For ten years, Mia Hamm was the face of women’s soccer. As her teammate, Brandi Chastain, described to the New York Times, “The burden and responsibility that go with being a symbol are pretty heavy. Though she handled it with grace, it wears on you. You always worry about what others want. Now she’s much more comfortable.” 
Hamm is a great example for any performer about how to remain agile and flexible when under pressure.More than any other female athlete, Hamm embodies the advances women have made in sports over the last 30 years. She is the most recognized American soccer player in the world, man or woman. She has also scored more international goals than the great Brazilian soccer player Pele.Hamm reached her elite level of play through extreme hard work and self-criticism that keeps driving her to the next level. While she has experienced a history of placing a lot of pressure on herself, she has learned how to use two methods to better deal with stressful situations. The first method is called “keep things simple.” Hamm said that “When things are tough and bad, make it as simple as possible. It’s natural for us to make everything overblown. ‘Oh my God, I’m so bad.’ You just have to focus and concentrate on the most simple thing that needs to get done.”The second method is to “let go of disappointing performances quickly” and focus on the next challenge. Hamm explains that playing a more frequent game schedule in the W.U.S.A. league has taught her that she can’t allow disappointments to linger. “You have to come right back the next day, the way baseball players react to a loss,” she said.These methods help Hamm cope with the pressure she feels as an elite athlete and symbol of women’s sports. They help her stay focused only on what she can control in the present moment.As a talented performer, you work in an environment of rapidly shifting priorities: For instance, students are asked to meet the academic requirements of different subjects and teachers. Athletes are asked to play offense one minute and defense the next, while avoiding mistakes that can cost a game. As a performer, your world of rapidly shifting priorities can make your performance unfocused and place greater stress on you.When you are faced with the pressures of shifting priorities, you can ask yourself, “How am I making this situation more complex than it needs to be? How can I keep it simple? What actions do I personally need to take that are totally in my control to influence this situation and make it less complex?”Furthermore, if you had a disappointing performance and need to get over it quickly, you should find a quiet place and image the ideal performance you want to create the next day in school, competition or at work. Then, focus your attention only on the steps needed to create that performance and reduce the pressure you feel.
