Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle is said to have written, "No pressure, no diamonds." And it's true. We need to rethink how we think of pressure and how we manage it. In The Power of Pressure, Dane Jensen says, “Pressure isn't just a nasty by-product of life, it's an essential input into high performance. A life well-lived requires pressure.” If we can link pressure to growth, we have a great foundation from which to work.
So, while most of us try to eliminate or avoid pressure, maybe we need to see it as an ally. Jensen provides the understanding to do just that. He says, "Pressure has patterns, and those patterns repeat." What creates pressure is the need to do something, and that distinguishes it from other states like stress, fear or grief. Unfortunately, just when we feel the need to do something, the body's default response to pressure robs us of the very abilities that can most help us manage our response to pressure.” That’s the paradox of pressure. We can become so narrowly focused under pressure that our ability to process information shrinks, and our ability to absorb helpful information diminishes. Over the long haul, if we stay in this high-pressure state, this narrow focus can become our brain’s default. So, we need a strategy.
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