Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling that we all experience at times. When we are anxious we can often experience physical sensations such as increased heart rate, muscular tension, perspiration, trembling or feeling out of breath.
However, anxiety can also have a major affect on us mentally. We can often worry for inordinate periods of time, so much so that we start to feel out of control.
Anxiety can influence our behaviour too. When we are anxious we can start to avoid doing things that we want because we start to worry about the outcome.
The majority of athletes feel anxious both before and during competition. However, this is common practice as they accept performance anxiety as perfectly normal and allow it to sharpen their focus. The best of the best train their minds exceptionally well.
A moderate level of anxiety or excitement is actually necessary for optimal performance. When people panic, it is typically an extreme form of performance anxiety. A panic response (false alarm) is an exaggerated mind-body reaction that can be diffused or re-directed.
The instinctive responses to panic are always counterproductive - fleeing, isolating oneself, trying too hard to relax or beating yourself up mentally.
The reason for anxiety taking over is that you have usually triggered a sequence of certain incorrect mental responses which has allowed it to engulf you. The key to managing over anxiety is to stop this sequence early!
Invariably, if you are being honest with yourself, the reason for your panic is due to either a fear of the unknown or a perceived failure. Remind yourself that panic is a harmless experience that exists ONLY in your mind and by extension, your body.
Listed below are several tactics to help you best manage anxiety:
Be Well Prepared. The better prepared you are for all eventualities, the less you will fear them. Ensure proper preparation to the last detail.
Nerves Are Natural. It is normal to be anxious. It happens to everyone, so don’t concern yourself about this.
Ally With The Anxiety. Do not attempt to rid yourself of anxiety, partner it. Tell yourself, “my mind and body is preparing to perform” and “I’ve done this well before and I will do it well again”.
Breathe Evenly And Deeply. Take a series of long and deep breaths to stay calm. Exhale slowly. Controlled breathing is probably the number one way to stay relaxed as it not only clears the mind but also reduces any physical tension.
Get Creative. Give the anxiety feeling an imaginary form (such as a firework or thunder) and then place it in an imaginary safe place or container. By doing this, you are in control of this feeling.
Stay In The Present. Do not allow yourself to think ahead or behind. The future is unknown and the past has gone. It’s what you do at each "live" moment that counts, the rest will take care of itself.
Stay Positive. When you hear yourself use negative language, flip the switch and make it positive self-talk. Take a moment and talk rationally to yourself.
Take Yourself Lightly. Take what you are doing seriously but learn to take yourself lightly. Always remember that what you do is not who you are! Have a good time and enjoy yourself. Remind and ask yourself “what’s really the worst thing that can happen?” and “what else can I do to cope?”.
A Game Changer says…
Anxiety is not something to be ashamed or embarrassed about. It arrives at everyone’s doorstep at some time or other.
As with everything in life, it is how we help ourselves in times of adversity that matters most. Not everything has to be managed alone. Speak with family and friends whom you are close to. Share your thoughts and concerns.
Don’t bottle things up and isolate yourself. In all we do as human beings we deserve to support and be supported by each other.
So, to avoid becoming overwhelmed and to move forward whenever you next feel anxious, do make use of at least a few of the above strategies - THEY WILL HELP.
Finally, please remember that F.E.A.R. stands for “Face Everything And Respond”. To remain happy and content and to be able to perform at your best, in all walks of life, let the butterflies fly in formation!
Resolutions? Changes? Goals? Make Sure They're Attainable!
Happy New Year Everyone
At the start of a new year it is customary to set off at break neck speed with wonderful intentions of the new and the better.
In theory everything appears straightforward - you are pumped up, you know what you want and you set your targets - but in practice it is often very different.
Q: How many times do we set a new year’s resolution only to fall short and break it within the first few weeks?
A: If we are being honest, I’d imagine the answer is ‘Many’.
So, in order to get this right and start 2015 off as you’d like, let’s consider the right processes in order to help you achieve your goals.
Know Where You Are
When setting a goal, firstly you need to understand exactly what your present situation is? And secondly, is there anything stopping you from achieving your wanted outcome?
Be Specific
In order to set effective goals, it is important that they are specific. The more specific, the better the chance of you reaching it. (Detail, Detail, Detail).
Ensure It’s Measurable
For a specific goal to be effectively set, it is crucial to make it measurable otherwise you will have no way of knowing what had to happen to get there.
Is Your Goal Achievable?
Any goal you set must be within the realms of possibility. The way to know this is by removing any personal limitations and asking yourself if it is achievable?
Am I Being Realistic?
Only you can know whether a goal set is realistic or not. People have different perceptions on what is realistic. It is important that YOU are certain that it can and will happen.
Establish A Time Frame
It is nigh on impossible to achieve a goal without setting some form of time frame. The time frame should be as specific as possible. (DO NOT say “One day….”).
Not Too Big (NTB)
Finally, whenever you set a new goal make sure that it is NTB! This is a common recipe for disaster. Make any target incremental and achieve it steadily.
By referring to the seven parameters listed above, you will stand yourself in good stead when setting up any new year’s resolutions or goals going forward. Last but not least, don’t make setting a goal a burden! Make it a challenge and have fun with it! If your goal feels like a burden then it is either the wrong goal or it is has been set incorrectly.
A Game Changer Says…
Very few of us actually set our goals effectively. In fact, it has been estimated that only 5% of people set efficient and effective goals.
Goal setting is important in all walks of life. In a sporting context, having no goals would be like playing golf without a hole or snooker without the pockets!
Goals are vital in both the short and long term. In business, they help to propel a vision and also act as motivation. They can assist with focus, performance, achievement and confidence.
Success will ultimately depend on how, and the way, they are set.
There is a lot of attention to detail, intricacies, consideration and also personal understanding required when setting goals. Success in this arena can be more complex than it may look.
For further assistance and a more in depth look at how best to achieve your desired goals and outcomes for 2015 please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Don't Forget To Hit The Reset Button!
Use Your Time Out Wisely
Towards the end of this month we will take time off from work to relax, go on holiday, catch up with household projects and simply be with our close family and friends. After all ’tis the season…
And yet many of us will feel guilty for doing so. We will worry about clients and emails that will lead us to compulsively check our smart phones during this precious time off.
So this year start a new trend. BEWARE the false break. Make sure you have a real and proper one. Christmas is more than simply a quaint tradition. Along with all the family time, eating, drinking and making merry; it is a vital time for us to rest our important and beautiful brains.
Every day we’re bombarded by facts, pseudo-facts, news feeds and general tittle-tattle that hits us from every direction. According to a 2011 study, on a typical day, we take in the equivalent of about 174 newspapers’ worth of information - five times as much as we did in 1986. In 2003, we reportedly watched an average of five hours television per day. For every hour of YouTube video you watch, there are 6,000 hours of new video just posted. Information overload is truly here!
The Two-Part Attentional System
So, if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed, there’s a reason: the processing capacity of our conscious mind is limited. Our brains have two dominant modes of attention:-
Task-Positive and Task-Negative.
The task-positive mode is active when you are fully engaged, focused and undistracted. The task- negative mode is active when your mind is relaxed and wandering. These two attentional modes act like a seesaw in the brain - when one is active the other is not.
A third component of the attentional system - the attentional filter - helps orient us. It tells us what to pay attention to and what we can safely ignore. The constant flow of information via Email, SMS, Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Instagram etc. engages this part of the system and we suddenly find ourselves not sustaining attention on any one thing for very long - the curse of the information age.
Every status update you read on Facebook and every tweet or text message you receive is competing for resources in your brain with important things like how best to present a pitch, what time do I need to be at my child’s play or how do I reconcile a disagreement with a colleague.
Focus + Planning = Less Stress
If you want to be more productive and have more energy then neuroscience dictates you should partition your day into project periods. Social networking should be done during a designated time, not as constant interruptions to your day.
Email, too, should be done at specific times of the day. An email sitting there, unread, may sap your attentional resources as your brain keeps thinking about it, distracting you from what you are actually doing. Who’s it from? What’s it about? Is it important? Is it good news or bad news? And so on. So, leave your email program off until the designated times you set. That way you won’t hear that constantly annoying ‘ping’ and be distracted!
Our days will become easier if we tame our multitasking and immerse ourselves in a single task for a sustained period of say 30 to 60 minutes.
Daydreaming + Contemplation = Better Environment
Studies have shown that a simple walk or listening to music can trigger the mind-wandering mode. This, in turn, acts as a neural reset button and provides us with much needed perspective on what we’re actually doing.
Daydreaming leads to creativity and creative activities allow us to see the opportunity for change, to mould it to our liking and have a positive effect on our environment. Music, for example, turns out to be a very effective method for improving attention, building self-confidence, improving social skills and creating a sense of engagement.
A Game Changer Says…
Zoning out is not always bad. Our mind needs time to reset. Studies have shown that people who work overtime reach a point of diminishing returns. Taking breaks is biologically restorative. If we can train ourselves to take regular vacations - true vacations without work - and set aside important time for daydreaming and contemplation, we will be in a much stronger position to achieve our goals. And importantly, we will be happier and healthier because of it!
So, by switching off and relaxing during this Christmas holiday period, not only will you allow your brain the opportunity for it to perform its much needed restorative process but you may just find that certain solutions to certain problems appear with ease, allowing you to return to work in the New Year with more gusto and positivity whilst also being able to employ some of the above thought processes and techniques for further success.
PS. Please remember to employ your task-negative mode just as much, if not more so, than your task-positive mode this Christmas :-)
Happy Holidays!