The ability to stay calm under pressure and not let emotions interfere with your decision-making process is one of the most important qualities that an effective leader can possess.
Panic, while an evolutionary response that has been coded into our DNA, isn’t exactly as helpful in our modern world and modern decision-making process as it used to be in the days of fight or flight survival.
To succeed in a high-pressure environment, it is essential to know how to stay calm and let logic guide your decisions rather than strong emotions. With that in mind, here are twelve effective tips that you can use to help you stay calm under pressure.
Practice deep breathing and mindfulness
When it comes to staying calm and collected, you’d be hard-pressed to find a group of people more capable than Buddhist monks. The meditation practices that they use to achieve this relaxed and stress-free state of mind are accessible to anyone.
Meditation has been shown to reduce stress dramatically. It has also been proven to result in real, physical changes in a person’s brain over time. Best of all, meditation is an incredibly easy practice. Quietly sitting with your eyes closed for a few minutes, and focusing on your breathing is enough to relax your mind and release you from the stresses and pressures of your environment.
Make Sure You Get Plenty of Sleep
Staying rested is a vital part of avoiding stress buildup. A person who gets plenty of sleep is more equipped to stay calm under pressure than someone who does not. It’s recommended that a person get between seven to nine hours of sleep each night. When you can get this recommended amount of sleep, you are sure to be in a much better mental state.
The 5 Second Rule
by Mel Robbins
⏱ 12 minute reading time
🎧 Audio version available
Learn how to Shift into Autopilot
There are many instances of people who appear to have the most stressful jobs in existence going about their day to day activity without a care in the world. By and large, these people have learned how to perform their responsibilities on autopilot.
Shifting into autopilot means that you have practiced and performed a task so often that it now comes naturally without even having to think about it. Consider a field goal kicker in football – the best kickers are the ones who don’t let the pressure of the moment prevent them from performing.
The kickers who can accomplish this are the ones who have practiced both the mental and physical side of their skill so often that kicking a field goal is something that they can do without even having to think about it, even if there are thousands of screaming fans watching them.
When you make yourself so comfortable with a task that you can do it on autopilot, it is quite easy to stay calm even when the pressures surrounding that task become extreme. Practice and work until your chosen craft becomes second nature, and you are sure to find that any pressures associated with it disappear.
Related: 7 Simple Steps to Mastering the Decision Making Process
Take Occasional Breaks
While the temptation to work nonstop to get as much done as possible in the face of mounting pressure is understandable, overworking your body and mind is only going to exacerbate the effects of stress and strain.
Whatever you are working on and whatever the source of the pressure that you feel might be, it is essential to take occasional breaks. Give your mind a rest, even if it is for a brief time. When you return to work, you are likely to find that you are much more productive and relaxed.
Lighten the Mood
A little dose of humor and levity can go a long way. If you are feeling the pressures of work or whatever else you might be involved with, try to lighten the mood. Simply taking a step back, cracking a joke, and trying to smile is often all that it takes to relive a little pressure and stress.
Avoid Negative People
If you are trying to be more mindful, reduce stress, and remain calm in the face of high-pressure situations, then negative people should be avoided at all costs.
Much of the pressure that you feel – be it from work or any other situation – is highly affected by your frame of mind. It can be lightened and made less extreme by a positive and motivated mind, or it can be exaggerated by a negative and pessimistic frame of mind.
Then, the problem with hanging around negative people is that we tend to adopt the same frame of mind as the people we spend the most time around. Human beings are social creatures, and embracing the mindset and outlook of our peers is just one way that we have evolved to function within a society.
In the case of negative, pessimistic people, though, spending too much time around them is sure to make the stresses and pressures that you feel all the more extreme. Instead, surround yourself with people who have a positive and optimistic outlook no matter what their circumstances might be. You will have a much easier time staying calm under pressure.
Learn to Overcome Panic Signals
Panic, fear, and even stress are all part of your body’s survival mechanisms. In a dangerous situation, these mechanisms can trigger our fight or flight response. For thousands of years, the fight or flight response worked quite well at keeping us alive.
However, while the fight or flight response may be ideal for stressful situations such as escaping a dangerous animal, it isn’t quite as suitable for stressful situations, such as giving an important presentation at work. After all, running out of the room or attacking your coworkers isn’t likely to lead to the desired result.
Unfortunately, we have yet to evolve new stress-response mechanisms that are more applicable to our 21st-century world and are instead stuck with the same stress-response mechanisms that used to keep us alive during our hunter-gatherer years. The good news is that the panic signals you feel in a stressful situation can be overcome.
Next time that you feel yourself starting to panic in a stressful situation and feel your fight or flight response beginning to kick into gear, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and try your best to clear your mind. It may not work all that well the first time you try it. Over time, it is possible to overwrite your panic response with a relaxation response that will be useful to you in our modern world.
Practice Self Care
Combating stress and staying calm under pressure is much more difficult if you are not properly taking care of yourself. We’ve already touched on the importance of getting plenty of sleep, which is certainly one essential aspect of proper self-care. However, self-care goes far beyond making sure you get enough rest.
Self-care entails looking out for your physical, mental, and spiritual needs. Are you practicing a healthy diet, making time for the activities that give you peace and enjoyment, and exercising regularly? These are all critical elements of self-care that need to be addressed.
When you practice self-care, you give your body and mind everything that it needs to tackle the challenges ahead rather than running into a stressful situation with low energy and low motivation. It may sound a little cliché, but taking care of yourself is one of the best ways to ensure that you can take care of everything else in your life.
Prioritize and organize your tasks
One of the best ways to stay calm under pressure is to prioritize and organize your tasks. When you clearly understand what needs to be done and when, it can help you feel more in control and less overwhelmed. Start by listing all the tasks you must complete, then prioritize them based on their importance and deadline. Next, break larger tasks into smaller, more manageable steps and schedule specific times to work on each one. This will help you stay focused and avoid feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done.
Take breaks and step away from the situation
It’s important to recognize when to take a break and escape a stressful situation. This can help you clear your mind and return to the situation with a fresh perspective. Take a few deep breaths, go for a walk, or do something that you enjoy to help you relax and recharge. Remember, taking breaks is not a sign of weakness but rather a strategic way to stay calm and focused under pressure.
Visualize a successful outcome
When faced with a high-pressure situation, it can be easy to get caught up in negative thoughts and worst-case scenarios. Instead, try visualizing a successful outcome. Imagine yourself handling the situation with ease and achieving the desired result. This can help shift your mindset from one of fear and anxiety to one of confidence and positivity. Visualization can also help you prepare for the situation and feel more in control.
Tackle Your Goals by Staying Calm Under Pressure
The ability to stay calm in the face of incredible pressure is a characteristic that defines some of the most influential and successful people in the world. When you can remain calm under pressure, you can find the logical path forward and execute it to the best of your ability rather than being overcome and held back by negative emotions.
By following the tips outlined above, you should be well on your way to adopting a mindset and a lifestyle that lends itself to reducing stress and staying calm under pressure. While none of these tips is an overnight solution, over time, they can certainly help you reduce the amount of pressure that you feel in your life and help you tackle all of your most important goals.
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