Video transcript:
One of the most effective ways that we can handle high pressure moments is just by doing the smallest positive action. Typically when we find ourselves in those high pressure moments, when the pressure gets really loud, our minds like to jump ahead to the outcomes.
They start giving us all these rules and reminders like, “Hey, this is a big moment here, like, you have to come through” or “you can not come up here.” Things that really wouldn’t run through our mind if we were in a moment with less pressure. But our minds thought that this moment is different so we have to be different and our bodies begin to feel that.
The shaky legs, the shortness of breath, the sweaty hands. Feelings that aren’t very fun when you’re in that big moment. The next time you find yourself in that big moment, don’t fight it, don’t try to get rid of it, because it is energy that you can channel, and you actually have the power to choose that channel and wherever you focus your attention.
So focus your attention on the smallest positive action that you can take in that moment, something that you know for a fact that you can do really well. Can you commit to your plate approach? Can you just go through your pre-pitch routine confidently? It might even be something as small as just walking up to the plate with confident body language. And then, can you find the next small positive action.
These might not seem like these big, monumental actions under pressure, but they allow you to build momentum, and they allow you to do the things that you would already do if you felt like the most confident version of yourself in that moment. Find the smallest positive action, do it to the best of your abilities and then compete.