How To Overcome Performance Anxiety

Are you looking for how to get rid of performance anxiety during your competition day? Learn tips and tricks to overcome performance anxiety and rock in the event.

We help you to get some techniques that will help in overcoming the performance anxiety during the important sports day.

But first, learn what Performance Anxiety is. 

You may have noticed so many times that while practicing, you are fully confident and ready to defeat the team with all your skills.

But when the actual day comes, you unintentionally feel ‘choking’. There is something running in your nerves that loses your confidence as well as concentration from the match. 

The continuous feeling of fear, nervousness, or anxiety interferes with the reduction in your performance during competition.

Performance anxiety is common among the sportspersons, and many athletes report feeling anxious before the match. They experience pressure over their head and start worrying about the performance even before the competition.

This feeling of pressure, anxiety, stress before the competition can deteriorate the athlete’s performance.

If the level of pressure and stress increases too much, the athlete may also drop out himself before the competition begins. 

There is no surprise that athletes fall into such a state. It is because there is so much pressure on them to win the match.

They get pressure from the coach and audience to perform from others and win in the competition. 

An athlete can go under pressure and anxiety due to other reasons as well. These are too many high expectations, mass observation, friends and family, team, coach, and failure. These all are the reasons that make an athlete feel anxious and increase stress in their body. (Source 1)

Thus, in this article, I will provide some effective psychological tips that will surely help you get over performance anxiety. You will be able to easily reduce and overcome that make you a better competitor. 

How To Reduce Performance Anxiety Just Before the Event Get Started

• Take Anxiety As Normal: First of all, you have to understand that jitters, before the event gets started, is normal. Every athlete has some kind of nervousness before they are going to start their performance. Remember, stop overthinking as this might increase nervousness. After some time it will change into stress and pressure that hamper your performance and mindset. So take it as normal and focus on the game. 
• Get Prepared Both Physically and Mentally: To keep yourself calm and physically attentive, reach the event venue before the time. Do not keep yourself in a rush. Watch out the place before the audience gathers and does some warm exercise so that the blood circulates throughout the body, including the brain. Take a deep breath so that your mind and mind get synchronized, and all the stress gets released. 
• Practice Visualization Before Event: Try to make an image of how you are going to perform in the competition. Take a few minutes to visualize and mentally rehearse about your performance and make a strategy mentally how to win the match. This visualization will help you in overcoming your nervousness and anxiety before the event. (2) 

How To Reduce Performance Anxiety During the Event

• Stay Concentrated On The Task and Performance: It is one of the psychological strategies to improve your performance, stays focused on tasks you have to perform rather than the result. If you start thinking about the results initially, this will distract your focus, and negative thoughts will start to hit in your mind. Try to keep focused on the present moment. 
• Keep Smile On Your Face: If you feel there is a continuous pressure in your head and feeling anxious and do not want to show your opponent you are feeling so, then keep a smiling face. If you even fall even then, keep smiling, this will keep you motivated and remove the nervousness of falling in between the competition. A smile will change your perspective in front of your competitor and even release the stress from your mind. 
• Perform Like Result Doesn’t Matter To You: If you perform during the event like the results do not matter that much, and you are going to perform well without worrying about results, this will keep you away from negative thoughts. 

How To Reduce Performance Anxiety After the Event

• Review how you perform: To keep away anxiety after the event, just review your performance mentally. Keep your focus on thoughts and actions that help you during the performance.  
• Do not Think Much: Do not think much about the performance as you might get remembered about the actions that bring a hindrance to your performance. Do self-talk and praise yourself for what you have done and encourage you to do much better in your next performance. 
• Make A Training Program: If you want to perform well in the next competition, then design your training program the same as the event day. This will help in lowering the nervousness and anxiety during the event day. (3)

Also Read: Natural Pre-Workout Supplements For Better Performance During Workout

Last Words:

Always remember that anxiety, nervousness, and stress are common during events, even with the best players as well.

What you have to do is take it positively and direct it towards the performance.

Do self-talk, encourage yourself, and keep negative thoughts away from your mind.

Do not worry about the results and practice hard so that there is no hindrance to your performance.