An Age-Old Technique for Performing Better Under Pressure

I have a technique I want to share with you today about how to overcome pressure. My whole platform is find a way to win using creativity and tenacity to perform your best under pressure. So, I have a technique on how can you actually perform better under pressure. What’s the technique I want to share?

It’s meditation.

I realize that sounds simple, and some of you are probably thinking, “Come on, man”. Even me, I’m thinking, “really, meditation?” The answer is, yes. Currently, there is quite a lot of focus on mindfulness. However, mindfulness is not new. It’s actually been around for three or four decades. It’s very well established and it’s becoming more and more mainstream. As I do my homework on helping you perform better under pressure, whether: it’s an exam; or you’re talking to the board; or you’re presenting to the investors; or you’re on the sports field; or you’re in the audition room at some point you will find yourself in that pressure moment. So, how do you get better at it?

Start practicing meditation at least 10 minutes a day.

Meditation supports you to take better control of your thoughts. Not just to be calm and serene, although that’s important too

When you understand how to meditate, it will allow you to prevent yourself from being caught up in the narrative of the pressure. Meditation helps you to recognize that something is happening that you don't want, and then control the thoughts and come back to where you are supposed to be. That's the beauty of meditation.

When you are: in front of the board, or the investors, or in the audition room, or maybe on the sports field and all of a sudden your mind starts to wander; meditation gives you the power to notice that your mind is wandering, come back to center, and focus on what you have to do.

Realize, that you do not have to say “ummmm” and hug trees. There is a woman, a doctor, that I listen to her name is Tara Brach. She’s fantastic. She has a series of meditations you can do that are between 7 and 14 minutes long on a variety of topics including: how manage fear and anxiety, becoming more mindful, and being more present. In the morning, along with your expressive emotional writing, simply add in a 10-minute meditation. Start putting those two things together and you will develop total control of your mind.

And if you didn’t see my message on emotional writing, check it out. It was the blog before this, on how writing actually saves you from any kind of unwanted thoughts. Put these two things practices together and it will be a superpower for you to be able to find a way to win.

Calvin Strachan made the Find a Way to Win programs after becoming a leader in several multi-million dollar sales organizations ranging from: direct sales to pharmaceutical sales to personal development.

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