Pressure Cooker

No matter whether you're an athlete, coach, musician, actor, lawyer, business owner/entrepreneur, employee, doctor, or any other type of "performer", pressure is an inevitable part of your world.  Before you can think about  how to respond and perform effectively under pressure, getting clarity on a few things is useful:

1. What triggers YOU to feel pressure? Consider external causes (ex: deadlines, particularly circumstances, expectations from someone else or for a particular outcome) and internal causes  (ex: your own expectations, a desire to avoid negative emotions such as fear, embarrassment).  
2. How do you react to pressure?  Consider what happens to your thinking (what you tend to think, how active your mind becomes), what emotions you experience, how your body reacts (such as muscle tension, loss of appetite), your behaviors and actions (what you do and don't do), and your performance. 
3. What happens to your mental game? Profile how pressure impacts things like your confidence, focus, memory, mindset/perspective, energy/pace, and motivation. And if you're part of a team, company, group, or organization, think about how it affects your work with your team (communication, relationships, interactions, group environment, leadership, etc. and their mindsets, emotions, reactions, performance, etc.).

"Self-awareness is a key to self-mastery." - Gretchen Rubin