Performance Under Pressure

How Where We Think We Stand Changes How We Perform Have you ever noticed that you play differently when you're ahead? In tennis, the score can change everything. You're up 5–2 and suddenly you start thinking about closing out the match. You were playing freely. Now you're protecting the lead. The same shots that felt natural a few games ago suddenly feel risky. Your opponent hasn't necessarily changed. The court hasn't changed. Your ability hasn't changed. But your relationsh

Why We Lose Energy Fighting Things We Can't Change One of the simplest lessons in tennis is also one of the hardest to live by. You cannot control your opponent. You cannot control the weather. You cannot control a bad line call. You cannot control how the last point ended. Yet it's remarkable how much energy we spend trying to fight things that were never ours to control. The same pattern follows us into work and everyday life. Our Attention Follows What We Can't Change Befo

Why the Way We Talk to Ourselves Before Pressure Matters Pressure doesn't begin when the meeting starts. Or when we step onto the court. Or before we walk into a difficult conversation. More often, it begins long before that. It begins with the conversation we're having with ourselves. The Mind Starts Playing Before We Do I've noticed this in tennis. Before the first serve is even hit, my mind can already be several games ahead. What if I lose? She's a stronger player. I can'

What Tennis Taught Me About Recovering Under Pressure One of the most valuable lessons I've learned on the tennis court isn't about hitting a better forehand or serving harder. It's what happens between the points. Years ago, performance psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr introduced what became known as the 16-Second Cure, the idea that elite players intentionally use the brief time between points to recover mentally, emotionally, and physically before the next one. The point isn't t

We live in a culture that constantly pushes us to think ahead. What’s next? What’s the goal? What’s the outcome? How do we get there faster? While forward thinking is important, it can also create pressure when we lose connection to the present moment. Many high-achieving professionals find themselves mentally living in the future, focused on outcomes, results, and what still needs to be achieved rather than the work directly in front of them. And over time, this creates over

Lessons From the Court: What Pressure Brings Out in Us Yesterday, I lost a tennis match. But what stayed with me afterward wasn’t the score. It was what happened mentally during the match itself. After losing an important point, I noticed my mind getting stuck there. Replaying it. Analyzing it. Carrying frustration into the next point instead of resetting and refocusing. And the more I stayed mentally attached to the last mistake, the harder it became to fully show up for the

Why High-Achieving Women Struggle to Say No and What It’s Costing Them At a recent networking event, I found myself in conversation with a group of women reflecting on the realities of leadership, work, and life. The atmosphere was supportive and energizing. But the conversations carried a common thread. Many spoke about feeling overwhelmed. Taking on more than they should. Struggling to say no, even when they knew they needed to. There was also something deeper. Guilt. Guilt