NezSez

During this time of year, sports fans are usually glued to their TV’s to watch the NCAA basketball championship tourney — also called March Madness. And basically right after that comes the professional NBA Playoffs. It’s the best time to be a basketball fan.

And while I’m pleased that our local professional team (the Golden State Warriors) is in the hunt for a playoff spot, I’m writing this to talk about dealing with pressure situations, in which during this time there will be plenty.

Clutch Performers

For athletes, we often praise the ones who are “clutch”, who, with the game on the line, are able to score the winning basket from the field, be it a lay-up against the “trees” clogging the lanes to the basket, a long-ranged jump shot over the outstretched arms of two defenders, or the successful free throws amidst the howling and hooting of thousands upon thousands of rabid fans, all with only seconds left on the game clock.

Real Life Pressure Situations

But for the rest of us mere mortals, let me ask you have you ever:

• Put in an all-nighter for a term paper, and wound up getting an A?
• Made a presentation in front of investors, and aced all the hard questions, landing the big contract?
• Received the proverbial client’s curve ball — something you never expected — but kept your cool and proceeded (and succeeded) as if you expected it all along?

Those are all pressure situations where the expectation to perform and deliver is high — and it feels GREAT when you do.

People often get paid big bucks for that kind of performance, and deservedly so.

Reason for Failure

However, many people do buckle under the stress.

And the stress comes from getting into a state of mind where uncertainty, doubt and/or fear reigns:

• What if I mess up?
• I’m not prepared!!
• What’s the next step?

These and any number of other questions and thoughts run through the mind, and the subsequent failure to perform is often summarized as paralysis by analysis.

Qualities of Clutch Performers

Clutch performers, on the other hand, have these qualities:

• Confidence from Practice - no one is born perfect, and neither does intense practice make one perfect, despite the popular saying. However, what practice DOES do is train your muscles, honing their “muscle memory”, and perfect practice instills the confidence to perform perfectly, so when the time comes, the person who has practiced a lot appears to perform effortlessly. When you know you’ve done it (successfully) before (in practice), you can be confident you’ll do it again (in real game situations). That’s the reason why Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were notorious for their intense practices/rehearsals.
• Being Prepared - basically, this is the same as confidence from practice, but it bears explaining that the best performers are always prepared. For the job seeker, it’s as simple as doing the basic research of a company at which you want to work. For the self-employed, it’s keeping apprised of what the competition in your market is doing. For the lone woman traveling at night, it’s being aware of your surroundings. Preparation also comes from real practical experience — both successes and failures. Everything you do (or choose to do) prepares you for new challenges.
• Stay in the moment and let the chips fall where they may - the confidence from practice and preparation also allows the clutch performer to stay focused in the present, allowing their minds or bodies to perform without distraction. Sometimes we hear of athletes getting into “the zone”, in which the action seems to be flowing in slow motion. My theory is that when someone is in “the zone”, that person’s mind must be operating at peak efficiency and thus is able to process all the incoming sensory stimuli, making necessary calculations, adjustments, recollections and reactions at lightning speed. The effect would seem like the outside world has suddenly slowed down.
• Know that failures are inevitable, but see them as minor setbacks on the road to their goal(s) - Michael Jordan did not always make the game-winning shot, but that never stopped him from continuously honing his game, working on eliminating his weaknesses, and maintaining confidence in himself. His sheer force of will would not allow wallowing in defeat. Clutch performers know that failure does not mean the end of the world, and in doing so, is able to move on after the occasional lapses. That awareness and acceptance also allow them to stay in the moment, and drives them to persevere.

How about you? Got any tips or stories on dealing with pressure situations?

photo credit: *tom*

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