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

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

Your favorite athlete closes in for a victorious win.

Vaša omiljena sportistkinja je nadomak trijumfalne pobede.

The crowd holds its breath,

Publika ne diše,

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

i, u presudnom trenutku, ona omaši.

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

Ova takmičarka je upravo doživela fenomen poznat kao „pucanje“,

where despite months, even years, of practice,

kada uprkos mesecima, pa čak i godinama vežbanja,

a person fails right when it matters most.

osoba podbaci kada je najvažnije.

Choking is common in sports,

Pucanje je učestalo u sportu,

where performance often occurs under intense pressure

gde se aktivnosti često odvijaju pod jakim pritiskom

and depends on key moments.

i zavise od ključnih trenutaka.

And yet, performance anxiety also haunts public speakers,

A ipak, anksioznost zbog postignuća često muči i osobe na javnim nastupima,

contestants in spelling bees,

učesnike takmičenja spelovanja,

and even world-famous musicians.

pa čak i svetski poznate muzičare.

Most people intuitively blame it on their nerves,

Većina ljudi to intuitivno pripisuje živcima,

but why does being nervous undermine expert performance?

ali zašto nervoza narušava izvođenje kod eksperata?

There are two sets of theories,

Postoje dva skupa teorija,

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

a obe kažu da se pucanje pod pritiskom prvenstveno svodi na fokus.

First, there are the distraction theories.

Najpre, tu su teorije ometanja.

These suggest that performance suffers when the mind is preoccupied

One ukazuju da postignuće trpi kada je um preokupiran

with worries, doubts, or fears,

brigama, sumnjama ili strahovima,

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

umesto fokusiranja pažnje na izvođenje zadatka pred sobom.

When relevant and irrelevant thoughts compete for the same attention,

Kada se bitne i sporedne misli nadmeću za istu pažnju,

something has to give.

nešto mora da popusti.

The brain can only process so much information at once.

Mozak u datom trenutku može da obradi samo određenu količinu informacija.

Tasks that challenge working memory,

Zadaci koji opterećuju radnu memoriju,

the mental “scratch pad” we use

mentalnu „beležnicu“ koju koristimo

to temporarily store phone numbers and grocery lists,

da privremeno sačuvamo brojeve telefona i spiskove za kupovinu,

are especially vulnerable to pressure.

naročito su podložni pritisku.

In a 2004 study, a group of university students

U jednom istraživanju iz 2004. godine,

od grupe studenata je zatraženo da rešavaju matematičke probleme,

were asked to perform math problems,

some easy, others more complex and memory-intensive.

od kojih su neki bili laki, a drugi složeniji i oslanjali su se na memoriju.

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

Polovina studenata je rešila oba tipa problema bez ikakvog podsticaja,

while the others completed them when calm and under pressure.

dok su ih drugi rešavali u smirenom stanju i pod pritiskom.

While everyone did well on the easy problems,

Dok su svi bili uspešni kod lakih problema,

those who were stressed performed worse

oni koji su bili pod stresom imali su lošije rezultate

on the more difficult, memory-intensive tasks.

u složenijim zadacima koji su se zasnivali na memoriji.

Explicit monitoring theories make up the second group of explanations

Eksplicitne teorije osmatranja čine drugu grupu objašnjenja

for choking under pressure.

za pucanje pod pritiskom.

One se bave time kako pritisak

They’re concerned with how pressure

can cause people to overanalyze the task at hand.

može dovesti do toga da ljudi preterano analiziraju zadatak pred sobom.

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

Ovde logika glasi da jednom kada veština postane automatska,

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

razmišljanje o njenoj preciznoj mehanici ometa sposobnost njenog obavljanja.

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

Čini se da su zadaci koje vršimo nesvesno najviše podložni ovakvom pucanju.

A study on competitive golfers compared their performance

Studija sa golferima takmičarima upoređivala je njihovo postignuće

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

kada im je zadato da se prosto fokusiraju da udaraju lopticu što preciznije,

versus when they were primed to be acutely aware

nasuprot situaciji u kojoj im je rečeno da budu izuzetno svesni

of the mechanics of their putting stroke.

mehanike svog pokreta udaranja.

Golfers usually perform this action subconsciously,

Golferi obično ovu aktivnost izvode podsvesno,

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

pa su oni koji su se iznenada usmerili na precizne detalje svojih pokreta

also became worse at making accurate shots.

postali i najgori u ostvarivanju pogodaka.

Choking may not be inevitable for everyone though.

Mada, pucanje ne mora za svakoga biti neizbežno.

Research suggests that some are more susceptible than others,

Istraživanje ukazuje na to da su neki podložniji od drugih,

especially those who are self-conscious,

pogotovo oni koji su samosvesni,

anxious,

anksiozni

and afraid of being judged negatively by others.

i koji se boje da će drugi negativno prosuđivati o njima.

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

Pa, kako da izbegnemo pucanje kada nam je to važno?

First, it helps to practice under stressful conditions.

Kao prvo, pomaže vežbanje u stresnim okolnostima.

In a study on expert dart players,

U studiji sa profesionalnim igračima pikada,

researchers found that those who hadn’t practiced under stress

istraživači su pronašli da su oni koji nisu vežbali pod stresom

performed worse when anxious,

imali lošije postignuće kada su bili anksiozni

compared to those who had become accustomed to pressure.

u poređenju sa onima koji su se navikli na pritisak.

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

Kao drugo, mnogi se kunu u moć rutine pred izvođenje aktivnosti,

whether it’s taking a few deep breaths,

bilo da je u pitanju nekoliko dubokih udisaja,

repeating a cue word,

ponavljanje neke ključne reči

or doing a rhythmic sequence of movements.

ili ritmički niz pokreta.

Studies on golfing, bowling, and water polo

Istraživanja kod golfa, kuglanja i vaterpola

find that short rituals can lead to more consistent

nalaze da kratki rituali mogu dovesti do doslednijeg

and accurate performance under pressure.

i tačnijeg postignuća pod pritiskom.

And thirdly, researchers have shown

I treće, istraživači su pokazali

that having an external focus on the ultimate goal

da spoljašnji fokus na krajnji cilj

works better than an internal focus,

bolje deluje od unutrašnjeg fokusa,

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

pri čemu je neko usmeren na mehaniku onoga što radi.

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

Studija sa iskusnim golferima otkrila je da su oni koji su udarali lopticu uvis

while focused on the flight of the ball

i fokusirali se istovremeno na let lopte imali znatno bolji učinak

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

od onih koji su se fokusirali na pokrete svojih ruku.

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

Stoga možda možemo da izmenimo onu staru izreku:

practice,

vežbanje

under pressure,

pod pritiskom,

with focus,

uz fokusiranost,

and with that glorious end goal in sight,

imajući u vidu taj sjajni krajnji cilj,

makes perfect.

vodi savršenstvu.