Ask just about any investor what the key to a healthy portfolio is, and you\u2019re likely to get the same piece of advice: diversify. But when it comes to maintaining a healthy sense of self-worth\u2014something that\u2019s incalculably more valuable than any financial asset\u2014diversifying may not be the first thing that comes to mind. That is, unless you\u2019ve had an opportunity to hear Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry David Sacks speak.<\/p>\n
Late last year, Sacks gave a presentation to business school students, faculty and staff that drew upon his experience as associate director of Vanderbilt\u2019s Psychological and Counseling Center. Roughly one in five students visits the center during his or her time on campus, and even more attend its outreach and prevention activities.<\/p>\n
A prevalent need among students is guidance on how to cope with stress, which is one of Sacks\u2019 areas of expertise. Relying on his background in sports psychology, he often teaches students not just how to cope but how to excel under pressure, much like high-performing athletes. Sacks argues that when stakes are high\u2014whether on the playing field, in the classroom or in the office\u2014one can influence the outcome by taking steps like diversifying one\u2019s life interests. The following are seven such tips that he says anyone can use.
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll never find an expert in his or her field who doesn\u2019t work hard at it, but there\u2019s a difference between practice and deliberate practice,\u201d Sacks says. \u201cDeliberate practice involves setting goals. It\u2019s not the same as just putting the time in. Ask recreational golfers what they\u2019re working on in their game, and they probably won\u2019t be able to tell you. But a professional golfer will. That explains why some people play golf all their lives but never improve.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring times of stress, there\u2019s nearly always something we can control,\u201d he says. \u201cIf we attribute outcomes, whether good or bad, to things outside of our control, we\u2019re not motivated to do anything differently in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I talk with students about a bad experience they\u2019ve had during an exam, they often say something like, \u2018I\u2019m just not as smart as the other people in the program.\u2019 They\u2019re making an internal attribution but an uncontrollable one\u2014\u2018I just don\u2019t have it,\u2019 versus \u2018I didn\u2019t take advantage of the help that was offered\u2019 or \u2018I used a poor strategy.\u2019 My work is trying to get them to move toward a controllable attribution.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen things go badly, we often catastrophize the situation, but the truth is failure usually isn\u2019t as bad as we make it out to be,\u201d Sacks says. \u201cI like to use the metaphor of walking on a tightrope. Recognizing that you have a net under you can reduce your anxiety, and it\u2019s not your intention to fall and land in that net. Knowing that it\u2019s not a life-or-death situation can help you keep your focus on your goal of getting to the other side.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really unfortunate when we worry about a task without working on that task. It isn\u2019t productive, and it ruins our leisure time,\u201d he says. \u201cTo combat this, most athletes have a simple routine that gets them from their time off to their time on\u2014like baseball pitchers between each pitch. I tell students to do something similar. Go to the same location each time to study, or during tests, do short breathing exercises between questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother suggestion I have is that, if it\u2019s unrealistic to ask yourself not to worry, then take control and budget yourself a time for it. If something is occupying your mind, thinking through it can help, but be deliberate in your problem solving.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have tunnel vision and are into just one thing, you\u2019re not necessarily setting yourself up for better performance,\u201d Sacks says. \u201cI encourage people, even when their time allocation is unbalanced, to give at least some thought to a diversity of issues. Besides hobbies and exercise, I\u2019d suggest talking to friends or family members who have no clue what you\u2019re invested in. If their affection for you is not contingent upon how you perform, they become your safety net.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us have an optimal level of anxiety that we perform under,\u201d he says. \u201cPast that optimal point, we\u2019re so nervous that we can\u2019t function. One explanation for this is that when we\u2019re highly aroused, our attentional capacity [the brain processing it takes to pay attention and act] shrinks. And when our attentional capacity shrinks, we make mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn example is how common it is for a quarterback to throw a \u201cpick six\u201d [an interception that leads to a touchdown] late in the game. The stakes are high, and the quarterback has tunnel vision. If he would just take a step back and relax, he would perceive more.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr for instance, have you ever been taking a test when you knew the answer but couldn\u2019t come up with it? And maybe it occurs to you only after you\u2019ve finished? That\u2019s because you\u2019re more relaxed at that point. It\u2019s ironic that caring less about something and lowering the stakes can get you where you want to be.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to be aware of how we talk to ourselves,\u201d Sacks says. \u201cSometimes we tend to berate ourselves. Think about it: If that\u2019s the message you\u2019re listening to, then you\u2019re working against yourself. I advise people to talk to themselves as they would to someone they really care about, or as that person would talk to them.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re worried that your results are uncontrollable and you think you either have it or you don\u2019t,\u201d Sacks says, \u201cyour failures are going to reveal to you that you don\u2019t have it. And if that\u2019s a fear you have, you\u2019re going to hold back in testing your limits because you don\u2019t want your weaknesses to be revealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf, on the other hand, you believe that outcomes are controllable, your weaknesses are absolutely what you want to target because you think that with deliberate practice you can fix them. Every day you can improve something a little bit, and the gap between you and the person just going through the motions will continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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