How to perform well under pressure
Believe in Yourself.
It might sound a bit airy-fairy, the kind of thing you’d expect to hear sung about in some tacky pop song.
You might roll your eyes and think it’s overrated.
But believing in yourself could just be the thing that makes or breaks your next performance when the pressure is on.
Sure it’s easy to stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself you believe in yourself (actually, it’s harder than you’d think to convince yourself – try it!)… But to believe in yourself enough to keep your cool under pressure is a whole different story.
Has this ever happened to you?
You’re getting ready for an important performance (or an audition, or a competition, or maybe your director just walked into the studio) and suddenly something in you starts squirming. You feel on edge and restless. Something’s not right. Something is missing… Ah, that would be your confidence.
It just ran away and is hiding somewhere in the wardrobe department under a pile of tutus, hyperventilating. And you’d like to join it, if you weren’t about to go on.
You don’t think you can do it. Your mind seems to have either frozen solid and is no use to you at all or is gushing with a waterfall of reasons why you won’t be able to pull this thing off.
What are you going to do?
If you want to perform even half as well as you usually would, you’ll need to find a way to pull yourself together and convince yourself that you can do this.
You need to dig deep and draw on something stronger than your fear of not cutting it.
You need to have a solid sense of who you are. Essentially, you need to believe in yourself.
And that’s not easy. When you’re under stress, even the most confident person can crumble.
That’s why learning to believe in yourself needs to be practiced during the normal, everyday classes and rehearsals – to make it a habit.
Then, when the director surprises your class with a visit, or you get picked for the next round of that audition, or you have your debut in this big role – your confidence is ingrained enough to rely on when the pressure mounts.
A firm belief in yourself will enable your focus to sharpen instead of shatter and your muscles to loosen instead of tighten under pressure.
A firm belief in yourself will enable you to still the self-doubting.
And that takes work.
I wish I could say it is as simple as singing along to a tacky pop song. But it’s not. So, to be honest with you, that’s why I have created a full 5 -week training program on learning how to believe in yourself.
So that you can actually be equipped for the hard – but oh so empowering – work of changing the way you see yourself and actually, genuinely, believe in yourself.
Because how much better would you perform that role, or dance in front of your director or do that audition if you truly believed in yourself?
Close your eyes for me
(Yes, now!) Close your eyes and see yourself dancing without fear and doubt, just believing in yourself. Notice your freedom… notice your confidence… Notice your quality…
Ok, now open your eyes again. Don’t you want to dance like that?
Let’s bring that into reality for you. Let’s give you the process to actually make it happen.
The Believe in Yourself Online Masterclass series is starting next weekend on Saturday the 21st February. I encourage you to join us with my whole-heart, because I am doing this for you.
Because even if you don’t yet. I believe in you. I really do.
🙂 Philippa
For more info and to register for the Masterclass go here: https://stageminded.com/believe-registration