Craig L. Manning is a mental strength coach. He coaches athletes on the mental skills they need to succeed when stakes are high, but I think his advice is applicable to all:
People under pressure will leave their mental space empty, allowing the negative to get in. Negative thoughts and worrying will block access to your subconscious memories, causing a memory slip--you literally forget all of the training because your mind is occupied with negativity.
The first step in developing mental strength is creating a can-do mind set. Occupying your conscious mind with thoughts of what you can do eliminates doubt and fear and all the negative thinking that interferes with performance. Make sure you are thinking, not worrying. If you hold on to two to three thoughts--or cues, you will leave no room for negative thought.
Control the controllable. Whenever you don't feel like you have control, the anxiety goes up and performance is going to drop off dramatically.
The more you perfect the things you can control, the better you will perform. Practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent--so in whatever you do, make sure you're practicing the right things to create the right memories.
(BYU Magazine, Spring 2015, Refer to TheFearlessMind.com)
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