PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

In international sports as well as in the cut-throat competitive world of business this is what separates the men from the boys. This is what gives one the ‘killer instinct’, a very special attribute which either you have it or you don’t, and there can be nothing in between. But the good news is that you can acquire it.

Performance anxiety is a term borrowed from the narrow field of sexual disfunctions to the wider canvas of life. Typically it is caused by negative thoughts about one's ability to perform well during sexual activity. This may include feelings of sexual inadequacy or the inability to please a partner. But today performance anxiety is so prevalent in work life in the modern day and age that everyone from HR to the cricket coaches is addressing it.

Anxiety is core to our survival as it underpins our fight or flight response, helping us escapes danger, but when it causes prolonged fear, suffering or avoidance it becomes a problem in people’s lives. Can we stand up to that force in our mind that is hijacking the amygdala in our brain, which is programmed to take us to fight or flight?

Performance anxiety is reflective of two different kinds of fear: Fear of failure – “of not being good enough” – and fear of being judged in a negative way. Why was it that in 4 years the Indian cricket team could not come up with a stable middle order? We tried almost a dozen players but didn’t persist with one. So every player who was tried suffered from performance anxiety – fear of failure and doubt of not being good enough!

Performance anxiety is double-edged sword and some surely are more susceptible to than others. Generally people with an analytical mind and depth of feeling are a prize possession for any team. But these two qualities which leads individuals to really do awesome stuff, also makes them more predisposed to anxiety. Public speaking is another arena in which almost everyone except a very few face performance anxiety. Appearing in front of an interview board or in an examination is yet another occasion for performance anxiety.

Performance anxiety symptoms may include:

1. Racing pulse and rapid breathing.
2. Dry mouth and tight throat.
3. Trembling hands, knees, lips, and voice.
4. Sweaty and cold hands.
5. Nausea and an uneasy feeling in your stomach.
6. Vision changes.

Performance Anxiety Treatments

Here are 11 tips to help you overcome your fears and shine on stage, on the field, or at the podium:

1. Be prepared: practice, practice, practice.
2. Limit caffeine and sugar intake the day of the performance. Eat a sensible meal a few hours before you are to perform so that you have energy and don't get hungry. A low-fat meal including complex carbohydrates – green veggies, daal (lentil soup), curd (yogurt), and rice are all good choices.
3. Shift the focus off of yourself and your fear to the enjoyment you are providing to the spectators. Close your eyes and imagine the audience laughing and cheering, and you feeling good.
4. Don't focus on what could go wrong. Instead focus on the positive. Visualize your success.
5. Avoid thoughts that produce self-doubt.
6. Practice controlled breathing, meditation, biofeedback, and other strategies to help you relax and redirect your thoughts when they turn negative. It is best to practice some type of relaxation technique every day, regardless of whether you have a performance, so that the skill is there for you when you need it.
7. Take a walk, jump up and down, shake out your muscles, or do whatever feels right to ease your anxious feelings before the performance.
8. Connect with your audience - smile, make eye contact, and think of them as friends.
9. Act natural and be yourself.
10. Exercise, eat a healthy diet, get adequate sleep, and live a healthy lifestyle.
11. Keep in mind that stage fright is usually worse before the performance and often goes away once you get started.

Confronting your fears and vulnerabilities, accepting yourself for who you are, and not feeling like you have to prove yourself to others, is the first step toward overcoming performance anxiety. Keep in mind that nobody is perfect, nobody expects you to be perfect, and it is OK to make mistakes. The second step is learning how to redirect your negative thoughts, beliefs, images, and predictions about performing in public.

There are many cases where psychological intervention alongside mind-body strategies such as exercise and meditation have produced extremely successful results and almost all professional sports bodies today have understood this. So along with coaches who help the players with their game there are coaches who help them with their minds! Paddy Upton, the South African born Mental Coach of the Indian Cricket team is internationally renowned to enhance performance of sports professionals. Upton redefined his career to begin work as Mental Conditioning coach (in sport) and Executive Coach (in Business) in 2003. He has since worked as Mental Coach and/or Performance Consultant to over 20 professional cricket, rugby, soccer and field hockey teams across South Africa, India and Australia.

In sport, coaches and coaching have been around for ages, probably for a century or more. In contrast, coaching in business has been around for only two decades. In this short space of time, over 70% of managers in the Fortune 50 companies are now benefiting from this new coaching, as the profession has risen to become the second fastest growing profession in the world. Performance consulting is a practice that evolved from the instructional design discipline. It is performed by performance consultants who use more of a systems-thinking approach to resolving workplace performance problems. Performance consulting acknowledges that there are other environmental factors that affect one's performance. While instructional design and the development of training or learning solutions helps to build knowledge and skills, performance consulting takes a more systems-thinking approach to investigate and identify other environmental factors that may degrade one's performance.

While performance enhancing drugs are bad for sports and illegal too, in the business world beta blockers (blood pressure medication that can calm the body) are often prescribed by doctors to fight anxiety. But this administration should be strictly under medical supervision.