#897 - Steve Magness - How Nervous People Can Perform Under Pressure
Feb 1, 2025
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In this discussion, Steve Magness, a performance coach and sports scientist, dives into the challenges of performing under pressure. He explains how societal expectations can heighten anxiety and impact performance. Magness offers practical tips for reshaping mindset and viewing failure as a stepping stone to resilience. He underscores the importance of social connections for emotional regulation and advocates for redefining success by appreciating personal growth over outcomes. Insights on overcoming perfectionism round out this engaging conversation.
The episode highlights how identity shape performance, as success raises expectations that can lead to heightened anxiety and pressure.
Social connections and support networks are crucial for mitigating performance-related stress, helping individuals manage challenges more effectively.
Adopting an exploratory mindset by focusing on the process rather than outcomes can empower individuals to embrace learning from both successes and failures.
Deep dives
The Inner Game of Elite Performers
Many talented individuals struggle to actualize their potential due to challenges with their inner game. This episode highlights how some athletes, despite immense talent, often hinder themselves through anxiety and performance pressure. The discussion reveals that it is not always a lack of ability that keeps someone from success but rather the mental barriers that prevent them from expressing their gifts. This phenomenon is often seen in performers who excelled initially but face heightened expectations, causing them to choke under pressure.
Identity and Performance Pressure
The shift in identity after achieving initial success can lead to increased pressure for future performances. When someone transitions from being an unrecognized talent to a known performer, their self-perception morphs, making every subsequent performance feel like a high-stakes test. This fear of failure can trigger a stress response that sabotages their ability to perform as they know they can. The conversation underscores the importance of understanding how identity influences performance and the associated pressure it brings.
The Price of Success
The episode discusses the unseen costs of success, including the pressure that comes with higher expectations and the potential loss of enjoyment in the craft. Elite performers often face the burden of their success becoming a new baseline, making any subsequent achievements feel inadequate. Notable figures in various fields express that by achieving a significant milestone, they inadvertently raise the bar for future performance, resulting in a sense of impending failure. This perception can lead to a detrimental cycle where past successes amplify fear and anxiety.
The Role of Social Support
The importance of social connections and support in mitigating performance-related stress is emphasized throughout the discussion. Having a supportive network can significantly alter how individuals perceive challenges and setbacks, making difficult situations feel more manageable. Research has shown that when individuals are with trusted friends or coaches, they experience reduced cortisol levels and increased confidence. This highlights how social dynamics play a crucial role in performance, especially when it comes to coping with pressure and overcoming anxiety.
Strategies to Reframe Performance Anxiety
To effectively tackle performance anxiety, individuals can employ various strategies, including reframing their mindset and creating supportive routines. One powerful technique is to focus on the process rather than the outcome, which helps reduce the pressure to perform perfectly. Engaging in diverse activities outside of one's main pursuit fosters resilience and encourages a multi-dimensional identity, lessening the fear of failure. The episode concludes with advice on how to cultivate an exploratory mindset, embracing the learning experiences that come from both successes and failures.
Steve Magness is a performance coach, author, and sports scientist.
Performing under pressure isn’t easy. Whether it’s a big test, a game, or a presentation, nerves often get in the way. So how do you stay calm and do your best? How can you turn pressure into an advantage?
Expect to learn how pressure impacts performance, how to deal better with stress and anxiety, how to stop focusing on negative outcomes, why identity and self-clarity are so important, the biggest differences between surviving and thriving, the role failure plays in shaping your true identity and how to fail better, why it’s so difficult for people to find out who they are and much more…