Performing under pressure: You are what you practice

What do The Royal Wedding, The FA Cup final and presenting to a room of your peers have in common? Apart from happening on the same day?

Yesterday was day 2 of the #NLPConference. In between sessions I managed to catch a few minutes of the Wedding Ceremony, and watched, along with millions of others, as they exchanged vows. I wondered whether I would have held it together and remembered what to say with all of those eyes on me.

A few hours later, Eden Hazard of Chelsea scored what proved to be the winning goal in the FA Cup final. His penalty in the 20th minute won the game, and it was a penalty taken in one of highest pressure matches on the planet by one of the coolest heads in the sport.

when under pressure, we don't rise to the occasion, we drop to the level of our training

And so I returned to the conference, during which I saw masterful presenting by seasoned authors and the staccato awkwardness of someone speaking for the first time. In the case of Meghan, Harry and Eden Hazard, to paraphrase Vern Gosdin, this ain't their first rodeo.

Harry has been in the public eye, Meghan is an actress, whilst Eden Hazard is a world-class footballer proven to be able to perform at the highest level. Because they've practiced. They've made mistakes and they've learnt from them. Harry's made some very public errors in judgement and Eden Hazard once took a penalty in the Champion's league that is widely considered to the worst penalty ever taken.

Eden Hazard once took a penalty in the Champion's league that is widely considered to the worst penalty ever taken.

And if the rather awkward presenter yesterday allows himself to learn from his performance, he'll come back stronger. And he's already done one more talk at an NLP Conference than I have. How you perform under pressure depends on three things, your thoughts, your emotions and your feelings. These affect each other in a manner described as the Cybernetic Loop (or Mercedes Model):

Every thought you have creates an emotional response. Your body responds by releasing hormones that affect your heart rate, blood pressure, digestions, the levels of energy in your muscles and which areas of your brain are available for forming the next thought.

Think angry thoughts and the areas of your brain that process creativity will be suppressed. Think compassionate thoughts and the parts of your brain that process relationships and altruism will be activated. This physical response therefore affects the options you have for your next thought. This is a survival function.

People who could stop to ponder the meaning of life whilst being chased by a tiger have left the gene pool

People who could stop to ponder the meaning of life whilst being chased by a tiger have left the gene pool. In the case of Meghan and Harry, who had the eyes of the world on them, when Eden Hazard is taking a penalty in one of the most famous football matches, and they perform with such cool heads where perhaps we would trip over our shoelaces, you realise this.

They've been training their whole lives for these moments. Because, as the Navy Seals say, when under pressure, we don't rise to the occasion, we drop to the level of our training. So in the case of the presenter making their debut at the conference, I hope they see this as the first step towards presenting mastery.

I practice managing my physiology so that I have more thought options. I take stock of my emotions and self-regulate. But I still make mistakes. I make mistakes now so that when I'm under peak pressure, the practice kicks in and I will deliver.

So what are you practicing for? What ambitions do you have in the future that will benefit from you being calm under pressure? What could you practice today to help you get there quicker?

Because you are what you practice. You will become what you practice now, doubly so.

#stress #resilience #pressure #performance #resiliency #resilienceinbusiness #facupfinal #royalwedding