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How To Stay Calm and Thrive Under Pressure
How can you bring your best to every situation when dealing with the pressure of high expectations?
How can you bring your best to every situation when dealing with the pressure of high expectations?
You know you can’t screw up when doing something that matters to you or when you really care about the outcome, and yet high-pressure situations make many people react poorly and lose their calm. It leads to poor choices, bad decisions, and can sometimes even lead to inaction.
The higher the stake, the higher the cost of not being in control. Losing your calm and shutting people out when work gets a little bit overwhelming or feeling so paralyzed by the pressure that you get stuck in an overthinking cycle hurts your productivity and performance.
For example:
Making a key strategy decision for your organization.
Presenting your ideas to a large audience.
Negotiating a big deal with a client.
These are great opportunities where pressure is inevitable and yet you need to be confident and aim high.
“When we aim high, pressure and stress obligingly come along for the ride. Stuff is going to happen that catches us off guard, threatens or scares us. Surprises (unpleasant ones, mostly) are almost guaranteed. The risk of being overwhelmed is always there. Regardless of how much actual danger we’re in, stress puts us at the potential whim of our baser — fearful — instinctual reactions.”— Ryan Holiday
You may have all the expertise, skills, and the knowledge in the world to do well, but if you don’t know how to handle pressure situations well — you lose control of your emotions or see the situation as a threat — pressure will make you do worse, and lead you to fail utterly.
Keeping your calm during challenging times, the ability to gauge the situation with a clear head, and acting…
