Performance Anxiety
Picture Credit: https://yourmusiclessons.com/blog/performance-anxiety/
I first came across this word in conjunction with teaching special education students. Several studies have mentioned that once a student loses pace with their peers, they can never catch up.
A “Cognitive Behaviour” site stated that performance anxiety occurs within students once pace with peers is lost and all data points compared to their peers report this loss, they experience performance anxiety. They further state as part of their intervention strategies to engage students where they are and do not compare.
When you do a search of this phrase there seems to be a lot of posts concerning “men's” bedroom performance anxiety. This post is nowhere near taking on that specific area. Instead, would like to walk through the mental game of how we have established low level performance criteria that were created by others and has created a vicious cycle.
Like any word/phrase, once you hear it read it, you begin to see it all over the place. If you are familiar with the word then maybe i am drawing together some thoughts you recognise. But did want to try and assimilate a clear thought of how performance anxiety affects us on a daily basis.
Oddly this thought process was drawn from a post by Cyndi wilkins, https://www.bebee.com/producer/@cyndi-wilkins/the-power-to-choose and her thoughts sourrounding a change in social consiousness.
A great piece that elevates the issues we face and i wanted to expand into the areas whereby we could think about our individual actions and how they contribute to the whole.
Performance anxiety is the process where we see something as more than we can accomplish, either in task, intellectual or sense of fair play has been lost. This definition is a bit airy without considering where the established criteria came from that actaully set the points of measurement. Also this evaluative journey is about "before we communicate" within the envelope of our lives. Those auto-thoughts of performance anxiety that we may not have labeled yet, that guide our communications.
Our first measurement usually is recognised as given throughout our lives and labeled our personal narrative. Ian Weinberg covers this much better than i can, https://www.bebee.com/producer/@ian-weinberg/embrace-the-zeitgeist-and-transcend
Briefly it is all the things that you were given to be true during your childhood along with your own personal experiences up to this point. How you define, fair, good behaviour, success and wealth are all in there.
Within this narrative there is a second layer to the narrative that is more a recent phenomena, within this balancing act. Materialism. Not defined as a disease but rather the thoughts we carry of comparison of who has/owns what and where we stack up. This is the area that media exploits.
When we combine these two perspectives we now have a complete scale in which to balance our life. So we think. The mere existence of the scale is the reason for performance anxiety. A scale only needs to be used when we need to weigh “two” different items. Automatically, by placing an opposing weight on the other end, we have now empowered the object.
Media has recognised this for a long time. They establish a performance criteria then show you how you can’t meet the criteria without their product or service. We are constantly bombarded with various standards of performance. TV, online commercials and social media. They create the secondary criteria in which we must pull out the scale for comparison. Our own paradigm is the first piece.
Now we can say we are above the child's play of marketing, but i would think again. With such consistency we become acclimated to the process of performance anxiety. The performance anxiety envelope is one that is built over time. If it's in your face we instantly reject it. But like the frog in the slowly raised water temperature, we are in the hot tub believing this is life.
If VISA had a commercial that stated you could save lives by using their card to become a brain surgeon we would laugh. But somehow we can be a better family through VISA.
Author in Source Title
Performance anxiety has another name stress. Stress is being studied as causing some of our more devastating, life threatening conditions. But stress is nebulous when we sit down to actually attempt to become self aware of the stress itself. This is why i prefer the phrase performance anxiety.
Within performance anxiety we must have a scale and two opposing counter weights. Myself on one side and something else on the other that is equal, better or worse, establishing my view of how i fit/balance within a paradigm. This establishes also a way for us to become intraspective of our viewpoint. Describe the counter weight. Why does it have the power to change the balance of the scale in your perspective? Can i remove that power? What happens when i have sorted through all the powers that unbalance my scale of view?
When we work through all of the scale issues of balance, we find we no longer need the scale at all. We live within a world where balance is not needed. Only purpose.
Author in Source Title
One of the key components of approaching performance anxiety as we walk the journey is declared “purpose”. Earlier we spoke to the narrative that we have gathered along our life journey. Believe it or not that narrative is your purpose. Success in dealing with performance anxiety (Stress) happens only when we truly take the time and identify a purpose for ourselves, using the narrative as a starting point or finding another source in helping us define our purpose. Just keep in mind that you are writing "your" purpose and not looking for someone to give you one.
We should reject any purpose that is given to us until we have had the opportunity to be introspective about changing our declared purpose.
Author in Source Title
@Ali Anani started a great dialogue in comparison to nature the performance anxiety we have been discussing here. https://www.bebee.com/producer/@ali-anani/sandy-societies#c17
Some parting thoughts.
Writing your purpose is not easy. It is a journey of six months or more. It's difficult because it will, over time, replace the performance anxiety with purpose and reduce the auto-speech we have become accustomed. It will feel very mechanical at first. But you are rescripting your narrative. It's worth the time.
Consider taking the challenge of watching marketing and how it shows you performance criteria. VISA will show you a family on vacation that was funded by them, with eeeeasy payments of course, this family is portrayed as criteria of performance when we look at our own.
Maybe you see the commercials that create a thought of symptoms that we can relate too and then offer you a solution. Two seconds before that commercial you were doing just fine. Now you are thinking about the symptoms they presented.
Branding and money is a powerful force behind creating performance anxiety.
Author in Source Title
Take a moment to better understand the narrative, teaching and the piano is replaceable with your specific situation. Great video explanation.
A rephrasing of her final thoughts. No one wants to change their purpose as it goes against the status quo. But if we decide to do so, we can combine our passion within our purpose that enlightens others with a new narrative.
Now that you know that performance anxiety is the working cause of your stress and that defining your fundamental purpose can…...I have left a blank line for you to write the purpose you will use to throw away the scales that are holding you back from success.
You can “Soar”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
May your days be full of purpose, (That you defined.)
""
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Comments
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #23
Thanks for the share. In comprehension it is easy. In execution is easier to stick your hand in a fire 🔥 A simple yet effective way is to choose a purpose/value and then say it before each interaction This will help with habit formation After habit forms we can then begin skill development around the habit Never easy though. I find myself biting my tongue more often these days.
Lisa Vanderburg
6 years ago #22
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #21
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #20
Ian Weinberg
6 years ago #19
Gratified to have contribured some value Harvey Lloyd
Cyndi wilkins
6 years ago #18
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #17
Ian Weinberg is showing us the horizon of change while you are displaying the fundamentals of process in action. My attempt here is to add language that would point to practical methods of the change process. A framework of thought that could possibly lead to a higher level of self awareness. My, hope as always, i gave someone pause during the cycles of life. (Just some general feedback your posts and the PDF you sent has really helped a neighbor who is dealing with a family member with severe depression. It has helped him better understand the process. Thanks.)
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #16
Gert Scholtz again thanks for the share and the comment. Character is almost stone. It is hard to chisel and change the shape. I typically reject anyone who has any statements of quick fixes. But our need for instant gratification to the question at hand can lead us to spending lots of money for a quick fix. When talking with managers over the years concerning troubled employees i ask the question, is this a skill issue or a character issue. If its a skill deficit that causing the troubling behaviour that's our fault and we need to review our training/hiring practices. If it is character, and i am using this word squarely within the purpose paradigm, my follow up question is how long are you willing to walk on the journey to change the character/purpose? If the manager is unwilling to invest in the individual then we need to release them to a job that their character better suites. Character can display our purpose and believe it or not when we sense uneasiness, we are actaully sensing a purpose that is incongruent with our own. Thanks for the comment and thoughts
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #15
Words and meaning. Cyndi wilkins your comments are straight on point. But what i found interesting is i am expressing the same thing with just different words. It brings to light one of the center pieces of the discussion. We attach alternate meanings to words based on our experiences and narrative. Pamela \ud83d\udc1d Williams commented that the word success is a gateway to performance anxiety. I couldn't agree more, specifically as we read or view various presentations that make us feel like idiots because we haven't brought the $4,000 package to be great. In your comment i converted your words into my own and they fit the narrative of the post. Words are for us to define. WIthin purpose we must also define our own success. Although i admire the great leaders of success in today's world i do not measure success the way they do, i am not them, i didn't walk their journey. I also reject their power in assisting me in my own success. I define what success is, not the power of someone else. I enjoy reading their thoughts and their wisdom. But it all has to fold into my own paradigm of success. Thanks for your comment and your passion in healing our social wounds.
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #14
Ian Weinberg
6 years ago #13
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #12
Cyndi wilkins
6 years ago #11
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
6 years ago #10
Harvey Lloyd you are always welcome !
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #9
Yes in my journey of understanding i realized that many of my limiting beliefs, as Ian has tagged them, they all landed at the door of pride. In changing the view the door was then recognised to have so many locks it took months to figure out the combination.
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #8
You have made an assumption that places you on the scale. Success can mean what you want it to. Success is personal within your purpose. Secondarily you have also added to the scale your interpretation of purpose. Your purpose is yours, mine is mine. Neither is relevant to anyone else. By defining your purpose as you have with your comment, then do that, don't let other thoughts or interpretation waver your from that purpose. Your comment in light of the post is the exact position i refer. Purpose and success have become something that you balance within a scale. No need, it's yours and you should gage your life through that lens. Ps. I love your purpose, it's a great statement about you.
Randall Burns
6 years ago #7
Ali Anani
6 years ago #6
I must add my voice to yours Harvey Lloyd does. His engagent is outstanding.
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #5
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #4
The honor is mine as we enlighten each other in our purpose. Thanks for the share.
Ali Anani
6 years ago #3
Harvey Lloyd
6 years ago #2
I believe the process is ubiquitous across disciplines, sports and people. It took me a while but started to watch how the performance i thought i could do was being destroyed in my own mind because of something in the environment. That journey really changed my focus. It sounds like you did the same for your teams. Awesome approach. Thanks for stopping by and i still am hung up in that damn plane you invented, go take a nap and finish the dream.
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #1