I have enough fears of jumping out of a normal airplane with a parachute, let alone breaking the sound barrier at the same time. Yet, that is exactly what the phenom skydiver, Felix Baumgartner did in October of 2012. While this was, and still is incredible, behind every successful risk-taker or record breaker is an even greater coach. Dr. Michael Gervais, a sports psychologist specializing in high performance athletes, gave a speech at Nike not too long ago, where he reviewed all that Felix went through to prepare for this incredible free-fall. Dr. Gervais, works in the trenches of high-stakes environments, where there is no luxury for mistakes, hesitation, or failure to respond. With the vision of helping his clients thrive under pressure, he has created a performance model that allows people to achieve their maximum potential, whether on or off the field. Let me tell you what he said.
Mental Toughness
We are not just talking about normal physical training. We are talking about a grueling rigor of extreme mental and emotional coaching leading to the acquisition of “mental toughness”, which all great athletes, and risk-takers, need to have. I learned that this toughness requires having four essential characteristics:
- A strong self-belief (confidence) in their ability to perform well
- An internal motivation to be successful
- The ability to focus one’s thoughts and feelings without distraction
- Composure under pressure.
Bringing it Down to Earth
For Baumgartner to perform such a difficult task of falling over 24 miles and reaching over 840 mph, required that he be coached in the third characteristic more than the others. As I thought about how Dr. Gervais described the emotional control that Felix needed to acquire, ironically, I thought about how similar this situation was to the more mundane “down-to-earth” anxieties of our normal work lives. How many of us feel like giving a speech in front of a large audience, making a presentation to our peers in a meeting, being interviewed for a new position, or giving a pitch to a potential customer team feels like we are free-falling at Mach 1?
We can learn to address these high anxieties effectively with the right training. Nervousness is normal and natural and the key is to channel our fears and anxieties into focused energy that leads to controlled animation, or, not being afraid to jump. Through practice, experience, and these four steps you can overcome your natural fears and learn the keys behind successful achievements.
How do you survive tough, fear-filled assignments at work? What have you found to be successful in overcoming fears and nervousness in giving a speech to a large group, a presentation in front of your boss’s bosses, or justifying your job during a down-sizing exercise.
