Sixteen Prescriptions for Overcoming Performance Anxiety
(Adapted from PERFORMANCE ANXIETY by M. Robin)
- De-stress yourself, don’t distress yourself.
- Rehearse a skill, not a symptom.
- Don’t confuse performance anxiety with performance effort.
- Don’t self-medicate.
- Keep things simple.
- Keep your playing in reality not fantasy.
- Tolerate, don’t denigrate.
- Use “why not?” not “why me?”
- Act “as if”, fake it to make it.
- Be a musical participator, not a self-spectator.
- Be process-oriented, not product-oriented.
- Stay in the moment, it is precious.
- Rate your performance not your personality
- Accept yourself and your past failures.
- If you must compare, compare downward as well as upward.
- Give yourself permission to be yourself and enjoy.
