5 Ways To Perform Better Under Pressure And Reduce Stress, New Research

When you’re under pressure to perform, stress can get in the way of your results. But it’s possible to perform better under pressure rather than suffer. And this can boost not only your wellbeing, but also your performance. Compelling research demonstrates what it takes.

Life is tough today, and if you’re stressed, you’re in good company. Nearly half of Americans are stressed at least once a week and almost 20% (one in six) are stressed every day according to research by Ohio State University. According to data from Insightful, work is a primary source of stress with 90% of employees who say they are stressed at work because of unbalanced workloads, unrealistic expectations and constant deadlines. This stress affects productivity, work quality and wellbeing.

Making Sense of the Pressure

But you can take control of your stress and your results based on the way you understand the pressure. An insightful study published in the Academy of Management found that the way you think about the pressure you face can fluctuate, and this can make all the difference.

You might see pressure as a threat and focus on the negative consequences if you’re not able to perform well. In this case, you are likely to become more exhausted by trying to manage yourself and more likely to demonstrate dysfunctional behavior (think: incivility) toward others.

Or you may view the pressure as a challenge and focus on the benefits of performing well. In this case, you’re likely to become more engaged, more effective and more likely to demonstrate cooperative behaviors toward others.

According to the study, your level of resilience and ability to adapt, maintain optimism and stay confident in the face of the pressure matters to how you respond to the pressure.

It’s interesting stuff. Here’s how you can reduce stress and perform well under pressure.

How to Perform Better Under Pressure

1. Think of The Upsides

The biggest thing you can do to boost your performance under pressure is to focus on the upsides of your success. You might tell yourself that if you don’t rise to the challenge, you’ll hurt your chances of getting a promotion, but as subtle as it seems, shifting your focus and thinking of how you’ll improve your chances at a promotion when it goes well can actually make a difference.

Or if you’re going into an interview, reminding yourself of how great the job would be or how you’re a strong match to the culture, can actually help you perform better than if you worry about failing or obsess about staying stuck in your current role.

It won’t work to tell yourself not to think of the negative though. You’ll need to fill your mind with positive ideas. So be specific about the benefits of performing well.

When you focus on the upsides of the pressure you face, you’ll turn your stress into a positive motivator and increase your chances of success.

2. Think of the Long Term

Another impactful way to address pressure is to consider its benefits for the long term. When you focus on a longer time horizon, it helps you keep perspective, and this is better for your mental health and your performance as well.

With stress, it’s instinctual for your peripheral vision to close in and your blood vessels to constrict as your body prepares to survive. But if you can expand your perspective, it can help you relax, open yourself to new possibilities and perform better.

Remember that the pressure you endure today will result in positive new opportunities for you. Or remind yourself that pressure helps you learn new skills and expand your capability to do challenging new projects in the future. Facing new challenges is correlated with happiness and fulfillment. Getting through today’s challenges with perseverance prepares you for more challenges that will be stimulating and rewarding tomorrow.

When you focus on the future, you’ll expand your perspective, which will reduce stress, and you’ll contribute to the likelihood of your successful performance.

3. Think of Your Skills

You can also deal with pressure and stress by focusing on the skills you have and the skills you’ll gain.

When you encounter pressure, you typically ask yourself two questions, and these may be subconscious. First, you ask, “What are the capabilities I need to get through this?” Next, you ask yourself, “Do I have the capabilities necessary?”

You’ll be able to face the pressure effectively when you’re specific in thinking about what it will take and then telling yourself you have the skills you need, or putting plans in place to obtain them.

As you think about your future skills, it’s helpful to know that a significant trend today is leaders who hire for skills, rather than just degrees. When you have more (challenging) experiences, you’ll set yourself up to give examples and demonstrate competence in the ways leaders are looking for.

In addition, the most in-demand and important skills for the future will be soft skills (which aren’t really soft at all) like leadership, grit, resilience, adaptability, communication skills and interpersonal skills. When you face a situation with a lot of pressure, you naturally develop these skills.

As the saying goes, “When you do hard things, you may not be guaranteed success, but you’ll be guaranteed learning.”

When you focus on the skills you have and the skills you’ll build, you’ll move your mind from worry and stress to development, and in the process, you’ll be likely to boost your performance.

4. Think of Others

One of the primary ways that we understand ourselves and our value is through our impact on others and the contributions we make. When you’re facing a situation with a lot of pressure, consider how you can help your teammates and remind yourself about how others are counting on you.

Also consider how the project or responsibility will play out for others in your life. Your children will see your work ethic, and it will shape their own. Your great performance will contribute to your job security which will in turn be positive for your family’s security. And your success will contribute to your esteem, which will have positive impacts on the way you interact with friends and family.

When you focus on your community and your impact on others, you’ll shift from stress to feelings of connection, and you’ll be better able to perform based on this motivation.

5. Think of What’s Next

Another brilliant way to deal with pressure is to put it into perspective. Remind yourself that it will all be over in one week, or in 24 hours (or whatever time horizon is appropriate). Validate for yourself that this is one project out of many.

When she’s under pressure, one senior executive tells herself, “Jobs are short, but careers are long.” You can think this way about projects as well. The pressure today is real, but it will come to an end, and your ability to stay resilient, motivated and invested will serve you for the long term.

Embrace the Pressure to Perform

When you’re under pressure, it doesn’t have to be debilitating. In fact, you can perform better under pressure when you think differently about the upsides of pressure, the long term, your skills and your community as well as what’s next. You’ll be able to not only reduce stress but also pave the way to your brilliant success both today and going forward.