Performance Pressure
A Missive from the Field: Issue 8, vol. 1
I don’t think there’s a creative alive who hasn’t experienced performance pressure. 🌿
When I was still a musician, experiencing performance pressure was like that moment before the curtain goes up, and you wonder, Do I have it in me? Can I do the thing I’ve spent my entire career preparing to do? You peer out at the audience beyond the stage lights trying to see how many seats are filled, guessing at how many people are liable to talk if you choke. Wondering if you have any opportunity left to hedge your bets, imagining every possible outcome.
Practically everyone in performance arts does this, regardless of how many years they’ve been at it. “The nerves go away after a while,” is a myth; seasoned performers just learn coping strategies to manage them.
At it’s root, performance pressure smells a lot like perfectionism. The pressure to Do The Thing, and to Do It Right often go hand-in-hand, as evidenced by a silly little adage I heard all the time growing up: Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. In our culture, ‘Good enough’ is seen as far from actually being Good Enough. (Just get a load of the comment section on any fitness video an out-of-shape newbie posts. Yikes.) And it’s a pervasive thing: this pressure phenomenon affects people from varied walks of life, operating in varied careers and hobbies, doing a variety of things both mundane and creative.
I’ve seen it grind creative expression into a dead, screeching halt.
Here’s how I evade the trap:
Give yourself grace. Grace is understood in Christianity to mean “unmerited favor.” It’s the blessings you receive from God despite falling short. It’s the thing you are given freely and must choose to receive (like salvation), and it’s the relief that comes in the midst of hardship. In creative spheres where performance pressure is at play, giving yourself grace is letting yourself off the hook. Release your hands from the basket of perfectionism, let go of the yoke of pressure. You’re only human; even on the best days, humans have flaws — and that’s okay. In fact, it’s really better than OK. ‘Perfect’ performance and ‘flawless’ expression are often bland and uninteresting after the initial rush wears off — it’s often the raw and unscripted, the unique little foibles we adore later because they speak to our humanity. It’s OK to be Real.
Internalize “better out than in.” (I want you to write this one on your creative soul.) What kind of world would we live in if everyone held their creativity inside and never let it see the light of day? There’d be no songs on the radio, no artwork in galleries, no sculptures in museums, no festivals, no books, no theater…. So many works of great beauty, missed, if creatives hid their light under a bushel basket. Also: what if only the elite were allowed to create, to sing, to act? How many geniuses and prodigies would be overlooked? The truth is, for all you know, your humble expression could be lauded years from now as a masterwork. History is littered with such cases, artists who were ahead of their time. You could be one, too.
Newly Released Work 🌱
It’s been a slow summer; lots of projects in the works and a lot of retooling going on behind the scenes, but not much to share — yet!
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Onward with Courage… 🌿
Believe it or not, my creative friend, you are part of a vast community spanning nations and time, brave souls that offered countless people healing, insight, belonging, a purpose, and so, so much more from the depths of their heart. Trust that your creativity serves a greater purpose; then take a deep breath and let it out so it can shine.
You got this. I promise.
❦ Heather
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