Psyched Up

Psyched Up is an in-depth look at the science behind mental preparation that will show you how to do your best when it counts the most based on what top performers do.

Believe it or not, the intense anxiety that comes before a big task is your body’s natural response to stress, known as the fight-or-flight response. It causes an increase in adrenaline, blood pressure, and heart rate and is a good thing when it comes to survival in dangerous situations.

However, what about when you aren’t in a life-or-death situation, but your body reacts as if you are? While the flood of stress hormones can’t be stopped, you can transform that anxious feeling into an excited one.

One way you do this is by reappraising pre-performance jitters. For example, one study compared the performances of people who said, “I’m so excited” vs. those who said “I’m so nervous” and those who said nothing before going on stage. The people who said they were excited, and thus reappraised anxiety to excitement, performed the best.

Why does this help more than not saying anything at all? Because transitioning from anxious to calm is very difficult, as the two emotions are very different. Transitioning from worried to excited, however, does not take much effort at all.

Another essential technique in calming performance anxiety is centering. You can center yourself by breathing deeply and concentrating on your breath while releasing all muscle tension. Imagine all the energy in your body moving into one point, the belly button. Once it’s all there, visualize releasing it. Using this technique before an important event will help you regain focus and kick anxiety to the curb.

Maybe, you swing the bat a few times before stepping up to the plate. Maybe, you always wear a special necklace. Or maybe, you meditate to calm yourself down before going on stage. Whatever you do before the big moments, research says it works – as long as you make sure you stay consistent. Studies have shown that athletes who have a ritual perform better than those that don’t. Furthermore, those that don’t have one can learn one and also benefit from it. A study found group rituals to be even more effective. When participants were divided into groups for a scavenger hunt, the ones who performed a group cheer not only completed the task much more quickly, but they also reported liking their team members more. Beliefs play a big part in improving performance as well. In one study, golfers given clubs said to belong to professional golfers performed significantly better than those with “normal” clubs. Many people believe that objects can hold the power of those who’ve touched them.…