Performance Anxiety: Managing High Expectations
Francis, a student brimming with potential, finds herself wrestling with another bout of test anxiety. Despite her deep understanding of the material, the pressure of a challenging exam renders her mind blank, haunted by the fear of falling short. Worries about the repercussions of not securing an A flood her thoughts – the potential disappointment from her teachers and parents, the impact on her overall grade. These thoughts have become a barrier, hindering Francis from focusing on her tests and performing to the best of her abilities.
Performance anxiety defined.
Francis’s experience is just one illustration of how performance anxiety and lofty expectations can undermine our true potential. This challenge isn’t exclusive to academics; students grapple with similar struggles in sports, theater, or public speaking when faced with overwhelming expectations.
Let's dive into what performance anxiety entails. It's not just ordinary anxiety – it's an overwhelming fear about how well you'll perform in specific situations like exams, presentations, or performances. This anxiety manifests physically, with symptoms like a racing heart, and mentally, leading to self-doubt and an inability to perform optimally. At its core, it's an overestimation problem within the brain. It's when the mind magnifies a threat, such as an impending test, into catastrophic thoughts like, "If I fail this test, I’ll fail the whole year, jeopardizing my dream college, my future job, my family..."
Pause! Allowing these thoughts to dominate us opens the floodgates for imaginary threats to accumulate, overpower us, and heighten anxiety.
It's essential to differentiate between healthy stress and performance anxiety. Stress can motivate us to prepare for an event, enhancing our chances of success. Performance anxiety, however, occurs when stress reaches overwhelming levels, impairing our ability to function. How students handle their responsibilities determines their response.
Impact of high expectations.
While expectations can fuel our determination, they can also escalate stress. Expectations stem from various sources – self, friends, family, and even teachers. Belief in our abilities can enhance success, but excessive emphasis on outcomes can be detrimental. The key is finding a balance – high expectations can aid, not hinder, a success profile when managed appropriately.
What can you do?
There are effective ways to tackle performance anxiety and high expectations proactively. Often, it's more efficient to preempt performance anxiety, gaining control over stress, rather than calming down once anxiety strikes.
According to the explicit monitoring theory of choking under pressure, a concept rooted in recent cognitive psychology and neuroscience findings, performance often falters when excessive attention is concentrated on it. This contradicts the conventional wisdom that the quality of performance is directly proportional to the intensity of focus. The crucial factor, it appears, is the nature of this focus. As described by this body of literature, being overly preoccupied with the fear of making mistakes increases the likelihood of actually making them.
To attain optimal performance—referred to by psychologists as achieving a state of flow—certain parts of the brain should function on automatic pilot, without actively thinking or "explicitly monitoring" the task at hand. We can significantly enhance people's performance by diverting their focus away from the mechanics of their stroke or swing. Engaging them in reciting a poem or mentally singing a song, thus redirecting their conscious attention, can swiftly enhance their performance.
Chronic performance chokers, especially those dealing with performance anxiety, are often too consumed by an internal dialogue of self-doubt: "Am I doing this right? Do I appear foolish? What if I embarrass myself? Can people notice my trembling? Is my voice shaking? Could I lose my job?" This relentless self-questioning hampers their ability to focus on the task and leads to decreased performance.
Strategies for navigating performance anxiety.
Consider process-oriented thinking: a strategy that helps manage expectations and outcomes healthily. Understanding your emotional responses enhances the application of this mindset. It’s about focusing on what you can control, being adaptable to mistakes, and finding intrinsic motivation. Control what you can in your personal locus of control – focus on aspects within your power like study habits, effort, and attitude. Prioritize time management, set realistic goals, and adapt to challenges while relinquishing control over external factors. This reduces stress and boosts your chances of success.
Embrace mistakes – view errors as opportunities for learning, not sources of frustration. Practicing self-compassion, seeking help when needed, and using mistakes to improve shift the focus away from specific outcomes, reducing pressure.
Find intrinsic motivation – align pursuits with your interests, setting meaningful goals and seeking autonomy in learning. Reflect on progress, cultivating self-driven enthusiasm.
Think about Francis again. Armed with process-oriented thinking, she tackles her test anxiety. Concentrating on controllables, she channels her energy into manageable aspects like consistent study habits and effective time management. Embracing flexibility for mistakes, she views errors as stepping stones to growth, fostering personal resilience. Discovering intrinsic motivation, she immerses herself in subjects that she's passionate about, making studying more meaningful. This comprehensive approach not only alleviates her anxiety but enhances her performance and well-being.
Remember, external pressures may persist, but your personal responses to them make all the difference. If you find managing performance anxiety and expectations daunting, don’t hesitate to seek support. Confide in trusted individuals who can offer the necessary guidance. With the right approach, you can navigate these challenges and unleash your true potential.
- Reed Marshall, School Social Worker
