Over the past six (already?!) years as a group fitness leader, I’ve noticed the effects of two different kinds of pressure.
There is good pressure—the pressure to show up, to commit, to do what is challenging because others are counting on you to help them grow—and then there is bad pressure. Bad pressure is the little voice in your head that compares your performance and appearance to others, that critiques your originality, and that is too focused on perfection to celebrates your small victories.
While excitement and fear elicit the same physiological reaction, one typically moves us forward, while the other holds us back. The difference between the good pressure—the one that feels exciting and spurs us to action—versus the bad pressure—which includes negative self-talk and thought distortions that aren’t based on fact—is our thoughts about the situation.
If you can take a step back from your thoughts to examine them, you may realize that your negative internal dialogue is just a bunch of lies you tell ourself. A statement like, “I’ll never be as good as…” is comparing oneself to someone else, without taking into consideration why these differences exist, including ours and others’ own unique strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges.
When we are able to bring awareness to this negative lens, we are that much closer to challenging these thoughts, and removing them as obstacles to our own growth and success.