Dialed In
How to Perform Under Pressure
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
It’s not about how you feel, it’s about what you do.
For readers of Atomic Habits and Inner Excellence, a practical guide to performing your best in the moments that matter most.
No matter what your job or goals are, everyone has decisive moments—the presentation, the pitch, the interview, the big game. Those high-pressure situations can make or break the paths we’re on, and it’s normal to struggle with the stress they bring. With guidance though, you can clear the mental clutter that can sabotage your most important days and create new, better habits for your toughest professional, and even personal, challenges.
In Dialed In, Dr. Dana Sinclair, a globally recognized performance psychologist, shares the practical strategies that she’s revealed to thousands of professional athletes, surgeons, and business leaders. It’s not about becoming fearless; it’s about crafting sustainable strategies, habits, and routines for those high-pressure situations, and peeling away the lessons that need to be unlearned about motivation and success.
In Part One, Dr. Dana shares her key concepts:
-the true nature of confidence (it’s overrated)
-the difference between effective routines and unhelpful superstitions
-helpful communicating vs. common bad advice
-why character matters more than talent, and much more
In Part Two, she takes us through her three-step process for making your own performance plans, with five helpful case studies to illustrate how it’s done.
The final section includes questionnaires about motivation, habits, fears, and more, and gives quick tips to help you develop your personalized performance plan for the specific challenges you face.
Straightforward, universal, and no-nonsense, this is a hands-on guide to get your best results when the pressure is on.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Psychologist Sinclair debuts with a brass-tacks guide to performing well when it matters most. Whether presenting in a high-stakes meeting, taking an exam, or playing sports, readers should prioritize planning over perfection and process over results, according to Sinclair. Contending that performing is foremost "about getting beyond wanting it to focusing on doing it," she dismantles common performance-killing myths (punishing self-criticism helps no one and "striving for is a script for self-defeat"); encourages readers to pin down their performance style and identify personal negative triggers; and outlines ways to overcome them (including by "shifting when you drift"—or quickly snapping out of negative thoughts by utilizing breathing and imagery exercises). Anchored by examples from Sinclair's work with athletes, professionals, and cancer patients, the guidance is empathetic and down-to-earth. She raises particularly salient points about the harms of relying on confidence alone (a "vague and intangible concept.... You might want it, but you can perform well without it") and the value of acknowledging fear without being subsumed by it. It's a valuable toolkit for readers looking to achieve their personal bests, regardless of the playing field.
