Note: This article is by author and sociologist Shan Foo, who shares his experience maintaining self-confidence in difficult situations and under extreme pressure.
You know everything you have to do from start to finish, but at this crucial moment, your mind seems to have stopped working, and you can't help but think about these questions: What's wrong with me? And why does my mind always freeze up when I need it most and feel so embarrassed? Why can't I be like other calm and confident people?
Brain freeze is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. It's our body's way of reacting and protecting us in stressful situations. Even the most seasoned politicians can freeze up during arguments; while it's normal, it's still painful to experience.
Our low self-confidence can be a debilitating blow to us, and we can start to question our abilities and blame ourselves, but it doesn't have to be this way. With a little practice and training, you can maintain self-confidence under all this pressure.
Tips for Overcoming Confusion in a Highly Stressful Situation
Here are some great and effective techniques that can help you overcome confusion and feel confident and grounded in a high-stress situation:
1. Reset your mind
When we forget many things we know due to intense pressure because our bodies feel tired and stop working, we can use a distracting image or idea to overcome the fatigue and reset our minds.
Choose a distracting thought that has nothing to do with your situation. For example, choose a picture that makes you laugh so that it relieves stress and gives you comfort, and you can also define in advance the picture that will help you so that it is easy to remember when you need it.
For example, I use the image of the cartoon character " Homer Simpson, dreaming about cupcakes and saying, "Mmmm... cupcakes," which is an unexpected and funny picture in a serious situation.
Doing this takes your mind off the current stress and anxiety. It shifts your attention to this new idea, which helps reset your mind so you can get back on track during a difficult situation.
2. Relaxed face technique
When we feel stressed, one of the first areas to tense up is the muscles of our jaw and face, and this goes unnoticed because it happens so quickly and unconsciously that we don't realize it's happening.
So when you feel overwhelmed in a high-stress situation, focus on the back of your jaw and consciously release the tension. Relaxing your jaw muscles relaxes your facial muscles, signaling the rest of your body to release tension.
It also helps you feel calmer, reduces feelings of anxiety that overwhelm your body, and enables you to think more clearly.
3. Confronting and acknowledging anxiety
Fighting anxiety when you are under stress takes a lot of energy; it feels like you are repeatedly banging your head against a huge wall around you, and fighting it, in this case, will only increase your anxiety and may even make it worse.
So, instead of fighting this anxiety, acknowledge its existence, don't judge it; just deal with it, watch it, and let it flow out of you. Dealing with it helps you quickly return to your normal state, enabling you to deal with the situation confidently.
4. Facing your fears
Face your fears. What are you afraid of? When we are afraid, it hurts us, gets worse, and threatens to swallow us whole. However, when we confront this fear, we frequently find that reality is not as bad as we thought.
What is the worst that might occur? Is the bad thing we fear going to happen, or is it just an irrational fear?
This confrontation helps us understand that the outcome of a stressful situation is not as bad as it seems and calms the build-up of feverish anxiety.
5. Spreading light and energy in the place
Our body language and how we radiate our energy have major physiological effects on our self-confidence and feelings. So try to project confidence by imagining an aura of energy surrounding you, and act as if you radiate confidence. When we move confidently, we feel energized, which others can feel immediately. When they interact and reflect positive energy toward you, that results in cumulative positive feedback, enhancing more confidence.
In conclusion
It can destroy our self-confidence when we forget a lot of what we know during crucial moments, but it doesn't have to be this way. Just practicing a few simple techniques can have a huge impact on your ability to remain calm and confident in the face of stress; imagine the feeling of relief and self-confidence you answer questions with ease and poise in a delicate meeting involving discussion of crucial matters.
You can bring out the richness of knowledge and depth of experience you possess and articulate it with clarity and confidence because all it takes is just one step. Pick one or two techniques that appeal to you and try them, and you will be on your way to bringing out the calm and confident person that was out there inside you all the time.
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