Breaking Pre-Performance Anxiety

Imagine that it is the night before a tournament. All of a sudden you begin to worry about how well you will perform, start envisioning the mistakes that could hinder your play and potentially cause you to miss the cut. As this cognitive snowball continues you realize is that you have turned what was just a fearful thought into full-blown anxiety.  You begin to question and doubt everything before you even tee off; you are already experiencing defeat, and for no reason at all!  This is a prime example of pre-performance anxiety - the #1 self-sabotaging mechanism that can limit one’s focus, confidence and performance.

Pre-performance anxiety is a state of stimulation associated with unpleasant emotions and disempowering thought patterns that begins to make itself known subconsciously prior to tournament play. It is a cognitive state, but manifests in body through its reaction to the embedded subconscious thoughts and feelings of being anxious.

One’s feelings and bodily reactions provide numerous indicators, such as stress, muscle tension, butterflies, and upset stomach suggesting that things are out of harmony.  Thoughts and imagines within the mind begin to magnify greater than necessary. Whatever the degree that these influence performance is largely dependent upon the interaction of each player’s own uniqueness and ability to capture the preceding thoughts and emotions.

What do you do?

Face it for what it is and Turn it around:
Pre-performance anxiety’s fallout results from a discrepancy between the athlete’s capabilities and the unhealthy expectations or demands of the competitive situation. When things are balanced, the player experiences confident enthusiasm, which can be referred to as being “in the zone.” In this awareness, everything appears to flow effortlessly. Now, if capabilities exceed the challenge, excitement will decrease, resulting in boredom or lack of motivation. If the opposite occurs, the athlete may fear defeat of desired outcome, which can result in unnecessary anxiety.

I would like to share with you some research findings by Walter Kroll demonstrating that at least five factors effect Pre-Performance Anxiety:

• Physical complaints — digestive disturbances, shaking and yawning
• Fear of failure — losing, “choking,” living up to expectations and making mistakes
• Feelings of inadequacy — unprepared, poor conditioning, low skill ability and feelings that something is wrong
• Loss of control — feeling of being jinxed, competitors performance, poor officiating and inclement weather
• Condemnation — mentally beating yourself up, hard on yourself, over analyzing

Effects on performance
In golf where calmness is a one of the main component of success, pre-performance anxiety can significantly interfere with the ability to stay relaxed. When this happens, all muscles become tense and limited in their mobility or function.  The key here is to assess your thoughts, make the proper thought adjustment and think clearly.  Focus clearly!  Breathing exercises are also very helpful in these times.

Here is what the athlete can do:

- Become more aware of your most favorable level of excitement.
- Become more aware of what thoughts made you feel ready and what thoughts made you anxious.
- Become more aware of what feelings you experience when you were ready versus when you were anxious.
- Identify the differences in your actions or activities in the shift of feeling prepared to feeling anxious.
- Focus on things that are within your creative control.  Focus on your Vision and Goals!
- Use “visualization cues” to develop and reinforce focus.

You can overcome Pre-Performance anxiety!  Just like everything else, transformation is the key to obtaining your objectives.  Contact KaizenGOLF for your sports cognitive assessment and see what cutting-edge sports cognitive coaching can do for you.