What is Pressure? According to The American Heritage Dictionary, pressure is a constraining influence upon the mind or will, as a moral force. Everyone experiences pressure, whether it is pressure to get an A on a test, get into your dream college, or write an essay. As an athlete, the pressure to make the game-winning shot, hit a home run, or score a goal is a common event, but in the grand scheme of things, how much does it really matter? During last season’s baseball regional championship, I didn’t play as well as I wanted to, and it was because of the pressure I felt on the field —the pressure to reach our high expectations and make it to state. Unfortunately, the moment was overwhelming, and we lost to Shawnee Mission West. Devastated by the loss and replaying it in my head, I was left with many questions: Why did this happen? And how did this happen? After letting these questions sit rent-free in my head, I concluded that the pressure was too much for me to handle. This raised the question, What is pressure? And why was there so much of it? For weeks, these questions sat unanswered. On a sunny July afternoon, approximately eight weeks after the loss, I left my friend’s house frustrated and stressed about college baseball recruitment. I felt the pressure that I might not play college baseball, and trying to decide where I would go to college. Soon after I left, I saw a homeless man on the side of the street. I’ve always had a soft spot for homeless people, but in that moment, I realized that pressure is too often put on by ourselves, when in reality, there are others who have the pressure of just finding basic necessities.
More often than not, athletes will experience this pressure to reach their personal goals, and sometimes we succeed, but other times we fall short. It is important to remember that we put too much pressure on ourselves to reach our high expectations, and falling short is nothing but failure. But we need to remind ourselves that we can learn from failure, and it is merely a stepping stone to success. So that next time you do hit the game-winning shot, you will feel relief and joy, instead of endlessly asking yourself what you could’ve done differently.
After about 4 months, I concluded that pressure is an internal force that is usually put on by ourselves due to the goal that we must achieve. To relieve the pressure, find comfort in being grateful and appreciative of what you do have, instead of thinking about what you don’t have.
