What’s your “default” when you face adversity? A threat response or a challenge response?
Thanks to the ongoing science and research on stress, it is now understood that humans can have different stress responses based on the situation. A good example would be performing under pressure such as public speaking, running a meeting at work, taking an exam at school, or playing in a high stakes sports game or match. I’d like to think that you have experienced at least 1 of these scenarios in your lifetime. Please take 10-30 seconds to revisit your experience, what you remember, the outcome, and how you performed.
I think we could all agree on what an ideal stress response would feel like: increased focus and concentration, increased energy and motivation, and ultimately enhanced performance. However, performing under pressure can also cause the opposite experience: increased fear, doubt, uncertainty, and poor performance. Society might call this “nerves” or “choking.” I can safely say that I have choked in a sports game before while also initiating the ideal stress response other times as well. I’m also guessing that you might be getting close to determining what a threat response vs a challenge response is at this point….
A “threat response” is what it sounds like - you perceive potential threat and your body prepares to defend itself. This is the classic “fight or flight” response. An important detail about a threat response is that when this stress response occurs, the body is anticipating physical harm (McGonigal, 2015). Your blood vessels constrict, reducing blood flow, and your body prepares for inflammation and to heal itself, overall decreasing your energy level. Your thoughts and emotions turn more negative where you start to doubt yourself, feel angry, anxious, scared of losing or failing. Because your body is preparing to be harmed, your attention heightens and your brain constantly scans for any negative signals or “bad vibes” in your environment, further confirming your self-doubt. Can you see how the “threat response” would not be ideal for optimal performance under pressure?
On the other hand, a “challenge response,” helps you to focus better and feel energized and motivated. During a challenge response, your body responds more like how it would if you were working out. Furthermore, because your body is not fearing physical harm (“threat response”), your body increases blood flow while also making the heart beat stronger and faster, thus resulting in increased energy (McGonigal, 2015). In terms of your thoughts and feelings, you may likely feel anxious or nervous while also feeling excited, motivated, energized, and/or confident. You are more able to focus on the task at hand in your environment in place of constantly scanning for negative signals to confirm “something is wrong” like in a threat response. Hopefully now you can see how a challenge response is more ideal for optimal performance under pressure.
I bet your next question is “Great, thanks Dave, so how do I make this happen? How can I activate the challenge response more than the threat response?
Great question. Stay tuned for next week’s blog post addressing this question!
Source:
McGonigal, Kelly. (2015). The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It. United Kingdom: Vermilion.
