Dr. Dave Alred MBE

Anxiety should be regarded as high-octane fuel for elite performance and as a normal reaction to a pressured environment. The skill is managing it so we can perform to our limits under pressure. If anxiety is perceived as a weakness, it will have a detrimental impact on our ability to perform under pressure.

Working on your posture can have a dramatic impact on your state of mind as you prepare to deliver under pressure.

The importance of physical fitness, then, cannot be understated. Fitter people, with lower resting heart rates, take longer to get into the zone that adversely affects the task they’re attempting. They are capable of making better decisions under fatigue and pressure, a vital skill in occupations such as the armed forces and the emergency services.

If I had to give a high-concept appraisal of my coaching philosophy, it would be: ‘To rekindle youthful learning and create a ‘no limits’ mindset.’

It simply isn’t possible to master something new without getting ugly.

And why is it that when our head is full of interference and thought about technique we don’t play well? Because we forget to take dead aim. In fact, it is the single, engaging process of taking dead aim—really seeing that very small target in extreme detail—that helps to displace the potential interference and allows your subconscious to deal with the finer details of technique.

I dislike the term ‘choking.’ It has negative, almost cowardly implications. Many excellent, heroic performers have been unfairly labeled as weak under pressure, often by those who could not even begin to comprehend the kind of stresses involved in performing at the pinnacle of sport. As golfer Tom Watson says: ‘A lot of guys who have never choked have never been in a position to do so.’ And, in fact, it isn’t mental fragility that causes choking at all; it’s more like a lack of mental discipline, or a failure to organize one’s thoughts when the pressure is on.

His total commitment to the process ensured that the outcome took care of itself.

No matter who you are—the world’s number-one golfer, a nurse in an overburdened department, rugby’s best goal kicker or one employee among thousands in a big company—you can always improve. At the margins of your performance, you can still get better—and you can learn to enjoy and embrace the challenge of improving and celebrate your progress.