Focus on the things you can change, not those you can’t

Assessing risk, anticipating outcomes and predicting likely decisions is part and parcel of working in sectors such as law and business, but do you spend too much time worrying about outcomes you can’t affect?

Sports psychologist Dr Steve Peters, author of the Chimp Paradox, frequently speaks about the need to ‘control the controllables’. He argues that elite athletes often underperform in competition not because they lack skill, but because they waste mental energy worrying about the scoreboard rather than the process.

Inevitably, some will reply that worrying about the outcome serves as a driver for focus and that the stress fuels performance. However, research suggests that excessively focussing on uncontrollable outcomes doesn’t actually improve performance.

The sporting context of Dr Peters’ observations has parallels in the legal sector where outcomes are often judged in terms of winners and losers. Pitches for example result in the ultimate decision being controlled by someone else.

Inevitably we do fixate on what that decision may be, but overly worrying about what is beyond our control is ultimately energy wasted. It’s very easy for us to say as we all know it’s true – and we need to get better at acknowledging and accepting it. By doing so we will inevitably reduce stress, find more inner calm and no doubt enjoy a better night’s sleep.

I’ve mentioned the high pressure – win/lose – scenarios of a court or a board room, but let’s take a look at this dynamic through the lens of an event like guesting on a panel. Many of us have been in a situation where the booking that was ‘six months away’ is suddenly next week and the mind inevitably begins to whir.

For the experienced, another panel is like water off a duck’s back.  For the inexperienced though appearing on a panel can become a point of stressful fixation, especially if sitting amongst more experienced peers.

The mind will begin to race with questions; ‘will anyone ask me a question?’, ‘what if I can’t answer a question?’, ‘will my peers judge me as not up to the job?’ and most commonly ‘what if I completely blank?’ The endless noise will usually be at its loudest when all else is quiet – often in the middle of the night which as we all know is the best time to try to sort out ones anxieties and problems!

Can we affect the outcome of any of these questions prior to the event? No we can’t (a three-word slogan which, as of writing, has yet to be adopted by a presidential candidate).

So, if you can’t control the uncontrollable, what can you control? Well, we can start by having our own house in order prior to an appearance. You don’t know what you may be asked – or indeed how you will answer – but if you’re prepared then you will be in the best place to deliver. That means focusing on ‘you’ and your material.

You can’t plan for a question which may be asked, but you can certainly be ready to meet that question with the full force of knowledge. If you have prepared, if you know your stuff, then you will benefit from the inner confidence that brings. You can imagine what type of questions may be asked and play devil’s advocate by thinking of the question you’d least like to have asked of you and concoct a response to it.

Hand in hand with preparation goes practice. Take note, those professionals who appear most at ease have usually rehearsed more than others realise. Successful speakers will often have half won over their audience before they’ve even fielded a question because they will have engaged them successfully at the outset.

Preparation and practice are factors that can improve external performance, but it’s also important to address internal factors, such as destructive self-talk. In real life there are very few withering put downs and character assassinations administered to you in public.  In private however we can be brutal to ourselves. Fixating on what others may or may not think of you is also wasted energy. If you have a loud self-critical voice, seek out ways to quieten it down.  Dr Peters has many useful suggestions and as for me, I treat it much in the same way President Reagan treated a bothersome heckler.

Finally, don’t forget that most careers are not defined by single events. Train yourself to see the bigger picture. Long term success is built on the consistent display of professional facets – knowledge, communication, conduct and authenticity and the good news is, these are elements you can control.