Of the many fears that can undermine performance, perhaps none is more common or debilitating than the fear of making a mistake.
It doesn’t take an expert to know that worrying over making mistakes is a surefire way of making more of them.
Performers who allow potential mistakes or errors to enter their thought process during performance become overly anxious and mechanical in their movements and thoughts.
This can sabotage their confidence.
They become overly cautious during performance, hesitating when they should execute automatically.
While there are many reasons for why this fear is so prevalent, the most common cause is anticipated judgment.
The expectation that others might evaluate a performer harshly for a mistake can create internal panic. The idea that a mistake might cause others to lose respect for or think less of them is what unnerves those who anticipate this judgment.
Short of developing the thick skin of apathy, top performers know the only way to escape this paralysis is to become so focused on execution that the judgments of others become irrelevant in the moment.
When the mind fixates on execution and not on how others will judge that execution, it becomes free to focus on engineering excellence.
But it is equally important for performers to manufacture an environment free of judgment to prevent fear from creeping in, especially in high-stakes and high-pressure situations.
Examine the teams, colleagues, mentors, and coaches who surround top performers, and you are likely to see a group of people who have been hand-selected not only for their expertise but also for their ability to provide constructive feedback without harsh evaluation or negative judgment.
A performer who knows they have the unconditional support and love of people who care about them (and will never offer a verdict of disappointment about their performance) is free to perform at their best, without any fear of ridicule or embarrassment.
Mistakes become lessons to learn from and not gaffes to hide from.
This is why leaders, coaches, and parents who know how to give constructive feedback without extreme judgment are so empowering to performers, especially for those who have yet to create a support network to keep them upbeat and focused exclusively on execution.
Everyone makes mistakes during performance and has an intimate understanding of the sting of judgment that others can bestow upon them.
But instead of giving in to the fear of being judged, the best performers accept that missteps are a natural part of the learning process, and they turn to those around them to prove it.
Performers who don’t have such support must create it.
Sometimes this means asking those who are misguided in their caring to keep their distance before, during, and after performance and to keep their judgments to themselves.
