You must be choking

**Guest post by Flame Conference speaker, Renzie Hanham ***

Expectation, scrutiny and consequences are a product of pressure, and they also create pressure. They can raise our performance to new heights or they can inhibit us to such an extent that we shut down, freeze and can’t perform. Happens as much in business as it does in sport.

These three aspects are related to outcomes. The more significant the outcome (an Olympic medal is pretty significant), the more pressure there is. And when the pressure is perceived as being severe enough our brains and body react accordingly.

Each situation we experience triggers an emotional and physiological response and prepares the body for action. After this, the information is transmitted to our brain, which analyses the detail and sends a message that prepares the body and considers whether the threat is real or not.

The problem is that once an emotion is turned on, it is difficult to turn it off. This can lead to freezing and, more significantly, panic. The brain in effect talks to itself.

Choking could be seen as a milder form of freeze. The individual can still perform but not to the same level because parts of their brain are shutting down. As a result, decision-making becomes difficult and the individual’s attention starts to fixate.

In essence they misrepresent what is happening and lose the ability to adapt and adjust. They lose the ability to think clearly and maintain an overview and their world shrinks as they react to what they perceive is happening. They reach their threshold for coping with the situation at hand and go into overwhelm.

I’ll be explaining how to manage overwhelm and turn it to your advantage at the FIA Conference later this month.

To book a place at the FIA Flame Conference call: 0207 8420 8560