English below ☟
Kender du det, at du sover dårligt natten til en vigtig performance, audition eller eksamen? At du vågner op om morgenen, hvor din krop føles mærkelig, du har svært ved at finde ro og kan slet ikke være i dig selv? På en eller anden måde, kan du ikke rigtig nyde dine morgenrutiner på samme måde som ellers – og det gælder især, når du senere på dagen for alvor mærker sommerfuglene bakse rundt i maven. Du begynder sågar også at forestille dig, hvordan det mon kommer til at gå.
Og bum. Du har allerede tændt for bekymringsknappen, og tankerne begynder at flyde sammen. Hvad nu hvis det ikke går, som det skal? Hvis du husker forkert? Eller hvis du laver en kæmpe fejl, som alle kan høre?
Selvfølgelig er det helt naturligt for os at ønske, vi kunne være helt rolige på vigtige dage som disse. Men hvad hvis det rent faktisk er en god ting at mærke sommerfuglene? Hvad nu hvis dét, at du er helt rolig er et tegn på, at du ikke kommer til at gøre det optimalt?
En britisk undersøgelse fra 2019 viser, hvordan 37 mandlige fodboldspillere reagerer på kampdagen. Ca. 2,5-3 timer inden kampen, måles deres basale hjerteslag. De lytter til en optagelse, som siger følgende:
“Today you will be playing in an important match. As with all games at this level it will be demanding. It is another important step in your journey towards becoming a first-team player. As always the coach is interested in how you perform. Take some time to prepare mentally for the game as you normally would.”
Når de atter sidder på bænken og tænker på den kommende kamp, måles hjerterytmen igen. Efter kampen bliver de alle spurgt om at vurdere deres performance på en skala fra 0-100, hvor 100 er bedst.
Resultatet af undersøgelsen viste, at de spillere, som så kampen som en ”udfordring” faktisk klarede det bedre end dem, som så det som en ”trussel”. Førstnævnte havde en gennemsnitlig vurdering på 74,56% (vurderet både at spillere samt deres træner) mens sidstnævnte lå på 67,32%.
Men udover disse 2 grupper, var der faktisk også en 3. gruppe, som ikke havde et endegyldigt ”svar”. Disse 16 spillere, det drejer sig om, var meget rolige – men det var faktisk dem, som klarede sig dårligst med en vurdering på 62,97%.
Men betyder det, at vi bare skal lade sommerfuglene leve deres eget liv og ikke gøre noget aktivt for, at de skal forsvinde?
Man kunne også stille sig selv spørgsmålet: er det i virkeligheden sommerfuglene, eller den følelse, som er knyttet til dem, vi ikke bryder os sønderligt meget om? Hvad hvis vi vender tanken om sommerfugle i maven til noget positivt? At vi faktisk performer bedre, når vi kan mærke en lille form for nervøsitet?
Jeg udfordrer dig hermed til at tænke tilbage på 3 performance, hvor du rent faktisk har følt disse sommerfugle i maven og været nervøs, men hvor det faktisk er gået ganske glimrende. Skriv dem ned.
Husk tilbage på dem, næste gang de dukker op – og hold fast i tanken om, at det ikke er et dårligt tegn.
Butterflies in your stomach? It can also be a good sign
Do you sleep poorly the night before an important performance, audition or exam? Do you wake up in the morning, feeling different from every other mornings? Your body feels weird, things are a little more unsettles and you don’t know what to do about it? Maybe it is even harder to go through your normal morning routine and enjoy them as well. It might especially feel weird a few hours later, when the butterflies start to kick in. Now you also begin to imagine how things are going to go.
And there. You have already turned the “worried”-button on. Your thoughts are wandering. What is it turns out to be a completely fiasco? What if you play a few notes wrong, but then everybody notices it?
Of course, it is natural for us to wish that we can be was calm as usual on these days. But what if I tell you, that it is actually a good sign to feel the butterflies? What is feeling nothing at all is actually a sign that you’re not going to perform so well?
A British research from 2019 shows how 37 male soccer players react the day of their match. Around 2,5-3 hours before the match, the researchers measure their heart rate. The players listen to a recording, which says:
“Today you will be playing in an important match. As with all games at this level it will be demanding. It is another important step in your journey towards becoming a first-team player. As always the coach is interested in how you perform. Take some time to prepare mentally for the game as you normally would.”
When they are sitting on the bench again, thinking about the upcoming match, their heart rate will be measured again. After the match, they are all asked to rate their performance on a scale from 0-100, where 100 is the best.
The result of the research shows that those, who saw the match as an “challenge” actually performed better than those, who think of it as a “threat”. The first group mentioned had an average combined self and coach rating of 74,56% and the second group had an average score of 67,32%.
But apart from these 2 groups, there was also a third one that emerged from the data. 16 players didn’t have much of any cardiovascular response – they remained totally calm. But they were the ones performing the worst with an average score of 62,97%.
But does that mean that we should just embrace the butterflies without trying to get rid of them?
Or, you could also ask yourself: is it the butterflies or the feelings connected to them, we don’t like? What is we believed that it is a good thing to feel some butterflies on the day of a performance? That we actually perform better, when we are a little nervous?
I now challenge you to think of 3 performance, where you actually have felt butterflies in your stomach, but ended up having one of your best experiences on stage. Now write them down.
Remember them next time you feel butterflies – and keep the thought of that it is a sign of something good!
