容易紧张？专业运动员教你如何应对！

 　　I get really nervous before my sports tournaments because I’m worried I won’t do well. How does one manage this nervous energy? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

　　我因为担心自己比赛会不够出色，所以很容易在赛前紧张。怎样管理这种情绪，这个问题不容忽视，最早有人就在Quora上提出来，现在就由专家来为您解答。

　　“I’ve never been afraid of big moments. I get butterflies... I get nervous and anxious, but I think those are all good signs that I’m ready for the moment.” - Stephen Curry¹

　　面对人生的重要时刻，我都会感到紧张，坐立不安，那种感觉就像胃里有蝴蝶在翻飞，但是这种情绪恰恰说明我已经做好了准备。—— 史蒂芬加里

　　容易紧张？专业运动员教你如何应对！

　　I get nervous too. We all do to a certain extent. Whether I’m working with an elite² firefighter, a baseball pitcher³, or a trader, everyone gets put into situations that create nervous energy. I’d like to congratulate you for calling it nervous energy rather than anxiety. When people think about it as anxiety, it becomes this uncontrollable force that we don’t know what to do with. In sport and performance psychology⁴ we call it physiological⁵ arousal, meaning your sympathetic nervous system is sending you into fight or flight mode, and you’re getting ready for battle.

　　我也会紧张，所有人在特定的情况下都会感到紧张，不管是与消防精英、篮球投手、或是贸易伙伴一起工作的时候。每个人在面对上述情况的时候都不可能避免会紧张。你们叫它紧张能量而非焦虑在这一点上我很欣慰。当人们面对焦虑的时候，往往是事态不可控制而且我们也束手无策。在运动和表演中的这种情绪我们叫它“心理觉醒”，说明你的身心已经调节好帮助你进入某一种状态。

　　Everyone, from elite military operators to professional athletes, has moments where they experience this. Stress is contextual and relative. No matter how tough you are or how good you are at your particular sport or activity, there are situations that are going to heighten your physical and physiological arousal. The first thing to know is that these physical sensations are completely normal.

　　每个人都会经历这样的时刻不论是精英军员还是运动专家，这种压力紧张具有过渡性和相关性。不管你是多么擅长某种运动或是某项活动，这种紧张的压力会帮助你调整好心理和身理的状态，所以面对这种紧张的压力，第一件事就是以平常心面对。

　　We are built with a nervous system that is designed to bring out physiological arousal to prepare us to perform. Everything in your body is there for a reason. Your heart rate, your pulse, and your breathing are all there to support you. Sometimes one aspect needs to be tuned⁶ up. What we do in sport and performance psychology is help people to learn tools to modulate⁷ and respond to their body and their mind. Fundamentally, there are a few basic strategies to control this nervous energy.

　　紧张系统的存在就是为我们心理上调整好状态来适应。身体中的各个指标都有它的意义，你的心跳、脉搏、呼吸，有时候它们需要调整。怎样有效应对运动和表演前心理压力紧张，总体来说你可以学习一下几点：

　　First, it’s important not to do anything in response to these sensations. Send yourself the message that they are simply an indication that your body is getting ready to perform. Tell yourself, “This is my body getting ready to go!” This will help you short-circuit any downward spiral or physiological arousal that may lead to more dysregulation. You will make Stephen Curry proud.

　　首先，让这些情绪顺其自然，暗示自己这只是说明身心做好了准备，这样做会帮助你避免士气的降低或是情绪上的失控。（上文中的史蒂芬加里的观点）

　　Second, use a breathing technique. For example, breathing in for four seconds, then breathing out for four seconds, with a two-second pause between breaths. It’s helpful to regulate your breathing and breathe using your belly⁸ or diaphragm, as that helps you control your heart rate. By focusing on your breathing, you are creating a new center of focus to allow you not to worry about what’s going on in your thoughts. Being human is awesome⁹, and gives us the privilege of thinking, but it can also suck in that we think too much. A baseball player once said to me, “Thinking is f*&%ing horrible.” Controlling your breathing helps to reign¹⁰ in that over-arousal and helps you get back into the present moment, experience the game, and play at your best despite your nervous energy. Your body knows what it’s doing. Take a breath, and refocus on enjoying the opportunity to play!

　　其次是运用呼吸技巧，例如，分别各用四秒的时间吸气和呼气，中间憋气两秒。这有助于你呼吸规律并且呼吸的时候用到丹田或者横膈膜会帮你控制心率。当你的注意力在你的呼吸上，你就没有其他的精力想旁的。人类的伟大之处在于能够思考，但是想的太多就会适得其反。有个篮球运动员就曾想我抱怨过，“胡思乱想很要命（会影响发挥）”，控制你的呼吸帮助你的思想不会过度游离，让你专注当下，认真比赛。来畅快呼吸，感受比赛带来的每一次精彩。

1 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

4 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

5 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

6 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 modulate   

v.调整，调节(音的强弱)；变调

参考例句：

• Please modulate the sound on the TV.请调节一下电视的音量。
• This system could modulate the voice signal effectively.这个系统可以对语音信号进行有效的调制。

8 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

9 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

10 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。