Tame the Fearful Mind and Overcome Performance Anxiety: Seven Research-Based Tools

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t…you’re right.” — Henry Ford

This famous quote attributed to Henry Ford was never more accurate than the moment I stepped onto the podium to play the Bach Prelude and Fugue in C minor for my eleventh-grade Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA) solo and ensemble contest.

Our neighboring school’s cavernous gymnasium had been transformed into a temporary performance space for that year’s hopefuls. It was jam-packed with participating students, family members, and supportive friends from all over the state.

My fellow students were friendly enough, and the warm smile from the kindly, gray-haired piano professor who would be my adjudicator could not have been more glowing. But true to Henry Ford’s adage, I was sunk before I began.

After I sat at the piano and played a few erratic major and minor scales — randomly chosen for me by the adjudicator — I launched into the Bach — way too fast — and the rest is pretty much a blur.

The anxiety I experienced that day was so intense that I could barely hear my classmates’ polite applause as I left the gymnasium to await my results.

I recognized that this wasn’t the first time I had lost my battle with fear and performance anxiety, but I was determined that it would be among the last.

I had rehearsed the music and knew it by heart. But all the preparation in the world was no match for the fear that visited me that day. It paralyzed my mind and most of my body.

In the end, I was lucky to receive a rating of 3 out of 5 that day. The highest rating of a one (1) was reserved for technically excellent and highly musical performances that exhibited emotion and depth. Which theoretically, I was capable of doing but positively did not deliver.

I felt beaten, but something else profound happened. I recognized that this wasn’t the first time I had lost my battle with fear and performance anxiety, but I was determined that it would be among the last. It was time for me to learn how to manage the insidious limiting habits and beliefs that were sabotaging my performances and many aspects of my life.

I did get a better handle on my performance anxiety that year. I learned how to practice mindfully, and with the help of my teacher, I conquered the anxiety monster that visits us all from time to time. I performed much better in my senior year — more on that later.

The good news is if I can do it, so can you.

To get you started, here are seven research-based steps you can use today – beginning at this very moment — so you too can learn to calm your own fears and win over any stage fright or performance anxiety you may experience…

Table of Contents

Nurturing Your Physical Wellbeing

Getting physically healthy is an excellent place to start. Keeping physically active keeps you physically fit and keeps your mind in better shape. Regular exercise has been scientifically proven to produce endorphins (feel-good chemicals) in the brain.

Research indicates even a tiny amount of physical activity done regularly can make a big difference to your mental wellbeing. Stretch when you wake up in the morning, take the stairs instead of an elevator whenever possible, and have walking meetings with colleagues at work rather than sitting down conference calls. Walking for as little as ten minutes each day can significantly improve your mental alertness, energy, and mood.

Start small and build until it becomes part of your lifestyle. If physical activities do not come naturally for you, start slow to avoid injury and burnout while maintaining consistency over time.

Clarity of Purpose

Psychologist Simon Goldberg, Ph.D. assistant professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Healthy Minds, says, “Having a sense of meaning in life is important to health, and it becomes even more important as we get older.”

So it makes sense that you can get rid of a lot of anxiety by thinking clearly about why you’re creating art and working with others in the first place. According to new research from the University of California, San Diego, people who feel like they have a purpose in life are more likely to feel physically and mentally well.

To create or refine your existing purpose statement, consider working with a coach or talking with a trusted friend. It’s easier to get an accurate picture of your passions and purpose when you get input from someone who isn’t emotionally involved in your goals.

Once you clearly understand why you’re creating art and what matters to you, it’s easier for the anxiety caused by performance to fade away so that your work will shine through more clearly.

The Impact of Your Posture on Your Frame of Mind

In 2012, Amy Cuddy gave a TED talk, and her message was straightforward. According to her, our body language affects how we think and feel about ourselves, so how we hold our bodies can directly affect how we think and, hence, how we perform. Basically, by demonstrating a commanding stance, we make ourselves feel like we are more powerful.

Her study at Harvard University found that a robust posture contributes to higher performance levels. For the purpose of the study, participants were asked to sit for two minutes in either a high-power (expansive pose) or low-power pose (leaning inward with crossed legs).

In mock interviews where candidates were asked to do a high-power pose, those who performed it felt more powerful and performed better than those who did not.

Therefore, it is clear that our body language changes how we feel about ourselves and what we can achieve.

Next time you need an extra push before a presentation, a big meeting, or a performance, find a private place to take on the stance of your favorite superhero for two minutes. It will make all the difference!

Seeing Failure as a Gift with a Growth Mindset

“Growth mindset” is one of the key concepts of Carol Dweck’s acclaimed book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In her view, a growth mindset is a mindset in which failure can actually be viewed as a gift.

Let’s look at the polar opposite of a growth mindset to better understand it: a fixed mindset. If you have a fixed mindset, you think you are limited in intelligence, creativity, and personality. You’re stuck with it.

However, a growth mindset relies on the belief that you can cultivate your essential qualities through your own efforts, strategies, and the support of others. That’s why “the way you see yourself profoundly impacts how you live.”

When someone with a fixed mindset has a setback, they see this as a sign that they are not good enough. Growth mindset people get upset when they fail, but then they think about what they learned from the experience and how it will help them or someone else in the future. They see the gift.

The first step in developing a growth mindset is to embrace imperfection and understand that failure has a part to play in becoming successful. There’s nothing to fear if you know that what lies beyond are lessons learned and new opportunities.

Daily Mindfulness Practices

A survey was conducted on 190 university music students about their anxiety related to music performance. Not surprisingly, according to their research, stage fright was significantly linked to the use of medicines and people’s acceptance of it as a means to deal with it.

I find it most interesting that the study determined breathing exercises and self-control techniques like yoga and meditation to be just as effective in managing the feelings of panic and fear as the medication.

No doubt, this is a solid argument for mindfulness among creative types. The most important thing to remember is that you have to maintain new habits to make them work. Whichever mindfulness practice you choose, make sure that it is a habit that you can keep up. It’s more effective to do five or ten minutes a day for 30 days than to do 30 minutes a day for just a day or two.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

Here’s something that not many people know about, but I have found to be highly effective in reducing anxiety, not only for myself but also for coaching clients. It’s called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or simply tapping.

EFT is considered an alternative therapy, and it works by tapping on meridian points – or energy hotspots – to restore energy balance to the body. Restoring this energy balance can relieve symptoms caused by negative experiences such as stage fright and performance anxiety.

I have found it to be an excellent and effective technique – it helps you become more present in the moment, drops you into your body, and helps you balance the energy flow so you can be more creative and perform at your best.

On YouTube, you can find a wealth of information and guided tapping videos by searching for EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique.

Transform Your Story

There’s an excellent chance that the stories you tell yourself are causing you more stress and anxiety. You can become engrossed in negative feelings when you think about unpleasant memories. Sometimes it’s challenging to get disentangled from the emotion of them and, to Henry Ford’s point, whatever you think will be so.

Luckily, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Michigan researchers say certain ways to reminisce help with stress and anxiety.

They recommend looking at life events in ways that aren’t overwhelming if you want to regulate your emotions. Then consider changing the stories you tell yourself (see growth mindset above) to create the psychological distance needed to find meaning in past negative experiences.

One technique I use with my coaching clients is to have them tell their life stories from the third person. Beginning with “Once upon a time there was a little child named…” With this sort of meta-view, the insights can be powerful and empowering. Especially when I ask them to tell the story of future success as if it has already happened. That’s a post for another day — the neuroscience of imagining future success. Powerful and fascinating stuff!

A Brighter Future for You

In my senior year, I played the Fantasie Impromptu in C# minor by Chopin for the OMEA solo and ensemble contest. I received the highest score that day and was commended for my musicality, presence, and technique. I was fully present, and I can say I performed to my full potential.

I wish I could say it was the last time I had an encounter with anxiety or stage fright — I’m not convinced we are ever really immune to incidents of self-doubt — but things certainly got more manageable from that point forward. The skills I learned in that year between my junior and senior years have stayed with me to this day.

My hope for you is that you can learn to tap into your confidence and self-assurance so that you can present your best self on stage and in life.

The strategies detailed above are not meant as comprehensive solutions, but they may give you a place to begin if you’re struggling with performance fear and anxiety.

If you don’t know where to start on your journey towards a life with less anxiety or just want someone to talk through these ideas with, then get in touch today with the link below.

If you’re looking for more posts like this one, be sure to check out the rest of my blog posts for Creative Artists and Entrepreneurs here.