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How to Get Over Performance Anxiety: A Pro Athlete's Mental Game Guide

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A person sits on a leather sofa, appearing deep in thought or stressed, with one hand covering their face against a dark background.

Did you know that 70% of athletes struggle with performance anxiety at some point in their careers? Learning how to get over performance anxiety might be the most important skill you'll develop as a competitor.

The shaking hands before a crucial shot. The racing thoughts during a championship game. The sudden inability to perform skills you've mastered thousands of times in practice. Despite years of physical training, these mental barriers can derail even the most talented athletes.

As a professional athlete, I've certainly faced these challenges firsthand. The difference between good athletes and great ones often comes down to mental strength, not physical ability. Throughout this guide, I'll share the specific techniques that helped me transform pre-game nerves into performance fuel. Above all, you'll discover that performance anxiety isn't something to eliminate—it's something to master.


What Performance Anxiety Looks Like in Athletes

Performance anxiety affects anywhere between 30% to 60% of athletes, making it one of the most common mental challenges in sports 1. Recognizing the signs is the first step in learning how to get over performance anxiety.


Common signs during competition

Performance anxiety manifests differently for each athlete, but certain patterns emerge during competitions. Physical signs include increased heart rate, excessive sweating, trembling, and shortness of breath 1. Additionally, athletes may experience chest tightness, headaches, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal issues like loose stool 1.

Some competitors describe feeling "butterflies" in their stomach or having clammy hands just before a crucial moment 2. Furthermore, these physical symptoms often intensify as the perceived importance of the competition increases.

The mental signs can be equally disruptive. Athletes commonly report a sense of dread, impending doom, or panic—including fear of failure or letting teammates down 1. Many experience difficulty focusing, feeling restless, or finding themselves on-edge for days before an important event 1.


How overthinking shows up physically and mentally

Overthinking is perhaps the most insidious form of performance anxiety. As one athlete explained, "I perform at quite a high level during training but find it difficult to perform well on competition day—my thoughts get in the way" 3.

When overthinking takes hold, athletes may temporarily "forget" how to perform actions they've mastered thousands of times 2. This happens because overthinking well-rehearsed skills activates the conscious part of the brain rather than allowing automatic muscle memory to work 2.

Our minds naturally default to caution and negativity when facing important situations. This "negativity bias" means our protective mind starts listing all possible negative outcomes rather than focusing on performance 3. Consequently, this mental interference disrupts focus, delays decision-making, and creates a disconnect between training abilities and competition performance.

Physical manifestations of overthinking include:

  • Muscular tension (particularly jaw tightening)

  • Going "doe-eyed" or freezing

  • Moving too fast-paced and making errors

  • Displays of aggression (like a tennis player throwing a racket) 2


Why even elite athletes struggle with it

Elite athletes aren't immune to performance anxiety—sometimes they're even more susceptible. In fact, Simone Biles, four-time Olympic gold medallist, made headlines during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she withdrew from several events citing mental health concerns, including performance anxiety 2.

What makes elite athletes vulnerable? Ironically, their high expectations and perfectionism. The pressure of being observed and evaluated creates what sports psychologists call "choking"—the sudden deterioration of performance under perceived pressure 1.

Even athletes with exceptional self-confidence can experience anxiety, though they often interpret their arousal as excitement rather than anxiety 2. Their ability to reframe these feelings represents a crucial skill in overcoming performance anxiety.

For many athletes, the overthinking cycle intensifies as they get closer to achieving significant goals. Jean Van de Velde's famous collapse at the 1999 Open Championship illustrates this perfectly—leading by three strokes going into the final hole, he made a series of errors and ultimately lost in a playoff 2. The proximity to victory triggered overthinking that derailed his performance.

Understanding these patterns helps explain why knowing how to get over performance anxiety becomes essential for competitive success at any level.


The Psychology Behind Performance Anxiety

Understanding the mind's inner workings is crucial for anyone learning how to get over performance anxiety. Behind every racing heart and shaky hand lies a complex psychological process that can either empower or derail your athletic performance.


How thoughts and emotions interact

The relationship between thoughts and emotions creates a powerful feedback loop in athletes' minds. Initially, when facing competition, athletes experience what psychologists call "core affect" - a quick, basic emotional response that happens almost automatically 2. This core affect subsequently develops into full-fledged emotions saturated with thoughts and interpretations.

Whenever an athlete anticipates being judged by others (coaches, spectators, teammates), this perception triggers psychological distress and fear of negative evaluation 3. The brain processes these emotional reactions through two distinct pathways. The "low road" provides immediate, instinctive emotional responses, while the "high road" involves more conscious cognitive processing 2.

As research shows, these pathways don't operate in isolation. An athlete's rational or irrational beliefs about a situation directly influence their emotional responses 3. Moreover, when athletes change their beliefs from irrational (rigid, extreme) to rational (flexible, logical), they can significantly reduce their sports-specific anxiety 3.


The brain's negativity bias

One of the most challenging aspects of sports psychology is the brain's inherent "negativity bias" - our natural tendency to focus more on negative experiences than positive ones. This phenomenon causes athletes to prioritize negative events, experiences, or information over neutral or positive ones 2.

Research published in the Review of General Psychology highlights how negative events impact our psychological state more than positive ones 2. A single mistake can therefore disproportionately affect an athlete's mood and performance. This explains why many competitors dwell on the one error they made rather than the dozens of successful plays.

For athletes, this negativity bias creates a dangerous cycle - fixating on past mistakes generates worry and self-doubt that affects future performance 2. Furthermore, constantly dwelling on negatives erodes self-esteem, making it harder to maintain confidence and motivation. Ultimately, this accumulated stress can lead to burnout, characterized by chronic fatigue, reduced performance, and emotional disengagement 2.


Perfectionism and fear of failure

Perfectionism in athletics is a multidimensional trait focused on setting and exceeding high personal standards, accompanied by overly critical evaluations of behavior 4. It typically involves two higher-order dimensions: perfectionistic strivings (setting high standards) and perfectionistic concerns (fear of making mistakes) 4.

Interestingly, many athletes value their perfectionism despite its psychological costs 4. This creates a paradox where competitors believe their perfectionism drives success while it actually undermines their performance. Perfectionistic athletes typically place excessive importance on not making mistakes and gaining others' approval.

This perfectionism feeds directly into fear of failure - one of the most common causes of performance difficulties 3. At the heart of this fear is the belief that failure will result in negative consequences like embarrassment, disappointing others, or being labeled a "loser" 3.

The resulting anxiety creates what sports psychologists call "self-defeating behavior" or "self-sabotage" 3. Athletes might unconsciously set themselves up to fail by skipping preparation or focusing exclusively on avoiding mistakes rather than achieving success 5. Ironically, by trying so hard to avoid failure, athletes create the exact conditions that make failure more likely.

Understanding these psychological mechanisms is the first step in developing effective strategies for overcoming performance anxiety and unleashing your full potential as an athlete.


How Performance Anxiety Affects Your Game

Performance anxiety doesn't just create discomfort—it fundamentally alters how you execute your sport. Understanding how to get over performance anxiety requires first recognizing its specific impacts on your athletic performance.


Loss of focus and decision-making delays

When anxiety takes hold, your ability to make quick, effective decisions deteriorates significantly. Studies show that mental pressure specifically impairs decision-making speed, even when physical pressure doesn't 2. This effect becomes especially pronounced in complex scenarios that require rapid responses 2.

Anxiety consumes valuable mental resources as irrelevant thoughts and worries divert attention away from the task at hand 2. This cognitive disruption manifests as concentration problems that directly impact your decision-making abilities 6. As one study noted, overthinking creates "gaps in normally automatic processes" that athletes typically rely on during competition 4.

Furthermore, mental pressure interferes with visual perception. Athletes under anxiety show increased fixations of shorter duration 2 and a decreased ability to detect peripheral stimuli 2. In essence, your field of awareness narrows precisely when you need comprehensive awareness of your surroundings.


Disconnect between training and competition

Many athletes experience a perplexing phenomenon: performing flawlessly during practice yet struggling during actual competitions. This disconnect occurs primarily because competition day creates a heightened sense of anxiety and performance pressure that doesn't exist during training 7.

As competition approaches, expectations and demands intensify, creating a psychological environment markedly different from training. For some athletes, this pre-competition anxiety begins days before the event, affecting sleep patterns and causing physical symptoms like nausea 7.

The body's physiological responses—accelerated heart rate, muscle tension, increased breathing, and adrenaline surges—although evolutionarily designed to enhance performance in threatening situations, often hinder athletic performance 7. These reactions create an internal state vastly different from the relaxed, focused condition typically experienced during successful training sessions.


Physical tension and slower reaction time

The physical manifestations of anxiety directly impact performance metrics. Research examining anxiety's relationship with reaction time found that athletes experiencing competitive anxiety showed measurably slower reactions to visual stimuli 5. These delayed responses can mean the difference between success and failure in fast-paced sports.

Additionally, anxiety triggers several physiological responses that hinder optimal movement:

  • Increased muscle tension reduces fluidity and coordination

  • Heightened heart rate and breathing disrupt energy management

  • Tremors and shaking impair fine motor control

  • Excessive sweating affects grip and equipment handling 3

In severe cases, the anxiety becomes so debilitating that athletes lose control over previously mastered movements 3. This phenomenon explains why a basketball player might suddenly miss free throws they've made thousands of times or why a gymnast might forget a routine they've performed flawlessly for years.


Tools to Overcome Performance Anxiety

Now that we've identified the problem, let's explore practical tools for mastering performance anxiety. Elite athletes rely on specific mental training techniques that you can immediately incorporate into your own competitive preparation.


Mindfulness and breathwork

Mindfulness training helps athletes develop focused attention on the present moment without judgment. This practice significantly enhances focus, concentration, and the ability to let go of negative thoughts that affect performance. Moreover, mindfulness fosters compassion, reduces stress, and improves sleep quality.

Breathing exercises form a cornerstone of anxiety management by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which counteracts the "fight or flight" response. Try this simple technique before competition:

  • Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds

  • Hold for 5 seconds

  • Exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds

  • Repeat 4 times initially, gradually working up to 8 breaths

Studies show that mindful athletes recover from injuries faster, both physically and mentally, as the practice helps them pinpoint mental blocks and regulate emotions.


Pre-performance routines

A pre-performance routine (PPR) is "a sequence of task-relevant thoughts and actions an athlete systematically engages in prior to performance execution." Research has demonstrated that performers who use routines in closed skill sports show enhanced performance in basketball free throws, golf putting, diving, and various other sports.

When creating your routine, include:

  1. Consistent physical actions (like practice swings in golf)

  2. Positive, relevant self-talk

  3. Visualization of successful execution

  4. Controlled breathing

  5. Focus on the "feeling" of the skill

First, identify what works specifically for you, as routines are highly individual. Afterward, maintain consistency in duration while allowing flexibility as your skills develop.


Mental rehearsal and visualization

Mental imagery activates the same neural pathways used during actual physical execution of a sport, thereby strengthening motor skills without physical wear and tear. Similarly, the brain doesn't distinguish between vividly imagined and real experiences, allowing you to enhance skills through cognitive rehearsal.

For effective visualization:

  • See the outcome you want from a first-person perspective

  • Engage all senses (what would you see, hear, feel, smell)

  • Practice frequently to develop this skill

  • Add physical movements that coincide with visualized images


Using grounding cues during play

Grounding techniques help you pull away from unwanted thoughts by using your five senses to refocus on the present moment. Primarily, these techniques interrupt your body's anxiety response and return your brain to a place of safety.

The 5-4-3-2-1 method works effectively during competition:

  • Identify 5 things you can see (flag on goalpost, clouds in sky)

  • Notice 4 things you can feel (grass under feet, tightness of wrist tape)

  • Recognize 3 things you can hear (fans, announcer, band)

  • Acknowledge 2 things you can smell (fresh cut grass, popcorn)

  • Taste 1 thing (sports drink)

These tools provide immediate relief from anxiety symptoms while building long-term mental resilience for future competitions.


Building Long-Term Mental Strength

Beyond the quick fixes and pre-game techniques, long-term mental strength forms the foundation of an athlete's ability to consistently overcome performance anxiety. Mental toughness isn't simply innate—it's made up of disciplined habits that anyone can develop with practice.


Understanding psychological flexibility

Psychological flexibility, a core concept in sports psychology, involves accepting unwanted thoughts and emotions while pursuing your goals and values. Researchers define it as "the ability to contact the present moment more fully as a conscious human being and to either change or persist when doing so serves valued ends" 4.

This flexibility includes six core processes: acceptance, present-moment awareness, cognitive defusion, self-as-context, committed action, and values 4. Athletes with high psychological flexibility can withstand stressors and pressure without becoming derailed, whereas those with low flexibility often get stuck in negative avoidance patterns and miss opportunities for optimal performance 4.


Accepting thoughts without reacting

Acceptance means taking a non-judgmental stance toward your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations 4. Unlike traditional approaches that attempt to eliminate anxiety, acceptance involves embracing these experiences without letting them control your behavior.

One effective technique is cognitive defusion—learning to view thoughts as merely mental events rather than absolute truths 4. Instead of fighting against pre-competition nervousness, you acknowledge it: "I notice I'm having thoughts about failing." This subtle shift creates psychological space between you and your anxiety.


Trusting your training and instincts

Trust allows athletes to "borrow confidence" from their training 3. When we overthink during competition, we interrupt the automatic processes we've developed through practice. As one sport psychologist notes, "When we stop trying to tell our bodies what to do, and allow them to do what we have trained them to do, they will come through for us" 8.

Developing trust involves:

  • Focusing on the process rather than outcomes

  • Practicing with your eyes closed to build body awareness

  • Humming or using other techniques to quiet your mind

  • Creating consistent pre-performance routines 2

Remember that trust occurs when you allow your body to naturally react without consciously controlling every movement 2. By building these mental foundations, you'll transform from an athlete who occasionally performs well to one who consistently excels under pressure.


Conclusion

Performance anxiety might feel like an insurmountable obstacle, but as we've explored throughout this guide, it's actually a natural part of athletic competition that can be mastered. Above all, remember that even elite athletes face these challenges—the difference lies in how they respond to pressure moments.

Learning to work with anxiety rather than against it creates a fundamental shift in your competitive mindset. Certainly, the physical symptoms won't disappear overnight, but through consistent practice of mindfulness techniques, pre-performance routines, and visualization exercises, you'll gradually transform nervousness into focused energy.

Psychological flexibility stands as perhaps the most valuable mental skill for any competitor. Therefore, make a commitment to accepting uncomfortable thoughts without judgment while simultaneously trusting the thousands of hours you've invested in training. This balance between acceptance and trust ultimately frees your body to perform automatically at its highest level.

My own journey through performance anxiety taught me that mental training deserves equal attention alongside physical practice. Though anxiety once threatened to derail my athletic career, it eventually became one of my greatest competitive advantages. Similarly, you can transform your relationship with performance pressure by applying these techniques consistently.

The next time competition approaches and you feel that familiar tightness in your chest, take a deep breath and remember—anxiety isn't your enemy. Instead, it's simply your body's way of preparing for something important. At that moment, trust your training, stay present, and allow your natural abilities to shine through.


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