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Performance confidence
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What managing pressure means
Competing is physically and
emotionally demanding. Elite athletes can experience
a wide range of emotions while performing. They can
experience excitement from being watched by large
numbers of people, they can experience fear
resulting from poor play, bad decisions or
anticipating losing, and they can experience
happiness and joy from doing well or winning.
Top athletes learn quickly
that the ability to control your feelings and
emotions is critical. While some level of nervous
excitement enhances focus and improves performance,
too much anxiety leads to poor decisions and chokes
performance.
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Being able to handle pressure
and manage your emotions makes the difference
between success and failure. When the stakes are
high and there is pressure to succeed, mental
preparation and mental skills help top athletes to
manage performance anxiety and perform to the best
of their ability.
Mental preparation often
includes self-talk, visualization and thinking
through situations which might arise and how you
would handle them. Research shows that these
techniques help athletes focus and sustain
performance in high pressure sporting situations.
Keys to managing pressure
Here are some keys to developing your
ability to manage your feelings and emotions when
you feel under pressure.
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KEYS TO MANAGING PRESSURE |
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View nervousness as a natural
and essential part of strong
competitive performance. |
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During competition, take things
one step at a time and focus on
performing to the best of your
ability rather than winning. |
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Think about the different
situations and challenges that
might arise while competing and
options and preferred ways of
handling them. |
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Identify and write down the
feelings you experience when
performing well and use imagery
to create a positive mindset
before competing. |
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Learn to reduce tension using
mental routines such as deep
breathing and progressive muscle
relaxation. |
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When under pressure, step back,
get things in perspective, and
if necessary develop a new game
plan. |
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Watch this video
To develop your understanding of how to manage
pressure, watch this video featuring Richie McCaw
talking about managing pressure in rugby.
Read this book
Read
With Winning in Mind: The Mental Management System
by Lanny Bassham.
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