How to Deal with Pressure
There are tons of different personalities out there.
And it’ll take forever to go through all of them.
Let’s keep it simple.
We want to talk about 2 unique personality types in this post.
-The person who can deal with the rapid heartbeat.
-And the person who can’t.
Pressure.
What is it?
Pressure is when an event in the outside world is creating an internal narrative.
And other times, the event is not in the outside world.
It is in the internal world.
Pressure is a rite of passage towards greatness.
And each person deals with pressure differently.
Every industry is different.
Every niche is different.
But more importantly, each personality type is different.
Are there 1st order principles to work with?
Of course.
Otherwise, emotional intelligence would not even be a subject.
A Human’s Internal Battery
What is a battery?
A battery is a difference in pressure.
That’s virtually what a voltage represents.
The battery does not stop solely with electronic circuits.
That’s just one place where it’s noticeable.
Another place of pressure & voltage is in the heart.
This is the compass of when a challenge beyond the comfort zone has been presented.
A person who routinely speaks to a class of 50 students as a teacher is accustomed to the act.
But let’s say a father has to come to the class to talk.
On this particular day, all the parents of the students are coming to class to talk about what they do for a living.
This father?
He’s terrified.
For 2 reasons:
- He hates his job & is ashamed he has a position like this in his 40s.
- He hates public speaking.
Despite the teacher and him both being in the same class holding 50 kids.
The interpretations are different.
One’s inner battery is firing off.
And the other’s inner battery is not firing off, as much.
Is the Rapid Heartbeat Bad?
‘Yo Armani.’
What’s good homie.
‘What’s one big mistake that people make in terms of emotional intelligence?’
Labeling emotions too quickly.
Let’s go back to this father who is nervous to present in front of the 50 kids.
The worst thing he could do is say:
‘Geez. Looks like I’m nervous!’
He labeled the emotions too fast.
And that’s not the wise way to deal with pressure.
‘Why do you say that?’
Because emotions need to be felt before it is labeled.
When it is felt, a stunning realization is made.
‘Which is?’
That the labeling may not be needed.
This father should learn the art of sitting with his emotions.
Let the body understand the different physical sensations.
His inner battery, the heart, is in the process of feeling out.
When he makes the mistake of labeling too soon, he convicts an innocent person for a crime that they didn’t commit.
Fall back on the labeling portion.
Feel the emotions.
That’s what wise people who deal with pressure know the art of doing.
Why Gargantuan Thinking Leads to Poise
This father…
Poor guy.
I keep using him as an example.
But it needs to be done.
To an outsider, this guy may seem like a wimp.
An outsider may think:
‘Are you really scared of presenting in front of a bunch of little children? Come on man!’
That’s not for us to judge.
It’s for his body to deal with.
This guy needs to leverage gargantuan thinking.
Here’s a life irony:
One of the best ways to deal with pressure from the outside world is by assigning yourself the most pressure.
-When the world assigns you pressure, you get anxiety.
-When you assign yourself pressure, you get confidence.
This is a life irony that may leave many scratching their heads.
‘Nothing about this seems logical!’
That’s correct.
Welcome to the world of emotional intelligence.
Where being overly logical is nothing more than a mere nuisance.
Assign yourself more pressure.
How would the father do this?
‘The night before, he should have imagined that there would be 500 people in the classroom.’
Excellent response. What led you to that conclusion?
‘Because if he practiced for 500 people, then 50 kids are light work!’
Boom, you nailed it.
50 kids are light work when the inner world prepared for 500.
Co-Existing with the Rapid Heartbeat
There are 2 kinds of people.
- Those who can co-exist with the rapid heartbeat.
- And those who try to shut it off.
The latter is making a BIG emotional intelligence mistake.
When you try to kill an emotion, it goes to the gym & comes back 10x stronger.
-Allowing yourself to feel emotions will make you feel human.
-Suppressing your emotions will transform you into a monster.
The rapid heartbeat should never be turned off.
Nor should that even be attempted.
I’ve seen veteran public speakers who have been speaking on stage for 30 years who tell me their hearts still fire off before every talk.
Why?
They have so much experience.
Why our heart does what it does is not the concern.
The goal is to make friends with it.
The speakers love the rapid heartbeat because it adds color to their speech.
You know that father?
Maybe the rapid beat is a sign that he needs the excess rhythms to improve his tonality as well.
Make friends with the rapid heartbeat by treating it like a friend or treating it like a joke.
When it starts beating fast, be like:
‘I was expecting you, my friend. What took you so long?’
This is a sneaky way to tame anxiety.
Through a childlike spirit.
Deal with Pressure by Knowing that You Can
A great life is the life of someone who can coexist with all their feelings.
Not just the good ones.
While they treat the bad feelings with a rude attitude.
But ALL feelings.
To practice, try this.
Try doing more pushups, get your heartbeating fast, and then do an activity like speaking.
Practice talking with your body simulating the effects of nerves.
Strangely, you’re capable of doing it.
So why can’t the father speak in his kid’s class?
Of course, he can.
It’s simply that a short-term story is hijacking his mind.
Slow the breaths down.
Don’t label so fast.
And welcome the heartbeat with open arms.
Slow, fast, doesn’t matter.
Your body is with you for life.
Treat it like a friend & it will serve you in the process.
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– ArmaniTalks 
