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Step Back, Step Up, Step In
The Pressure Equation (#litres_trial_promo)
The Scale of Mental Intent (#litres_trial_promo)
Create the Gap
Mental Blueprint (#litres_trial_promo)
Skill Ladder
Three Circles (#litres_trial_promo)
The ICE Technique
The Offload Technique
RED–BLUE Debrief (#litres_trial_promo)
Foreword (#ulink_87db2e91-c8f2-5bf5-aab5-993aafc2960a)
Richie McCaw
In 2015 I played my final game of rugby with the All Blacks. It was our second consecutive Rugby World Cup final victory. No other team had achieved that. We felt a huge expectation but were able to deliver. As captain, I couldn’t have wished for a better way to retire.
Roll back the clock to when I was captain in 2007 and it was a very different story. Despite being favourites we had, yet again, failed to win on rugby’s biggest stage. We’d even left the tournament earlier than any previous All Blacks team. We hadn’t dealt with the pressure and knew that something needed to change.
We looked around for answers and it became evident that Ceri was an obvious choice.
You’ve only got to speak to Ceri for a few minutes: he doesn’t just tell you how it is, he takes you with him. The things he said and the way he said them struck a chord with me straight away. As well as being a doctor working in forensic psychiatry, he’d been a pro-footballer. He made things real.
Ceri explained what happens to the brain under pressure. He showed us examples of how people react differently under pressure and how they go ‘into the RED’. It all made sense. He helped us understand that it’s OK to feel pressure and showed us ways to manage ourselves differently. I learned it wasn’t about pretending it doesn’t happen, it was about how you deal with it. We started to use the RED–BLUE model and straight away I began to see it work.
Over time, we completely changed the way we dealt with pressure.
In the last 20 minutes of the 2011 final, when we really got tested, I realised how important that was. The match was touch and go and I felt myself going into the RED. It could have unfolded like in 2007, but I got back into the BLUE and thought, ‘This is the moment I have pictured and prepared for.’
Not everything was perfect towards the end, but I felt calm. I could see what I needed to do, and I felt myself getting stronger. I wanted to be there.
The tools Ceri gave me had worked but after the weight of expectation in the four years leading up to the 2011 World Cup and the energy it took, the thought of repeating it all again felt too much.
Ceri helped change my perspective. He said, ‘If you try to do it the same way again, you set yourself up to fail.’ From that I knew I needed to look at things differently. He talked about being pioneers, becoming the first team to win back-to-back world cups. I got excited again. He helped change the mindset from ‘What happens if we lose?’ to ‘What happens if we win?’ Simple but powerful.
The things that are really worth chasing involve pressure and that’s what makes them rewarding. I knew we needed to be tested under pressure to be taken to our limits. I began to crave those moments.
No matter what the challenge was, Ceri always had an idea or angle to help me anticipate, deal with it or improve. I was always intrigued to see what he had next. RED–BLUE was just the start.
Now I’m retired from rugby, the things I learned with Ceri are still relevant. I’m a husband, a father, a pilot and although these might not look the same as playing rugby, the lessons in this book relate to anything you do.
When the pressure is on, we all know it affects the way we behave. Anyone can feel under pressure from many different factors: dealing with stress, conflict at work, managing relationships. If you’re curious about how to learn and do those things better, the tools in this book will help you develop the ability to step back, clear your head and deal with it all much more effectively.
From my time in rugby I remain most proud of how we went from a team that struggled to deal with pressure in the big moments to, by the end of my time playing, leading the way. The expectation became that, when it was tight at the end of a match, the All Blacks would get there. Whatever was thrown at us we had learned to find a way. Ceri was a huge part in that turnaround, helping shift our mindsets and raise our thresholds to deal with pressure.
Whatever it is you want to improve in your own life, this book will help you do it. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
RM, 2019
Introduction (#ulink_6df32503-d937-55b5-a82b-d4c931e03e83)
When I hear the phrase ‘high performance’, the word ‘PRESSURE’ automatically comes to mind. I don’t think you can have one without the other.
But for many of us, ‘high performance’ feels out of reach – just getting through the day feels like a struggle. That’s why I prefer to think in terms of performance under pressure.
I’m talking about all fields of performance here. Whether your arena is the stage, the classroom or the shop floor, or whether you’re trying to lead an executive team, an operating theatre or your family, if you face a mental barrier that has, to this point, limited you from reaching your goals, this book is for you.
Whatever your performances look like, the aim of this book is to change the way you feel, think and act in high-pressure situations. But my bigger goal is to show you how you can reach your full potential through powerful responses to powerful moments. I want to help you go from ordinary to extraordinary.
The key lies in those moments of truth when we either shy away from a challenge or rise to the occasion. Because these moments carry more significance, they carry more pressure.
Most of us try to minimise the number of these moments in our lives, because they make us feel uncomfortable, and we’re afraid we might fail. But some individuals, teams or organisations relish these moments and seek them out deliberately.
If you want to get better at what you do, pressure is unavoidable – but does it stop you in your tracks, or open a window into a new world of opportunity?
In this book you’ll learn about the RED–BLUE mind model, which helps explain why pressure has such an impact on all of us. The RED–BLUE tool and related techniques for performance under pressure will provide you with practical help to think and feel clearly – and perform better – when you need it the most.
Why I Developed the RED–BLUE Mind Model
In my teenage years I was either kicking a ball or reading a book – usually about how our bodies and minds worked. The crossover between the sporting and mental worlds fascinated me. Everyone in sport seemed to know that the mind was critical to performing well – but no one really seemed to be able to explain in a practical way what was going on inside someone’s head that caused them to perform poorly or well. In those days, the attitude towards psychology in sport was sceptical and often cynical. In team environments, ‘seeing the shrink’ was taken as a sign of mental weakness. Later, my work as a forensic psychiatrist in hospitals, prisons and the courts gave me new perspectives. Understanding the mind was one thing, but understanding how it worked at its limits, under stress, was what captivated me the most.
One relationship stands out as the turning point. I met Renzie Hanham – co-developer of the RED–BLUE mind model, and illustrator of this book – and things began to fall into place. Renzie is a highly accomplished martial arts instructor and gifted graphic artist. His perceptive insights, and ability to translate those insights into graphic format, showed me the way forward.
I remember the day when I asked him to produce a diagram that would map out the pathways to both effective and ineffective performance. I had an ‘aha!’ moment, and realised that the diagram should be colour-coded. The first RED–BLUE mind model was born.
The learning curve was steep: some of our early efforts were too complex and confusing, and others were too obvious and simplistic. (I figured it was about right when the criticism was evenly balanced between the two!)
But despite the false starts and cringe moments, two things rapidly became clear. First, people got the RED–BLUE mind model – quickly – and second, it really seemed to help them.
The implications of the model soon spread beyond the sports world. Countless individuals, teams and organisations were involved in ‘stress-testing’ the model not just on the pitch, but also in the classroom, on the stage, in the workplace, and in many other environments. Their insights have been invaluable. Every tool in this book has been used many times by many people who are serious about what they do and how they do it.
When people tell me they’ve used the model – with their children, with their partner, or for themselves – and seen a real shift in their performance, it feels hugely satisfying.
The RED–BLUE mind model draws on several different schools of thought, but in the end it has one intention: to help you gain emotional self-control to enable you to think clearly and act effectively when you need it most – when you’re performing under pressure.
The RED–BLUE mind model has taken me down an immensely rewarding path. It’s the central piece of a jigsaw in which many things I’m passionate about come together.
Here are 10 reasons why I strongly believe in the RED–BLUE mind model:
1 It works. It wouldn’t exist if people didn’t feel it had significantly helped them. (Nor would this book!)
2 I use it myself (all the time). My best and worst moments – as a parent, footballer, clinical director or speaker – all relate back to my use (or non-use) of the model in my own life.
3 It’s for all of us. I have seen the best in the world get mentally better – and worse – in different moments. I have also seen those in the mid-range, and those with everything against them, get mentally better – and worse – in different moments. Everyone is on the same RED–BLUE page.
4 It’s practical. I’ve met experts who know more about the theory behind the brain than I ever will, but just like the rest of us, they’re still held back in their performance when it comes to putting it into practice. No amount of theory can alter that.
5 It changes lives. It has encouraged people, time and again, to venture into more challenging areas, which have proved to be personally significant, and occasionally life-changing.
6 It provides balance. In every performance environment I’ve experienced there is an opportunity to be exceptional in the technical aspects of that field and the mental elements, but few are exceptional at both. Even in those fields seemingly ruled by technology, human elements still have their say – and often the final word.
7 It’s easy to use: People quickly pick up on the main RED–BLUE ideas and make them work, because the model is intuitive.
8 It works for young and old. I’m not an expert in child psychology, but (as you’ll see) ten year olds have picked up the model and run with it; and I’ve seen people of advanced age change their philosophy even after a lifetime of unhelpful mental habits.
9 It’s enjoyable. It takes what for many is an unwelcoming area – performing under pressure – and turns it into a personally relevant road map.
10 It surprises people. It surprises – and even shocks – experienced performers when they suddenly realise that they have been trying to ‘get better’ most of their lives by trying to become more comfortable when they perform, guided by an unspoken assumption that this is the only or best way forward. The idea that significant opportunity exists in the space of becoming more effective when they are uncomfortable can come as a revelation.
The bottom line is that most people do not chase their potential or, if they do, they only get some of the way. We have all experienced that daunting sense of being overwhelmed when the world closes in on us. Even top performers falter and are undone in moments when the pressure gets to them. And one in five of us has serious procrastination issues! The world is full of untapped human potential.
If you restrict yourself to performing only in comfortable situations, your life will miss the fulfilment available to those who don’t restrict themselves. But if you embrace them, those challenging, high-pressure moments can be especially powerful and rewarding.
Pressure – your friend or your foe? By the end of this book, I hope you’ll look at that question in a different light.
Performance under pressure is a fact of life. But because it holds the key to unlocking your potential, pressure is priceless.
PART 1
Part 1, Red and Blue – Understanding Pressure (#ulink_c7a6863c-4043-5d61-a00c-42674d9b6923)
An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behaviour.
Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist (1905–1997)
CHAPTER 1
Chapter 1, The Nature of Pressure (#ulink_eff46157-b970-5b11-ba9b-cbf2dd1c6c24)
Pressure is confronting. It can smack us in the face. The sharp edge of reality has a way of cutting our fantasies to shreds.
Pressure is universal. No matter what our level of performance, we all fall victim to it in the same ways.
Pressure is real. What happens inside our heads and bodies – anxiety, tension, frustration, exasperation, foggy thinking, tunnel vision – is not imagined. And when it comes to the effects of pressure, there is no immunity.
Pressure is a mystery. The simple rules of the external world of cause and effect don’t hold. The mental world is a non-linear, invisible, cryptic one, where our unconscious often lurks in the background with sinister intent. With success within their grasp – and therefore also the prospect of failure – some people suddenly collapse under pressure, and we don’t really understand why. Because the mental world seems hard to comprehend, many people don’t make an effort to do so. The very thing that is the most variable, and has the greatest impact, is the least pursued.
Pressure is captivating. Tight sporting contests, precarious business decisions and tense armed stand-offs seem very different situations, but they draw us in for the same reasons. We don’t know how they will turn out, and the outcome matters. Predictability is boring and, especially when the stakes are high, unpredictability is thrilling.
Pressure is perilous. The knife-edge, risk–reward seesaw explains why many people do everything they can to avoid or escape from stressful situations.
But a minority of people do the opposite. They walk towards these moments of truth, seeking the things they also fear.
Pressure can be an incredibly sobering, painful or even crushing experience, from which we may struggle to recover, or a stirring, heartening one, which resets our life trajectory upwards.
Welcome to the world of pressure.
Two Kinds of Threat
At the heart of pressure is fear. But not all fear is equal.
Imagine someone is walking in the country, in a relatively reflective state, when a wild dog bursts into their path, locks eyes with them, snarls and runs directly at them.
How do they react? Their eyes fixate on the dog, their body becomes tense and their thinking shuts down, all in a split second. They are in a state of fear.
Now imagine a golfer leading his first big championship by one shot. (Please note that all examples in this book, unless otherwise stated, are fictional and any resemblance to real situations is purely coincidental.) At the final hole he is confronted with a difficult water hazard that has claimed his tee shot in the last two rounds.
How does he react? His eyes fixate on the water, his body becomes tense and his thinking shuts down, all in a split second. He is in a state of fear.
These two reactions look identical at face value. They are both internal fear reactions to external situations. But they’re different in one key respect: the wild dog is a genuine external threat, while the golf hole is not. The golf shot holds the potential for judgment, but no direct physical threat (unless the golfer falls in the water).
The wild dog triggers a split-second reaction, directly provoked by an external stimulus: sharp teeth. But we can’t say the same thing about the golf shot. The golfer’s state of fear is triggered by what the external situation stirs up inside him. The threat is not an animal with teeth, but feelings that bite.
The tournament or crowd don’t directly cause the fear. It’s the change in situation that creates the threat: getting close to the end, on the cusp of winning. Which also means possibly losing, with instant audible and visible judgment from the crowd. This possible judgment stirs up deep-seated feelings from long-forgotten past performances, leading to anxiety and tension.
So, there are two kinds of threat: one that is triggered by real external danger, and one that is prompted by an internal emotional conflict.
Faced with the first kind of threat – the wild dog – just about everyone would have a similar reaction. But in the case of internal emotional threats, there’s a lot of variation in how people react. Some people become fearful and some don’t, with all grades in between.
What determines who becomes fearful and who doesn’t? And when does this become a problem for performance?
To answer these questions, we’ll need to learn more about the human brain …
CHAPTER 2
Chapter 2, Two Minds – Introducing Red and Blue (#ulink_cb716585-4461-58e5-92c5-00f0d07920f1)
Our brain is the part of our body that has the greatest influence on our performance under pressure.
Even when a challenge is mainly physical – such as training for a marathon – pressure places demands on us mentally as we solve problems, make decisions, adjust timing, fight through the discomfort, and much more. Our mental response is what makes the difference.
Our brain is easily the most complex organ in our body – in fact, it’s the most complex thing in the universe. The numbers people use in talking about the brain are so big, and at the same time so small, that they’re hard to fathom.
The human brain contains roughly 100 billion neurons (nerve cells), which generate trillions of synapses (connections) with other neurons. At the other end of the scale, the average neuron is just one-tenth of a millimetre in size. A piece of brain tissue the size of a full-stop on this page could hold 10,000 synapses, allowing cells to pass information to each other as they branch out from the brain through the spinal cord and nerves to reach, and control, every corner of our body.
Whichever way we look at it, our nervous system is impressive, even though in terms of our knowledge of its complexity it remains a vast, unknown frontier.
This complexity is necessary for neuroscience, but not for us. Fortunately, we can easily simplify how the brain functions into just two interactive systems.
But first, to appreciate why the RED–BLUE mind model makes sense in performance situations, it will help if we understand some basic facts about how the brain is structured.
