Section Insights
Understanding Nervousness in Sports
What does being nervous feel like and how does it affect performance?
The speaker recalls feeling nervous before a match, which led to mistakes during the game. This nervousness originated during warm-ups, affecting their confidence and performance.
- Nervousness can lead to mistakes in performance.
- It often starts before the actual event, impacting preparation.
- Feeling nervous can create a cycle of poor performance.
The Purpose of Nervousness
Does nervousness serve a purpose?
Nervousness is an emotion that acts as a signal, guiding individuals on how to respond to situations. While it can feel negative, it can also provide important information about the context.
- Nervousness can be a signal indicating something important.
- It can guide actions, similar to traffic signals.
- Understanding nervousness can help in managing it effectively.
Interpreting Signals of Nervousness
What could nervousness be signaling in a sports context?
Nervousness may indicate that the individual is facing something new or challenging, prompting them to take specific actions like looking around or being more aware during gameplay.
- Nervousness can signal the need for increased awareness.
- It may prompt actions that enhance performance.
- Different situations may elicit different signals from nervousness.
Actions Suggested by Nervousness
What actions might nervousness suggest during a game?
Nervousness can suggest focusing on the ball, slowing down to avoid rushing, or communicating more with teammates to enhance teamwork.
- Nervousness can guide players to focus on key aspects of their game.
- It may encourage better communication with teammates.
- Recognizing these signals can improve overall performance.
Embracing Nervousness
How can one change their perspective on nervousness?
Instead of pushing away the feeling of nervousness, embracing it as a signal or ally can help individuals understand what to work on and improve their performance.
- Embracing nervousness can lead to personal growth.
- Viewing nervousness as a friend can change one's approach to challenges.
- It can provide insights into areas needing improvement.
Transcript
0:07 Okay, so in your one of your match reflection you wrote that you were nervous. So tell me a little about it. In what, what do you remember of that? Being nervous?
0:16 Whatever.
0:16 Whatever you remember as nervous.
0:19 I was screwing up, making a mistake in the game.
0:22 So were you nervous before you made a mistake or were you nervous after you made a mistake?
0:26 Before.
0:27 Okay, so tell me a little more. What, what do you think that nervousness was making? Like in general, were you?
0:33 No, in warm up? Like my touches were here and there, so I was like nervous. Like how am I gonna play like this in the game as well?
0:38 So did the nervousness started in the warm up because there was a match?
0:41 Yeah.
0:44 Okay, so do you like being nervous?
0:45 No.
0:46 Why?
0:47 Because it affects my game.
0:48 Huh. So you think nervousness affects your game? And how does it affect your game?
0:54 I don't play how I usually play.
0:57 So is that, does that become a kind of a vicious cycle that you're nervous, then you do something which is a mistake, let's say, and then you become more nervous? Does that work like that?
1:04 Yeah.
1:06 Okay, so do you consider nervousness as something which is like a negative, as a non desirable?
1:13 When I'm playing here, yeah.
1:14 I'm talking about right now, football, playing only, which you do. So you consider it as a negative?
1:19 Yeah.
1:20 Okay, but what is nervousness according to you? As in. I'm not saying what is being nervous? I'm saying what is it? Why do we have this thing called nervous?
1:28 Because you're afraid of doing something?
1:29 No, no, that is the reason for nervousness. But why do we have something called as nervousness? Is it when it's something new? Again, you're more talking about when you get nervous. I'm not talking about when you get nervous. I'm asking what is nervousness in the sense, why is it there? If it is negative, then why is it there? Or let's say, I'm asking in another way. Does nervousness has a purpose?
1:51 I don't know.
1:52 Okay, so I, I want, I. I want a little thought. I mean, I want you to think of a little thought which, which is that any emotion, Nervousness is an emotion?
1:59 Yeah.
1:59 Okay, so any emotion is, is like a signal. Like we are on road right now recording this. There are signals, right? And what are signals for?
2:06 They tell you what to do, Tell
2:07 me what to do or guide me. Meaning some signals are guiding signals, these sign posts that are there. Okay, so, so okay, so they're telling you what to do or helping you, whatever you are doing. So are they negative or they positive?
2:17 They are positive.
2:18 Okay. So if there's a stop signal, is that negative or is that positive?
2:22 You want to go somewhere? It's negative.
2:24 Why is it negative?
2:24 Because you have to stop.
2:25 Yeah, but is that negative?
2:26 Yeah, if you want to go somewhere else.
2:28 Yeah. Yeah, but it's just a stop signal. It's just telling you. Also, let's say there's a signal or a sign saying go slow around the bend. Now, is that negative or positive?
2:34 It's positive.
2:36 Okay. Or is it neither? It is just telling you something. Now, what you do with it is up to you.
2:41 Yeah.
2:42 Is it by itself negative or positive or is it just a information? Just a signal which is telling you something.
2:47 Just a signal that's telling you something.
2:49 So is it negative or positive?
2:50 None.
2:51 That's one way to look at it, that it's neither negative nor positive. It is just telling me something. And possibly in some ways it is also beneficial. In that sense it is positive if you call benefit as positive. But finally it is giving me some information, isn't it?
3:02 Yeah.
3:03 So what if we could think of nervousness as neither negative nor positive? What a signal. I'm just taking nervousness as an emotion today.
3:10 What is the signal?
3:11 Yeah. So let's discover that today. Let's think. But first let's consider it like that. That way let's think of it as a signal. Now, what could nervousness be telling you? So if we say that nervousness is a signal, the automatic question that came to your mind is what is it telling me? Correct?
3:24 Yeah.
3:24 Why is it there? So let's think about, think, come up with some answers as to if it is a signal, what could it be telling me?
3:33 It's telling me that I'm facing something new.
3:35 Okay. It is telling you that you're facing something new. But normally the signals also lead to an action. They're telling you an action like a stop signal tells you to stop. A slow signal says slow down. Ok. A bend signal tells you look out for some, you know, some other traffic around the bend in that way. So there's an action there. Right. What we are supposed to do. So what could nervousness be telling you? And it need not be one thing.
3:56 It could be different things at different times. So just take some guesses. What could nervousness be telling you? You stay in the context of football. Only.
4:11 When I'm receiving a pass is telling me to look around.
4:13 Okay, interesting. So nervousness is telling me that I need to look around when I'm receiving a. Only when I'm receiving a ball?
4:19 No.
4:20 Okay. So it's telling you to look around.
4:21 Yeah. More.
4:22 Now you're in a match, man. Look around more.
4:24 Yeah.
4:25 Okay. What else could it be telling you? This is one. One idea that it is telling me
4:28 to look around, telling me to know what I'm going to do.
4:30 Okay. Kind of think what I want to do.
4:31 Yeah.
4:32 Is that. Are you saying about anticipation? What next I want to do?
4:34 Yeah.
4:35 Okay. So it is asking you to think what you are going to do. Okay. What else, what else could nervousness be telling you? People keep on saying whatever wild thing comes. How does it.
4:50 Telling me to watch other players.
4:51 Telling you to watch other players. Your teammates or the opponents?
4:53 Both.
4:53 Both. Okay. So it's telling you to watch other players. Okay. What else, what else could nervousness be telling you?
5:05 Don't know.
5:06 Think few more like you've already told. I think four. I'm not remembering how many three to four you have already come up with. I'm sure you can come up with few more. What else it could be telling you.
5:17 It's telling me to look at the ball.
5:18 Okay. It's telling you to look at the ball. Focus kind.
5:22 Yeah.
5:22 Okay. What else? There could be a few more.
5:26 Like,
5:28 like it could be even telling you a little slow down, don't rush today because it's. This is important, man. There's a match. So let me just slow myself down a little so that I can, I can, you know, control the ball better. What do you think? Could it be telling you that?
5:42 Yeah.
5:42 Well, it may not be telling you. It could be telling somebody else that. What else? What else could it be telling you? Maybe it is telling you you need to communicate more, you need to talk more to your teammates. Could it be telling you that?
5:53 Yeah.
5:55 Okay. Okay. So like that we can go on and see what it is, what nervousness is telling.
5:59 But.
5:59 But when we are thinking about all these things, that nervousness is a signal and it is telling me something. Then. Then what is now your thought about nervousness? What are you thinking now? Now that we have explored what it could be telling me and we're thinking of it as a signal, what are you, what are you thinking?
6:14 I have to think about these when I'm playing.
6:17 But what are you thinking about nervousness? That's okay. That's one thing. You think I can think about these things but what do you think about nervousness per se?
6:22 I can use it to play better.
6:26 Okay. What else? So you can, you can use it to play better. What else? What else? What else will you do now that you are or how else will you look at nervousness? When we are looking at it this way, what other thoughts about nervousness is coming to your mind now?
6:52 When I'm nervous, I can look back at these things and figure out what to do.
6:56 Yeah. Okay, so what you are saying is now how you can use nervousness, isn't it? I'm also a little pushing you to think, what about nervousness now? How are you looking at nervousness as opposed to let's say five minutes back when we started recording or when we started talking?
7:16 I think it's a signal. He's telling you something that you can
7:20 work on, that you can work on. And is it not up to us to see what we want to use it as Use it for? Yeah. So that's, that's exactly what I wanted to share with you. That many a times we kind of, when we feel nervous, we kind of try to push that feeling away. Do you do that?
7:37 Yeah.
7:37 Wish that feeling would go away kind of thing.
7:39 Yeah.
7:39 But what if we embrace it? What do we, what if we welcome it? What if we say, wow, hey, you're there, you're a friend, you're an ally, you're here to help me and let me, let me quickly use you. Since you're a friend, you're there to help me and I can use you to be more effective. So any emotion you can even look at, let's say anger or look at for that matter, any emotion. But right now we just stay with nervous.
7:59 So next time when you are nervous, you can, you can decide a lot of time these emotions don't clearly tell us what are there, what are they there for? Right. Unlike a road sign which will possibly tell us the action. Also slow down. Now it's telling me the action. But a nervous, let's say by itself is not telling us the action. But if you can listen to it, understand it, welcome it, embrace it, then possibly it can give us to some ideas and that can help us.
8:20 And that's all they are for. Yeah, that's why they're there. Otherwise why would they be there? So I, I look at it as every, every machine is there to help us. It's up to us to receive that signal and do something with it. What do you say? Say some last words and then we can stop.
8:32 Yeah, I think it's a different view.
8:35 Okay, thank you.
Summary
- Nervousness can stem from pre-game anxiety and can affect performance negatively.
- It often creates a cycle where initial nerves lead to mistakes, which then increase anxiety.
- Viewing nervousness as a signal can help athletes identify areas for focus and improvement.
- Nervousness may indicate the need to look around, anticipate actions, and communicate with teammates.
- Embracing nervousness as a helpful emotion can lead to better performance rather than trying to suppress it.
- Recognizing nervousness as a signal allows athletes to use it constructively during games.
- The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding and utilizing emotions in sports for enhanced performance.
Questions Answered
What does being nervous feel like and how does it affect performance?
The speaker recalls feeling nervous before a match, which led to mistakes during the game. This nervousness originated during warm-ups, affecting their confidence and performance.
Does nervousness serve a purpose?
Nervousness is an emotion that acts as a signal, guiding individuals on how to respond to situations. While it can feel negative, it can also provide important information about the context.
What could nervousness be signaling in a sports context?
Nervousness may indicate that the individual is facing something new or challenging, prompting them to take specific actions like looking around or being more aware during gameplay.
What actions might nervousness suggest during a game?
Nervousness can suggest focusing on the ball, slowing down to avoid rushing, or communicating more with teammates to enhance teamwork.
How can one change their perspective on nervousness?
Instead of pushing away the feeling of nervousness, embracing it as a signal or ally can help individuals understand what to work on and improve their performance.