Pressure

PRESSURE.

We all feel it somewhere in our lives, often in multiple places at once. While it may look like some are so composed, and totally unaffected by this, they likely do feel it- they have just developed the tools to channel it differently.

Pressure can fuel us to act and drive us to meet our goals. On the other side, pressure can cause us to crack, to make mistakes, and to overlook things. Pressure can breed carelessness, frustration, and overwhelm, but if you can break it down, it doesn’t have to.

In order to keep pressure working for us, we have to understand how it affects us mentally/emotionally as well as physiologically. As yourself, what does my body feel like under pressure? Can I do something to change that physical reaction?

In a moment where you feel pressure to perform, consider the source. Are you putting the heat on yourself? Is it your family? Is it your friends? A competitor? Perhaps it’s a source you haven’t considered, like the pressure of the crowds.

Once you know the source, you can break down the “what if”. How is the source is impacted if you don’t do your best? IE- If you don’t perform how you want to, your friend won’t stop being your friend! But if you’re putting pressure on yourself, consider how you are often impacted by your own performances, and then commit to doing your absolute best on that day.

After you cross the start line, try to reframe the pressure into urgency. Rather than worrying about the “what if I DON’T” scenarios, put energy into “what if I DO?” Think over how that pressure source will react if you shatter every expectation. If you’re putting the pressure on yourself, what result would make you proud? Take that positive energy with you as you get through each mile, reframing this into possibility.

If you focus on what’s possible while you’re racing, and work on navigating the course with urgency towards that potential, you can redirect that pressure into a result you’ll be proud of!