Build this to Overcome Fear and Anxiety

As a former boxer and professional striking coach for Mixed Martial Arts, I’ve worked with or have been around thousands of fighters over the past quarter century. During that time, I have experienced and observed an ever present “boogie man” lurking in the gyms, back stage prior to the fight, and even during the fight. Its name, fear and anxiety, manifests itself in a variety of self-defeating internal and external behaviors. Fear and anxiety are often recognized by fighters as one of the largest and most difficult challenges to navigate, especially early in their career. In fact, Cus D’Amato, the original trainer of Mike Tyson noted, “Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning in any area, but particularly in boxing.” Too much of either can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy as some fighters spend too much time focused on undesirable outcomes rather than focusing on improving performance that will lead to desirable ones.  

Generally speaking, anxiety is a constellation of responses to a perceived threat that include “behavioral avoidance of the feared situation, affective states involving subjective fear and panic, cognitions [covert behavior] of worry and dread, and states of aversive and intense physiological arousal” (Hagopian & Jennett, 2008). When these responses are disproportionate to the threat, it can significantly affect a fighter’s ability to function and perform. But fighters are not the only folks to experience fear and anxiety. 

We’ve all experienced this “boogie man” from time to time and get hooked on thinking about undesirable outcomes rather than focusing on what we should do to achieve desirable ones. For me, beyond fighting, fear and anxiety regularly reared its ugly head when I began public speaking. I clearly recall experiencing massive fear and anxiety the second I found out I would be public speaking…even when the event was three months away.  I can remember taking Nyquil thinking that would help (bad idea folks, Nyquil actually increases anxiety!) and then wishing I’d get into some fender bender on the way so I’d have an excuse to gracefully bow out. That damn “boogie man” had me…bad. 

Concerns about performing well, especially in front of a crowd can have a debilitating effect on our performance and outcomes. While some stress has been found to optimize performance, too much stress has adverse effects. But I have good news. There are some well researched concepts and approaches for overcoming fear and anxiety. I’m living proof as I now speak all over the country with only the slightest bit of anxiety, and typically just a few minutes before I speak. 

Many people have told me, “I wish I was confident enough to speak in front of people.” When they say that, I promptly respond, “Believe me, if I can do it, YOU can do it.” Most people believe the only way to build confidence and reduce anxiety is to practice longer and harder. Though this is in large part true, it is an oversimplified belief and often prohibits folks from fully engaging and using all the known confidence-building and anxiety reducing strategies available for application. Besides, practice doesn’t make perfect. It makes permanent. Unfortunately, if the wrong behaviors are pinpointed during practice, the desired outcomes are not likely to be reached. This will only serve to reduce confidence and increase anxiety!

Research has shown that confidence is one of the best predictors of performance in sports (Hays, Owen, Maynard, & Bawden, 2009). In other words, the more confident the athlete is, the better he or she is likely to perform. Thankfully, this phenomena isn’t exclusive to sports. Confidence in the behavioral sciences is commonly referred to as self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997).  And self-efficacy, or one’s perception of their ability to accomplish a specific task, has been well-researched and positively correlated with successful performance outcomes. You hear people saying it all the time “You must believe in yourself!” And they’re right as this belief has been negatively correlated with anxiety (Tahmassian & Jalali Moghadam, 2011). In other words, the more you believe, the less likely you will be to experience anxiety. 

But belief isn’t magically developed, and it isn’t developed by simply telling somebody they must believe.  Ultimately, belief in one’s ability occurs through mastery experiences (prior performance). Essentially this means somebody consistently experiences positive consequences or successful outcomes as a result of performance. This performance is typically broken down into its components and regularly shaped through verbal persuasion (feedback), vicarious experience (watching others or themselves) and emotional/physiological states (recognizing the state of mind and body). In addition to the above traditional sources of self-efficacy, Maddux (2012) includes another one that he calls “imaginal experiences.” This entails visualizing oneself behaving effectively or successfully in a given situation. Mindful processes like recognizing one’s own emotional/physiological states and using some sort of visualization techniques have been gaining quite a bit of attention in recent years through Acceptance Commitment Therapy literature.  

If you want some simple “hacks” for getting rid of the “boogie man” and improving confidence in a given situation (self-efficacy), check out this quick little video I found by Brett DiNovi and his crew.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFiCIcWP2uQ 

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. The exercise of control. New York:

W.H.Freeman and Company.Emory University, Division of Educational Studies, Information on Self-Efficacy: A Community of Scholars.

Hagopian, Louis & K. Jennett, Heather. (2008). Behavioral Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. 20. 467-483. 10.1007/s10882-008-9114-8.

Kate Hays , Owen Thomas , Ian Maynard & Mark Bawden (2009) The role of confidence in world-class sport performance, Journal of Sports Sciences, 27:11, 1185-1199, DOI: 10.1080/02640410903089798

Maddux, James. (2012). Self-Efficacy: The Power of Believing You Can. The Handbook of Positive Psychology. 227-287. 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195187243.013.0031.

Tahmassian, K., & Jalali Moghadam, N. (2011). Relationship between self-efficacy and symptoms of anxiety, depression, worry and social avoidance in a normal sample of students. Iranian journal of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, 5(2), 91–98.

BIO

Paul “Paulie” Gavoni

An expert in human performance, coaching, and organizational leadership, Dr. Paul "Paulie" Gavoni has worked in education and human services for 20 years where he served in a variety of positions including COO, Director of School Improvement, Leadership Director, Professor, Assistant Principal, School Turnaround Manager, Clinical Coordinator, Therapist, and Behavior Analyst. Beyond his direct work with students in poverty and those suffering from behavioral and mental health issues, Dr. Gavoni specializes in providing administrative teams, teachers, and staff with training, coaching, and consultation in analyzing and developing behavior and performance management systems to positively impact key performance indicators. As a behavior scientist, Dr. Gavoni is passionate about applying organizational behavior management (OBM) strategies to establish positive environments that engage and bring out the best in professionals, so they can bring out the best in the children and adults they serve. 

Dr. Gavoni is co-author of Quick Wins! Accelerating School Transformation through Science, Engagement, and Leadership  and the best seller Deliberate Coaching: A Toolbox for Accelerating Teacher Performance. In addition, he is published in academic journals on topics related to school improvement and sports, and has published three online courses dedicated to school leadership preparation, an area he remains deeply passionate about. Click here to listen to hear more about Dr. Gavoni’s work in schools.

Beyond his work in education and human services, Dr. Gavoni is also a highly sought out and respected coach in combat sports. In 1992, he began boxing in South Florida and went on to win a Florida Golden Gloves Heavyweight Title in 1998. Since then, Coach “Paulie Gloves,” as he is known in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) community, has trained many champions and UFC vets using technologies rooted in the behavioral sciences. Coach Paulie has been a featured coach in the books Beast: Blood, Struggle, and Dreams a the Heart of Mixed Martial Arts, A Fighter’s Way, and the article Ring to Cage: How four former boxers help mold MMA’s finest. 

He is also an author who has written for a variety of online magazines such as Scifighting, Last Word on Sports, and Bloody Elbow where his Fight Science series continues to bring behavior science to MMA. Co-founder of MMA Science, his current project involves the development of the first International MMA Belt Ranking System, a ground breaking process bringing tradition, organization, and behavior science to mixed martial arts.