The Elements of Skill: A Conscious Approach to Learning by Theodore Jr Dimon & Larry A. Hickman

Author:Theodore Jr Dimon & Larry A. Hickman [Dimon, Theodore Jr & Hickman, Larry A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Education & Teaching, Schools & Teaching, Education Theory, Educational Psychology, Philosophy & Social Aspects, Parent Participation, Health; Fitness & Dieting, Psychology & Counseling, Medical Books, Psychology, General, Science & Math, Behavioral Sciences, Teacher Resources, Counseling & Psychology
ISBN: 9781583947036
Amazon: B00A1M5EGM
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 2013-01-07T22:00:00+00:00

3. Performance Anxiety and Conscious Control

Even disciplined self-preparation and a good mental attitude, however, cannot entirely eliminate the fear of getting on stage in front of a large audience, where the performer faces humiliation and even graver consequences. Many performers feed on this state of heightened anticipation, rising to the occasion and pushing themselves to greater heights. For others, the response is positively crippling and debilitating, interfering with performance, creativity, clear thinking, and spontaneity—not to mention enjoyment.

We’ve seen that one of the reasons for this response is that many people cultivate harmful attitudes that lead, in stressful circumstances, to anxiety and overreaction. We tend to lose our heads, becoming anxious, upset, and tense. Lacking the resources or the developed awareness that would enable us to exercise control, we deal with the fear by becoming even more protective and tense.

By cultivating greater awareness and control, however, it becomes possible to reverse this condition and to remain poised under even the most demanding circumstances. By learning to recognize the increase in tension and to restore the balance of the entire system, one can release the physical tension and prevent the anxiety response.

Two elements are required in order to be able to achieve this level of control during performance situations. The first is a knowledge of the muscular system and how it works as a coordinated whole. The stress response is a physiological mechanism that prepares us, when faced with danger, for fight or flight. These changes include increased discharge of adrenaline, heightened muscle tone, accelerated heart rate, and increased blood flow. However, the nervous system can trigger the opposite restful state as well, and the key to this calm and balanced state is the coordinated working of the muscular system. When this system is in balance, breathing is full and unimpeded and muscles are toned but not tense. Restoring muscular balance establishes indirect control over the nervous system. Uncontrolled reaction and anxiety are replaced by a restful state, reversing the fear response and leaving in its place a sense of alertness and calm.

This balanced state of tension, however, is not the same as muscle relaxation. Many performers attempt to gain control over the anxiety response by practicing forms of relaxation, hypnosis, and biofeedback. As we’ve seen, however, muscle tension cannot be fully addressed by employing relaxation techniques that reduce specific tensions but fail to restore the proper coordination of the muscular system as a whole.

The second element in gaining control over the anxiety response is consciousness. We have seen that the stress response is a natural mechanism that functions in nature to protect us when we are in danger. This response, however, is often maladaptive. When faced with danger, many animals neither escape nor fight, but simply freeze or run out of control. Humans are particularly prone to becoming flustered and terror-stricken when faced with danger. Some performers become literally paralyzed with fear and unable to think rationally.

In order to address this response, it is necessary to learn to maintain a state of awareness and poise in whatever we are doing.

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