How do you learn to care and not care at the same time?
The answer to that riddle is one of the secrets to great performance under pressure.
In another one of these posts, I mentioned a student of mine named Carey who had a history of “choking” on big assessments.
Carey was learning to let go of the outcome—the score—and to choose how she wanted to play the game: how she wanted to feel and how she wanted to think.
And as she let go of the outcome, she grew a bit more relaxed and confident each week. Then something interesting happened: her scores improved!
At the end of Year 11, she found herself with a grade that she was happy with. She had conquered her fear of big tests.
So, here’s how you learn to care and not care at the same time.
You show up for practise and devote yourself to the game. Then you let go of the outcome. You accept that the final result will be what it is, and you choose not to preoccupy yourself with it...and, more often than not, the outcome you want sneaks up on you!
Practise your game. Play your game. Love your game. The score will take care of itself.
