TL;DR: Performance anxiety often comes from focusing on outcomes you cannot control. One effective coping strategy is to define how you want to show up and focus on behaviors within your control. Choosing actions like staying present, communicating clearly, and giving consistent effort creates measurable behavioral goals, builds mental skills for athletes and high achievers, and helps reduce anxiety. Tracking these behaviors reinforces progress, strengthens confidence under pressure, and supports consistent performance regardless of the outcome.
Performance anxiety can affect anyone, from athletes on the field to high achievers in the office. For some, it shows up as a tight chest or shaky hands. For others, it’s a racing mind or self-doubt. Most of the time, anxiety comes from focusing on outcomes like scores, results, or recognition. These are things that are not fully under your control.
Focusing on outcomes creates stress because you cannot guarantee the result. A better approach is to focus on how you want to show up. This gives you a clear, actionable goal for the moment and allows you to take control over the parts of performance that actually matter. These are the behaviors you can commit to, and they form a practical performance anxiety coping strategy.
What “How You Show Up” Means
“How you show up” is about your actions and presence in the moment. Examples include:
- Staying focused and present in the moment
- Communicating clearly with teammates or colleagues
- Responding calmly under pressure
- Giving consistent effort to every task or play
These are actions you can control. Focusing on them shifts your attention from outcomes to effort, which reduces stress and allows you to perform more reliably.
Why Behavioral Goals Work
When performance anxiety takes over, it often comes from tying success to outcomes you cannot control. Behavioral goals give you something you can manage. By committing to the actions that define your best performance, you create measurable progress, even if results don’t go as planned.
Tracking and reflecting on these actions also helps you learn what works and strengthens mental skills for athletes and high achievers. Success becomes about effort, presence, and consistency rather than fluctuating results, which naturally builds confidence and momentum.
How to Identify Your Behavioral Goals
- Pick the situation
Identify where anxiety appears, whether it’s a game, presentation, or meeting. - Choose actions that reflect your best self
Focus on behaviors that represent your values and priorities in that moment. - Set a small number of goals
One to three behaviors work best. Examples include:- Taking a deep breath before speaking
- Communicating clearly on each play or task
- Staying mentally engaged throughout the activity
- Track and reflect
After the performance, note whether you did what you intended. Focus on learning rather than judging yourself. - Celebrate effort
Recognize when you perform the behaviors you committed to. These are wins, even if the outcome isn’t perfect.
Putting Behavioral Goals Into Practice
A basketball player might focus on staying aggressive, communicating on defense, and taking open shots. A public speaker could focus on pausing before responding, making eye contact, and controlling breathing. Both examples focus on actions within personal control.
Over time, these behavioral goals reduce the influence of performance anxiety because success is based on effort and presence, not uncontrollable outcomes. This approach builds momentum, confidence, and resilience under pressure.
Tracking Behavioral Goals
Tracking your behavioral goals provides feedback that helps you stay on track without self-judgment. Recording actions reinforces progress, highlights what works, and helps you adjust for next time. Tracking also prevents burnout by showing tangible evidence of effort and growth.
Final Thoughts
Performance anxiety is normal, but it can be managed by focusing on how you want to show up and setting behavioral goals. Commit to actions that reflect your values, track your effort, and recognize your wins. This approach strengthens mental skills for athletes and high achievers, builds confidence under pressure, and keeps you moving forward no matter what the scoreboard says.
About Nick Rogell
Nick Rogell, MA, LPCC, CMPC, is a licensed therapist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant specializing in performance anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, and mindset coaching for athletes and high achievers. He is the founder of Wellness In Mind Therapy, where he works with clients across Ohio and Kentucky. As a former college athlete, Nick integrates evidence-based therapy with sports psychology and performance mental skills training, helping clients improve focus, confidence, emotional regulation, and consistency under pressure. His approach blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral strategies to support sustainable performance and long-term mental health both in competition and everyday life.