PANIC ON A MISSION

 

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

A scared man wondering if he will complete the mission /Photo Courtesy /MART PRODUCTION

Fear

When you panic in the head. A lot of things happen. You not only lose control but also get distracted. And when you get distracted. Your mind goes off the script. You forget the mission in front of you. You are no longer concentrated on the thing that you were doing. Because fear has encroached into your mind. And made you doubt what you already know. When doubt sets in. The ball drops off your feet. And you lose. You lose not because you don’t know how to play. You fail because panic makes you doubt yourself. You lose confidence in your own abilities. Even when you know. You are a skilled player. You know that game very well. You have played that game many times. You understand the rules that keep you in the game. However, when you panic. Everything else that you know becomes irrelevant.

The knowledge in the game becomes irrelevant because fear has taken over. And when fear starts speaking. You get worried. You begin to think that maybe, you are not the right person. You are not equipped for this mission. You are not well prepared. Yet, you have spent a lot of time in training. All that time in training was preparing you for this mission. Nevertheless, when the spotlight arrived. For you to showcase what you already know. You failed. The spotlight was too overwhelming and you could not stand the attention. So you got distracted. And lost a game that you could easily win. You only needed to focus. And do what you have done hundreds of times. Hit that ball in the head. And score. That was your job. You have done this job before. You know it very well. You are skilled in this job. You are the best person for this job. However, when fear set in. You lost control. And allowed fear to steal from you.

Psychological Effects

Fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety are all psychological effects of panic. When a person suffers from one of these effects. He/she is no longer in charge. Doubt or fear takes over. And that is how important missions are aborted. Best athletes suffer from these symptoms too. Sportsmen and women who have won various championship challenges begin to struggle. They struggle not because they don’t know. They begin to struggle because they have doubted in their minds. And when they enter a game panicked. They lose. Their opponents whom they could have tackled very easily win. The opponents win against a best team. This best team knows the game. It has won a lot of competitions. However, today the team lost. This loss has a basis. And the basis could be as simple as, key players missing the game or a long-time coach leaving the team. 

Talented players on a mission /Photo /Alexander Nadrilyanski  

Players panic when events like these take place. On the surface, the impact might not appear threatening. However, psychologically. A loss is a loss. When a long-time coach leaves a best performing team. Players mourn the loss. When key players miss an important game for various reasons. A team gets disoriented. Players who remain doubt whether they can do it without their best scorers. Players also doubt whether the new coach will be up to the task. And when all these negative thoughts go on in their minds. Players forget their skills and instructions. They forget that this game is their passion and dream. That they have always wanted to play this game. And they are actually good at this game. This is how messy panic looks like in reality. It makes incredible athletes lose. It makes well-trained professionals doubt their abilities and knowledge.

And you are no exception. If panic can mess up with best players and athletes. Believe it or not. It can mess up with you too. And ruin everything you have ever worked for in your life. You won’t even believe it yourself. That you lost something you already know. You could not complete a task you know very well because you doubted. Panic presents a large-scale threat that can destroy a lot of good things. Good players lose when they entertain negative thoughts. Panic is a negative energy. That carries with it a lot of negative forces. Fear is a negative force. So are doubt, worry, and anxiety. All these feelings or forces destroy good things. When a ball falls off the feet of good players. People lose money. And that is not good. For a game or a mission. Winning requires focus. It requires a person to remain in control no matter the circumstances.

That is why best managed teams hire sports psychologists. Sports psychologists help teams that have recently lost a long-term coach. To process the loss. People mourn when they lose something valuable. A coach that has led a team to win ten or five consecutive championships is a valuable asset. And when he/she leaves. Everyone will feel the impact. Even when some people don’t want to acknowledge it. For players, the impact is felt when they start losing. When the loses increase. A sports psychologist can help players mourn the loss. He/she can do this by encouraging players to talk about the absence of their best coach or key players. When teams create time to talk about things like these. They rescue their games and players. Best athletes, sportsmen, and women are normal human beings. And they get affected psychologically.

Don’t Panic

A professional player in a game /Photo Courtesy /Pixabay

It is important for team leadership to acknowledge such events. And help players cope effectively. By enlisting the services of relevant professionals. However, letting players deal with loss in their own individual capacities affect the performance of a whole team. But there is something important you need to know. Panic and its negative energies cannot destroy unless they are allowed. Fear tears down people only when it is allowed. This means that if you remain in control. And focus on the mission in front of you. You can still win despite the circumstances. You only need to be the right person in the odd circumstances. Don’t panic. Don’t send false signals to your brain. Don’t allow your brain to pick fear signals. Keep your eyes on the ball. Don’t mind the spotlight. Don’t look at the crowd. Mind the ball.

And look at where the ball is going. Make sure you hit it inside the goal. Don’t lose focus. Hitting the ball in the goal is your mission. Forget about everything else going on in that pitch. Remain in control. Don’t focus on the burdens on your shoulders. Focus on what you know. You are skilled. You are trained. You are the right person for this task. Get it done in the right way. Forget about the pressure. Just look at the goal post. And what it means. When the ball in your foot goes past the goalkeeper and hits the net. That is what the crowd is here for. A win. The crowd came to watch you play your best game. Because they know you are a good player. Be the good player that everyone knows. Complete the mission. Get the ball inside the net.