Finding Peak Performance Through Stress

Stress can increase our ability to perform. It’s indisputable. Everyday you see people (athletes, students, business people) take the stress of the situation and use the stress to build great performances - the extemporaneous speech that brings people to tears, the A+ paper created during a stress laced all-nighter, the tournament winning chip shot two feet from the hole. Stress can help us find the zone. (Stress can also detract from performance which I will discuss this fact another day.) To starts let’s discuss finding peak performance through stress by asking a few questions:

Why does stress help us with peak performance and why do we use stress in the way that we do? Why do people drink lots of coffee when they’re trying to get something done? Why do people procrastinate until the last minute? And more importantly what can stress teach us… so that we can optimize our performances in a less stressful way? 

Basically, what we’re gong to discuss is how intense stress or panic activates the right side of your brain and overrides your analytical left brain. Analysis/paralysis is pushed aside and pure performance takes over.  By the end of this post it will all make sense. Now, let’s work it through.

Everyday Stress

The best way to understand anything is to look at real life. So let’s start with a little survey of stressful situations. Of the following what would cause you personally more stress? (a) A dirty house with clothes and newspapers strewn about and dirty dishes in the kitchen, (b) Ignoring a droning business associate who goes on and on and who makes you want to flee the room. (c) Moving into a new house and all the aggravation that goes with moving. (d) Being stuck in traffic.

It doesn’t matter which answer you chose. My point in asking is to demonstrate that there is such a thing as everyday stress. Stress is a part of life and is not only associated with critical moments (giving a big presentation, hitting the winning golf shot). Life is full of situations that cause us to be uncomfortable and feel stress.

First a Reminder on Stress and the Brain

Before we move on I want to remind you how the brain reacts to stress. I’ll use the example of the dirty house. If you feel stress about a dirty house either you are feeling anxious apprehension and your left brain is more highly activated because you’re embarrassed by how your house looks to others.

Or you are angry and mad that you let the house get so bad or you’re mad at your kids who messed it up. In this case, you have mild anxious arousal and your right brain is more highly activated. This is hard science and is indisputable. For more details on this topic please go to Searching For Peak Performance.

The Ongoing Stress Cycle - Training Your Brain

Everyday you learn. And as you learn you experience a little bit of stress, a little discomfort every step of the way. Think about it.  Think back to your days in school. When a teacher presented a new concept at first you were a little confused. Not baffled mind, just not confident that you knew it all and not sure you could connect all the ideas that your teacher was discussing. You needed to study a little to get it all straight and be prepared for the exam. Connecting the dots and building comprehension is slightly stressful. When you’re learning you’re right brain is being activated more than your left.

Learning is a Right Brain Activity

Know what’s interesting, learning starts out as a right brain activity. I covered this topic in Mounting Evidence of Peak Performance.  Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg confirms that the right brain is more active in learning new information, while the left brain is more active once you’ve mastered a topic. The picture is starting to fit together.

Learning and the Stress Response Cycle

Just to make this clear lets review. Learning induces a little stress that activates your right brain. As you learn you go through this process over and over. I call this the learning stress response cycle. Step 1 is learning and is right brain dominant. Step 2 is being proficient and is left brain dominant.

This is a good point to stop as how people respond to stress kind of depends on the type of activity. In the next three posts we’re going to look at stress in (a) active, aggressive sports like hockey and football, (b) in activities like golf and music that require precision during a performance, (c) in mental activities like work and school.

The mind responds to stress a little differently in all three. Till next time. David

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