How to stay calm under pressure - Noa Kageyama and Pen-Pen Chen

Prevoditelj: Lidija Funtek Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

"Pritisak je privilegija"

Your favorite athlete closes in for a victorious win.

Vaša omiljena sportašica priprema se za pobjednički pogodak.

The crowd holds its breath,

Publika je prestala disati

and, at the crucial moment, she misses the shot.

i, u najkritičnijem trenutku, ona promaši.

That competitor just experienced the phenomenon known as "choking,"

Ta natjecateljica upravo je doživjela fenomen koji se naziva "gušenje",

where despite months, even years, of practice,

kada unatoč mjesecima, čak i godinama treniranja,

a person fails right when it matters most.

ne uspijete baš onda kada je najvažnije.

Choking is common in sports,

Gušenje se često događa u sportu,

where performance often occurs under intense pressure

kada treba raditi pod veliki pritiskom

and depends on key moments.

i kada sve ovisi o ključnim trenucima.

And yet, performance anxiety also haunts public speakers,

No strah od nastupa problem je i za govornike,

contestants in spelling bees,

natjecatelje na natjecanjima u slovkanju,

and even world-famous musicians.

čak i za svjetski poznate glazbenike.

Most people intuitively blame it on their nerves,

Većina ljudi za to krivi živce,

but why does being nervous undermine expert performance?

no zašto nervoza uništava profesionalce?

There are two sets of theories,

Postoje dvije teorije

which both say that primarily, choking under pressure boils down to focus.

i obje kažu da je kod slamanja pod pritiskom problem u usredotočenosti.

First, there are the distraction theories.

Prvo imamo teorije o rastresenosti.

These suggest that performance suffers when the mind is preoccupied

One kažu da izvedba trpi kada je um zaokupljen

with worries, doubts, or fears,

brigama, sumnjama ili strahovima

instead of focusing its attention on performing the task at hand.

umjesto da se usredotoči na obavljanje trenutnog zadatka.

When relevant and irrelevant thoughts compete for the same attention,

Kada se važne i nevažne misli natječu za vašu pažnju,

something has to give.

nešto mora trpjeti.

The brain can only process so much information at once.

Mozak može procesuirati samo određenu količinu informacija odjednom.

Tasks that challenge working memory,

Zadaci koji uključuju radnu memoriju,

the mental “scratch pad” we use

mentalnu "bilježnicu" koju koristimo

to temporarily store phone numbers and grocery lists,

da privremeno zapamtimo brojeve telefona i popis za kupnju,

are especially vulnerable to pressure.

posebno su podložni pritisku.

In a 2004 study, a group of university students

U istraživanju provedenom 2004. godine, grupa studenata

were asked to perform math problems,

morala je riješiti matematičke zadatke,

some easy, others more complex and memory-intensive.

neke lakše, neke teže i zahtjevne za pamćenje.

Half the students completed both problem types with nothing at stake,

Polovica studenata rješavala je zadatke bez ikakvih rizika,

while the others completed them when calm and under pressure.

a druga polovica rješavala ih je kada su bili mirni i pod pritiskom.

While everyone did well on the easy problems,

Iako su svi dobro riješili lagane zadatke,

those who were stressed performed worse

oni studenti pod stresom, loše su riješili

on the more difficult, memory-intensive tasks.

teže zadatke koji su zahtijevali više pamćenja.

Explicit monitoring theories make up the second group of explanations

Detaljne teorije o nadgledanju čine drugu skupinu objašnjenja

for choking under pressure.

za slamanje pod pritiskom.

They’re concerned with how pressure

Bave se time kako pritisak

can cause people to overanalyze the task at hand.

uzrokuje da ljudi previše analiziraju zadatak koji moraju obaviti.

Here, the logic goes that once a skill becomes automatic,

Ovdje logika nalaže da jednom kada vještina postane automatska,

thinking about its precise mechanics interferes with your ability to do it.

razmišljanje o njezinim mehanizmima ometa vas da ju izvedete.

Tasks we do unconsciously seem to be most vulnerable to this kind of choking.

Zadaci koje nesvjesno obavljamo pate pri takvoj vrsti slamanja pod stresom.

A study on competitive golfers compared their performance

Istraživanje o profesionalnim golferima uspoređivalo je njihove izvedbe

when instructed to simply focus on putting as accurately as possible,

kada su se samo morali usredotočiti na što preciznije umetanje loptice

versus when they were primed to be acutely aware

i kada su morali biti potpuno svjesni

of the mechanics of their putting stroke.

mehanizma svog udarca.

Golfers usually perform this action subconsciously,

Golferi to uglavnom rade nesvjesno,

so those who suddenly tuned in to the precise details of their own moves

tako da su oni koji su se morali usredotočiti na detalje svojih pokreta

also became worse at making accurate shots.

imali i lošije rezultate u postizanju preciznih udaraca.

Choking may not be inevitable for everyone though.

Slamanje pod stresom nije neizbježno, doduše.

Research suggests that some are more susceptible than others,

Istraživanja pokazuju da su neki tome podložniji od drugih,

especially those who are self-conscious,

posebice oni koji su samosvjesni,

anxious,

anksiozni

and afraid of being judged negatively by others.

i koji se boje da će ih drugi osuđivati.

So, how can we avoid choking when it really counts?

Kako možemo izbjeći slamanje kada je to stvarno važno?

First, it helps to practice under stressful conditions.

Prvo, vježbanje u stresnim uvjetima.

In a study on expert dart players,

U istraživanju o profesionalnim igračima pikada

researchers found that those who hadn’t practiced under stress

dokazano je da oni koji nisu vježbali pod stresom

performed worse when anxious,

imaju lošije rezultate kada su anksiozni

compared to those who had become accustomed to pressure.

u usporedbi s onima koji su se navikli na pritisak.

Secondly, many performers extol the virtues of a pre-performance routine,

Drugo, mnogi se diče svojim ritualima prije samog nastupa,

whether it’s taking a few deep breaths,

bez obzira je li to samo nekoliko dubokih udisaja,

repeating a cue word,

ponavljanje neke riječi

or doing a rhythmic sequence of movements.

ili ritmičko ponavljanje nekih pokreta.

Studies on golfing, bowling, and water polo

Istraživanja o golfu, kuglanju i vaterpolu

find that short rituals can lead to more consistent

pokazuju da kratki rituali pomažu da nastup bude usklađen

and accurate performance under pressure.

i precizan bez obzira na pritisak.

And thirdly, researchers have shown

Treće, istraživanja su pokazala

that having an external focus on the ultimate goal

da je vanjska usredotočenost na konačni cilj

works better than an internal focus,

puno bolja nego unutarnja usredotočenost,

where someone is tuned into the mechanics of what they’re doing.

kada se pazi na svaki pokret onoga što se radi.

A study of experienced golfers revealed that those who hit chip shots

Istraživanje o profesionalnim golferima pokazalo je da oni koji udaraju

while focused on the flight of the ball

usredotočeni na let loptice

performed significantly better than those who focused on the motion of their arms.

imaju nešto bolje rezultate od onih koji se usredotoče na pokrete ruku.

So, perhaps we can modify that age-old saying:

Možda onu staru izreku možemo malo prilagoditi:

practice,

vježba,

under pressure,

pod stresom,

with focus,

uz usredotočenost

and with that glorious end goal in sight,

i uz misli o onom predivnom konačnom cilju,

makes perfect.

vodi do savršenstva.