthens confidence and reduce anxiety and pressure.

5. Mental toughness

• The stimulus you focus on is magnified while the other stimuli competing for your attention are diminished

• Mental toughness is a process of releasing, breathing easily, tuning out distractions, and refocusing on thoughts, images, words and feelings that give you power

6. Positive identity

• Enhances confidence

• Makes us less vulnerable to pressure, stress and disappointment

A winning performing-under-pressure attitude consists of having clear, meaningful goals, the positive belief that one’s goals are achievable, a

commitment to making that happen, the confidence that one can, a sense of desiring, the mental toughness to stay on purpose and a positive self-image.

Chapter 12: Individual Differences

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• Everyone has an optimal performance range of pressure

For optimal performance:

• Know what level of emotional arousal works best for you

• When preparing to perform, assess the level you are at

• Use tension-release, breathing and self-talk to get to the optimal level

Emotional Arousal

Pe

rform

ance


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Introverts

• Tend to be more sensitive and affected by pressure

• Perform better if they lower their emotional arousal and stay calm

• Manage emotion by having a clearly defined pre-performance routine

• Like to prepare quietly

• PLAN: develop a pre-performance breathing session, positive self-talk, mental rehearsal, encourage them to relax, reassure them

Extroverts

• May need more stimulation and challenge to get into their optimal arousal zone

• May have difficulty organising well in advance

• Like to interact with people around them

• PLAN: develop an organizing pre-performance routine


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Other personality features – Myers Briggs

• Data conscious, factual vs. intuitive, possibilities-minded

• Analytic, thinking, task-oriented vs. empathetic, feeling-oriented

• Routine-oriented vs. spontaneity and diversity

The Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style

• Differentiates the way people focus

- Broad to narrow focus

- External to internal focus

• It is important to understand and know who you are, and understand and respect individual differences

Chapter 13: A High Performance Lifestyle

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Diet Exercise Recreation Relaxation Relationships Perspective

Diet

• Eat wholesome food. Complex carbohydrates. Unrefined grains, vegetables and fruits. Moderate fat and protein

• Avoid overeating

• Avoid refined sugars. Avoid drugs (prescription and other)

Exercise

• People are made to move

• Being in good physical shape increases resistance to pressure and stress

• Minimum of four 20 minute periods of accelerated movement each week as well as stretching and strengthening exercises

• Exercise intelligently and regularly

• Overdoing it can result in more stress and strain than it prevents


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Quality recreation

• To re-create means to renew

• Regularly do things that are energizing, balancing and that you enjoy

Relaxation

• This means to regain natural feeling of looseness and ease

• A mind-body process that promotes health, healing and longevity

• Relaxation can be energizing, recharging, balancing and it feels good

Develop empowering relationships

• Create relationships that are supportive, positive and that empower you

• Avoid people who are negative, critical and destructive

• You can’t always control the circumstances in your life, but you can control your reaction to them


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Conclusion

• If there is a single concluding thought, it is that winners love and enjoy challenge and the opportunity to excel as well as the pressure that goes with it

• Whatever you endeavour, I encourage you to acknowledge your remarkable self

• Empower yourself with breath and thought

• Embrace the challenges you face, and go for the gold with a smile

SUMMARY

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1. Be aware of limiting thoughts and feelings

2. Scan for tension and release

3. Control breathing - Rhythm

- Inspiration

- Continuity

4. Positive focus - Power Thoughts

- High Performance Imagery

- Goal Imagery

- Mental Rehearsal

- Stimulating Images

- Release reflex

- Streaming

- Blowing off tension

- Changing attitudes - Psychodynamic

Power Break Brief Focus

Opinions

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Behavioural vs. Psychodynamic

• Easier and more effective to work with behaviour

• Changing attitudes can be a lengthy and difficult

Tension Release

• Tension leads to decreased cognitive function and performance

• Very effective

Breathing

• Correct breathing is vital to optimal performance

• Fine-tuning breath work based on current research – MORE effective

• Use of biofeedback and breathing apps

Comments

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Positive Focus

• Effective

• May need a reminder

Power Break vs. Brief Focus

• Power break – re-establishes new patterns

• Brief focus – reinforces throughout the day

Streaming/blowing off tension

• I haven’t worked with these

Lifestyle

• Broadly agree but differ in the details

• Needs an INDIVIDUAL approach

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Thank You

Dr Gabriell Prinsloo

[email protected]

www.philosperformance.com

Performing Under Pressure by Saul Miller WRFY

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Transcript of Performing Under Pressure by Saul Miller WRFY