Coaching practices for Get Excited Performance

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Get Excited Performance, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• Right before I go on, my heart is pounding and my hands are shaking and I read all of it as a sign I’m about to fall apart
• Right before the big moment I’m wired and shaking and I keep telling myself to calm down and relax, which never works and just makes me more frantic that I can’t
• I pump myself up with loud music and psych-up talk before everything, and then I wonder why my hands shake on the parts that need a steady, precise touch
• Right before anything that matters my heart pounds and my hands shake, and I read all of it as proof I’m not ready and about to fall apart
• My body is buzzing before the big moment and telling myself to "calm down" only makes it worse

Practices that may help

1. Reappraise physiological arousal as activation, not anxiety
   Tell yourself "I’m excited" rather than "I’m nervous" — the physiology is identical; the label changes performance.
   The Clutch State: Performing Under Pressure
2. Reappraise anxiety as excitement before high-stakes performance
   Tell yourself "I’m excited" rather than "I’m nervous" — the physiology is the same, the performance effect is not.
   Choking Under Pressure, Made Practical
3. Match your routine’s arousal level to the task demand
   Fine-tune whether your routine should up-regulate or down-regulate your energy before the performance.
   Pre-Performance Routines, Made Practical
4. Recalibrate arousal as readiness, not threat
   Reinterpret pre-performance anxiety as energy and readiness rather than evidence of inadequacy.
   Mastery Experiences
5. Arousal Reappraisal: "I’m Excited, Not Anxious"
   Reinterpret physiological arousal as excitement rather than anxiety — they share the same physiology.
   The Yerkes-Dodson Law: Finding Your Optimal Performance Zone
6. Include a brief process imagery step in your routine
   Mentally rehearse the execution process — not the outcome — as part of your preparation sequence.
   Pre-Performance Routines, Made Practical
7. Pre-Performance Routines, Made Practical
   Pre-performance routines are standardized behavioral and mental sequences performed before a performance that direct attention, manage arousal, and activate well-rehearsed movement patterns. Sport psychology research (particularly Stuart Cotterill’s work) and multiple meta-analyses find they reliably improve consistency and reduce performance variability across athletic and skill-based tasks.
8. Install a focus cue as the final routine step
   End every pre-performance routine with one specific cue that triggers full attentional commitment to the task.
   Pre-Performance Routines, Made Practical
9. Activation Strategies for Under-Arousal
   Use brief, targeted techniques to raise activation when you’re too flat to perform well.
   The Yerkes-Dodson Law: Finding Your Optimal Performance Zone
10. Reframe physiological arousal as challenge activation, not threat
    Tell yourself the racing heart is your body preparing to perform — because physiologically, it often is.
    Challenge vs. Threat Appraisal, Made Practical

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