M·05
Mind & Body
Stress Is Enhancing, If You Believe It Is
Believing that stress improves performance changes the physiological response and the outcome.
- Evidence
- solid
- Topic
- Mind
- Things to do
- 3
- Read
- 1 min
solidHow strong is the evidence?
Good evidence behind it, but fewer people have checked it independently.
- Crum, Salovey & Achor, JPSP, 2013
- Jamieson et al., 2010 — reappraised arousal improved exam performance
Why it works
The same arousal produces a challenge response (efficient cardiac output, better performance) or a threat response (vasoconstriction, worse performance) depending on how it's interpreted.
What to do about it
- Before performing, say: “this is my body getting ready” — the racing heart is delivering oxygen, not warning you.
- Move from “I must not fail” to “I have the resources for this”. Challenge framing rests on perceived resources.
- Distinguish acute stress (useful, recovers) from chronic stress (corrosive). The mindset applies to the first only.
Where people go wrong
Applying it to unrelieved chronic strain. That needs the load reduced, not reframed.
Read next
- Reframe, Don't SuppressReinterpreting a situation reduces the emotion at low cost. Suppressing the expression leaves the emotion intact and adds physiological and memory costs.proven
- Say “I'm Excited”, Not “Calm Down”Reappraising anxiety as excitement improves performance. Trying to calm down does not — it is a much longer distance to travel.solid
- Specific and Hard Beats Do Your BestA specific, difficult goal outperforms a vague one or an easy one in nearly every task ever tested.proven
- Three Times a Day, Not ThirtyChecking email on a schedule rather than continuously measurably lowers daily stress.solid