I was once asked, how I could manage myself so effectively during a stressful meeting. How did I come up with a way to move an idea, or a process forward? Two things always came to mind as an answer, one was preparation (I had an outline of key points that I wrote, usually the day before), and a quiet, calm confidence, and focus, relying on the preparation. I actually would say a little pray before a meeting, to ask that I be at my best, and I almost never looked at the notes during the meeting. For me being at my best was not a focus on all that was going to happen, but a focus on relaxing and letting my mind flow easy. Anxiety not allowed!
I have found in sports too, there is a place, a zone, that I’ve too rarely found where you perform so well for short periods of time, then it goes away. For me it always went away before I could get in 18 holes of golf, that’s for sure. But what intrigued me is that the feeling was very much the same as a successful business meeting. A strange calmness with an exhilaration of positive feedback that the preparations and the control (or calm thinking) was working.
When I read this article, it occurred to me, that there is scientific evidence that calming the mind enables critical “in-the-zone” performance.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180627-is-quiet-eye-the-secret-to-success-for-athletes
Hope you can take this idea and thought to the golf course, tennis, or your next business meeting!