course, with this challenge mindset, we will regularly fall short. But the key is in the method, not the outcome. What matters is our state of mind when we perform under pressure, not whether we succeed or fail. We don’t lose heart when we don’t meet the challenge, because we appreciate that the learning we’ve just experienced is precious. Moments of failure arguably create more opportunities to get better than moments of success. The critical step is to embrace the pressure situation in the first place.
No one can meet every challenge. If we do, then we’ve set the bar too low and the challenges we’ve set don’t really deserve the name.
To reach our full potential, we have to keep pushing ourselves to our limit and beyond. We have to put ourselves in a position to deal with more and more demanding tasks. It’s about full commitment to the moment.
This is more difficult than it sounds. The discomfort makes most people flinch, so they never fully test themselves.
The word test comes from the Latin testum, meaning an earthen vessel. The idea was that the vessel was used to examine the quality of a substance placed within it – like a test tube. Some material was put inside it and subjected to different conditions, like heat.
Our performance arena is the equivalent of a test tube. Our mind is the material inside it. And the condition we’re being subjected to is pressure.
Our personal properties are being deliberately examined under pressure. When we face the heat, what qualities do we display? How do we function as we approach our limit? Do we retain our resilience, or melt and lose our mental structure?
When we start approaching test situations with relish, our tolerance of discomfort increases. Don’t worry, you don’t have to actually enjoy the discomfort – you just have to appreciate what it achieves. Discomfort is not a punishment, it’s a testing moment we’ve earned, and an invitation to step up to the next level.
The big mental shift in performance under pressure comes when we can feel fear but accept deep inside that we will mentally survive the moment. Once the mental threat in a situation is contained, it loses its power to overwhelm us emotionally and shut us down, allowing us to re-energise and face the challenge.
A challenge mindset means feeling the discomfort, but facing down the challenge without flinching.
Alex, a freestyle skier competing at a big championship event, is about to start her second run after her first one ended in a fall. A second poor run would see years of hard work end in misery.
In that moment, Alex is scared. Not of falling, or of missing out on a medal, but of the shame she’ll feel when she sees her coach, parents and teammates afterwards. She feels empty inside. She’s facing psychological devastation. It’s a RED alert moment.
But she has prepared for this possibility. At precisely the instant when everyone else gives up on her and sees what she might lose, she sees an extraordinary opportunity and what she might gain: a comeback story for the ages.
She breathes in deeply and imagines energy filling her core, and as she breathes out, she pictures fire spreading heat and energy throughout her body. She stands tall and feels herself growing in power as others cower down. Nothing could be better in her mind: this is no longer a championship event to compete in, it is her championship moment to own. No longer empty, hollow and cold, Alex can feel the fire burning inside. Her confidence restored, she attacks the run.
Our mirror neurons – specialised nerve cells that allow us to pick up on how other people are feeling – allow us to feel the fear in others. And when we see people feel the fear but take on the challenge anyway, we are inspired. It is a signature moment for performance under pressure.
If we mentally flinch or fold, our performance will be compromised, but if we know we can survive this moment, we can take it on with relish. And much better to take it on with courage than to dither and stall. The true meaning of courage is to act with heart when you are scared.
We are not defined by pressure moments unless we let them define us. Move through and past the psychological threat to see the wonderful opportunity presented to us to go as far as we can. Instead of becoming mentally subdued, numb and frozen, we will come alive. It will be life-changing.
Reflect on your mindset when you hit discomfort. What’s your habitual response? Are you stimulated by the challenge of these moments, or does the threat loom larger? Do you walk towards them or walk away?
The discomfort of pressure: threat or challenge?
Overthinking vs Connecting
Overthinking
When I ask athletes to describe their worst 10 minutes in sport, one word always causes moans of recognition: overthinking.
It’s a strange word. Can we think too much, really? And are there particular thoughts that we can think too much about?
The athlete usually goes on to explain that they were trying their level best to right a wrong, or raise their game, but their best intentions backfired. The harder they tried, the worse things got. It even felt like there was pressure building up inside their head. They had too many thoughts, too fast, and it held them back.
Under pressure, elite sportspeople do not want to think too much or too fast, because it causes problems for their performance. A busy mind gets in the way of clarity. And that is universally seen as a bad thing.
Imagine yourself in a high-pressure moment. Your confidence is taking a battering. The casual remedy is just to think positively, which assumes that we can just replace our negative thoughts with positive ones. But that is simply throwing fuel onto the RED fire.
Your BLUE mind is telling you: ‘I can!’ It’s not a particularly strong voice, perhaps even a bit squeaky. Because while it’s speaking there’s a far stronger, deeper, RED voice booming out the opposite message: ‘I can’t!’
It’s like having two independent minds going in opposite directions and arguing about which one is best. BLUE versus RED. And the RED message feels authentic, while the BLUE voice sounds hollow and unconvincing. (Remember, only our BLUE mind can use words; your RED mind speaks in the language of feelings and sensations. There are no words, but it certainly sends its message.)
In these situations, RED usually beats BLUE. The RED system will not lie down and be ignored – after all, it’s in charge of our survival. The survival parts of our brain appeared on the scene first and got prime position in our nervous system – right on the centre line, or close to it. The RED system cannot be switched off, and the harder the BLUE mind tries to suppress it, the louder the RED voice becomes. Every time we think something positive, a stronger negative thought or feeling comes bouncing back.
Mental chatter overloads our BLUE head, taking the top-down brakes off so that our RED head drives our behaviour more or less unchecked. RED is only interested in the here and now, so with the loss of our BLUE ability to read the play, our sense of direction and our awareness of possible consequences, we become prone to acting too fast, or too slow. That’s why we see even experienced performers become impulsive or hesitant in big moments.
RED vs BLUE STATE
When we are ‘in the RED’ we can lose emotional control, overthink and get diverted. When we are ‘in the BLUE’, we can hold our nerve, maintain our focus and stay on task.
Connecting
When I ask athletes to describe their best 10 minutes in sport, the one response that stands out is that they felt connected.
Instead of the overthinking that is the hallmark of