Anxiety Can Improve Your Performance Every Time
Jun 11, 2022 11:31 am
Happy Weekend,
Interesting title, isn't it? "Anxiety Improves Performance?" I never would have believed it. Anxiety is typically debilitating and ruins performance on the playing field, in the classroom, on the job and in relationships. But I've seen thousands of high performers like you change their relationship with anxiety to excel.
This is true in injury as well, so I build on last week's message with another injury example and show you how to excel through anxiety. Even if you aren't injured, there is a lesson in this process for you ... lean in and ask questions. Your anxiety is trying to help.
And the #MTin60sec video below that is a message that can keep you motivated every single day IF you ask the question and have a clear answer. Watch and try it out this week.
Get 1% better today,
Dr Eddie
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"Can I Trust It?"
The doctor says you are healed.
You are cleared to return to play.
Your PT and AT agree.
But you’re scared that you’re not ready to return. Or that you will re-injure it.
You should be. It is a logical question and your anxious mind is telling you about something that absolutely could go wrong, but not what will go wrong.
So pay attention and check the facts. Lean into the anxiety and explore what it is warning you about to see if, in fact, you can or cannot trust this healed body part.
Answer these questions (with medical help, when needed):
Why am I healed? What is different in my body that shows healing?
Why am I safe to play again? Do I have the strength to handle the extra pressure and power and movement of sport? How can I know this is true?
What is the difference between injury pain and a sign I am doing too much, and training or rehabilitation pain which is a sign of good effort for growth?
Answers to these questions will address your anxiety and let you focus on the physical tasks of execution, keeping you even safer from injury while improving sport performance.
Confidence is usually built gradually with your success in progressively harder physical tasks … if you have been successful in the prior steps you are likely ready for the next. Trust your experience and medical science and hold your worry lightly. Our anxiety makes us ask questions. Trust the objective answers.
***Do you have a question about rehabilitation anxiety? Reply to this e-mail and if you want some help getting back in the game with confidence, let's work together.
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Ask Yourself This Question
"If you keep working as hard as you're currently working and you fail, will you be satisfied?"
Well, most times people say, no, absolutely not. I'm not satisfied with less than the best results, but I want to challenge you with this here. You got to take care of the process. Championship goals require a championship process.
You can't get there with a recreational process. I know you're working hard, but very rarely do I see people working as hard as they possibly can. And maybe we shouldn't be because a hundred percent of your effort, even 90% of your effort, requires a tremendous amount of sacrifice.
Honestly, we're not all ready or willing to give that much. So let's talk more realistically ... if you have goals other than your sport performance goal or your occupational goal, then you're not going to give them all 100%. You're not sacrificing big in the other areas. So if there's a certain amount that you're willing to give in a particular area, you've got to be okay with the results that you get.
So here's the question again, "will you be satisfied in failure if you keep giving the effort that you're giving?" If the answer is no, then I encourage you to actually dig deeper and work harder right now so that you're not disappointed if the failure occurs.
... or look at the other end of it and say, "I really am working as hard as I'm willing to work. I could do more - because we always can - but it would cost too much money, too much time, it's too hard, it's too difficult." And so become okay with the results that you're going to get because you're a hundred percent committed to this level of the process. And that'll save you regret later on.
But do not expect yourself to have championship goals without a championship process ... and be okay with the investment that you're putting in. Be okay with the results that you get, knowing that that's the best that you were willing to do.
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to overcome adversity and improve your performance.
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Dr. Eddie O’Connor
