In a stressed out world, we are forced to perform at our best all the time. Pressure from within, pressure from others leads to more tension which, can be both positive or negative.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/sports/katie-ledecky-breaks-world-record-in-1500-freestyle.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0
I read this article in the New York Times and found this takeaway very true.
As she let the time settle in, Ledecky leaned across the lane line, locked eyes with Gemmell and shrugged. Athletes from every sport and of any skill level could surely read the message conveyed by her body language: Sometimes the less you consciously try, the more you conspicuously achieve.
“I think the biggest takeaway is when you can relax and perform without expectations,” Gemmell said, “those are where the highest-level performances come.”
He added, “When you can relax and not have expectations and let yourself perform at the level you’ve prepared for, sometimes you get your best performances.”
How do we apply this in the real world? It ties back to the Art of Possibility, a video I came across based on a book as part of my post graduate diploma.
You can find the full article here.
