Framing nerves (newsletter #21) and the Performance Operating System (newsletter #20) can help us get in the right state of mind to perform.

But what happens when the game’s in the balance?

Break point. Set point. Match point.

The pressure hits us like a truck.

In the moment, do we execute or choke...

See, pressure comes in the form of distraction. It can be internal (our own expectations, our dreams, the stories we tell ourselves). Or it can be external (media, expectations from others, the conditions).

And pressure kills performance because we get distracted by these unhelpful thoughts 👆

Our focus isn’t on the task at hand.

So we need to pull our attention back to the present. Our next task. Our process.

Because focus is the antidote to pressure.

That's step 1.

But, careful…

Because what we choose to focus on can make or break our performance.

See, after enough practice of a skill – over days, weeks, years – we get to the point where the skill execution is automatic (we don’t have to think about it at the step-by-step level).

A pro serving in tennis doesn’t have to think about their stance, balance, grip, toss, strike…

They did when they were starting out. But now it’s automatic.

Here’s the thing:

Research has found one of the causes of choking under pressure is called "explicit monitoring".

We're doing the right thing by focusing on ourselves. But we're focusing on the wrong thing.

See, it's common for athletes in these situations to pay too much attention to the skill execution.

Explicit monitoring shifts our mental processes from automatic to controlled. And our tennis serve looks more like it did when we were learning. Rather than the one that got us into the Aussie Open.

Plus, focusing on the skill means we’re not thinking about our strategy. We’re not picking up cues from the opponent. How we’re gonna manipulate them. How we’re gonna win the next point. (Known as secondary task demands).

So when the pressure arrives, the great players learn to:

1. 🧠 Notice distracting thoughts
2. 🎾 Bring themselves back to the present‍
3. 👀 Put their focus on secondary task demands or the things that will allow them to execute
   

Which in itself is a skill. That needs practice to improve. Eventually, itself becoming automatic.

This is what it looks like:

Indian Wells. 2022. Considered the biggest tennis tournament outside the slams.

The final: Taylor Fritz vs Rafael Nadal.

It’s the biggest game Taylor’s ever played. In his hometown. Against a bloke he’s never beaten before. A brick wall.

But he’s got himself to championship point. He’s serving to win.

And this is his thought process:

“Championship point. He’s against the wind, so it’s not going to come super fast at me.

As long as I make my first serve, he’s going to play it a bit safer.

I’m nervous. And I know that he knows that I’m nervous.

Maybe I can break the pattern of what I’m doing.

Go for the shot that he’s going to expect least.

Go.”

That’s focus. Pure secondary task demands. Strategy.

He executes. And, yeah, he wins.

But we’re not all serving up down-the-line top spinners on centre court...

Understanding this process, though, can help us when we feel pressure in our everyday lives.

Whether it’s a big presentation, salary negotiation or a birdie putt. Notice. Bring yourself back. And focus on the things that’ll help you execute.

And remember, in the words of former tennis great Billie Jean King:

"Pressure is a privilege. It only comes to those who earn it."

So soak it up.