How To Think Fast Under Pressure - Also a Good Way To Handle Anxiety in Interviews

This article is not a typical self help or one of those "I didn't do any of these but I think I should brag you about" articles you can find in content marketing websites. It's based on my own experiences and studies in life and I wrote it as an answer to a more specific question in Quora while ago. I thought with some changes it could be also useful for Steemers.

Photo: CARINA JOHANSEN/AFP

We all felt that situation which we are under pressure and we feel our brain's capacity to think is getting smaller and smaller. But exactly after we get out of that situation we're like "Why I didn't say that!".

Well I know a couple of practices that can help to solve this problem for you. You may like it if you are open to new ways of approaching problems and I can tell you that it works because it’s human biology and by hacking it you can remove the tensions and become like the way you’re at ease in your own room, working alone.

The first reason for getting nervous under pressure or in interviews is adrenaline rush due to survival instinct. You’re too far from your comfort zone and your brain thinks your life is in danger. Tricking your brain by repeating “whatever happens, It’s not like I’m gonna die” and laughing to it would easily change the way your body is reacting to the situation and release lots of tensions.

Being in an unfamiliar place will trigger your survival instincts dramatically. Thousands of years ago when humans were living in tribes, if you were getting into a new tribe you couldn’t do any mistakes. You may try to approach the wrong girl and easily get killed by the alpha males of the tribe. You could make bad reputations for yourself and ruin your reproduction chances. These survival instincts are still in our DNA and keeping us back even though we don’t have those problems anymore. Make sure to wander around the room, observe the stuff and people and ask questions about the environment. Also tricking your brain that you’re in your own room or your personal office (and acting that way) would make it more easier for you to overcome anxiety and be yourself. How you sit in your room or office when you’re alone? Sit like that and it makes a difference in your mind. We cannot control our feelings as humans. However, since actions are connected to our feelings, by controlling actions we can indirectly control our feeling. Being sad? try to dance and sing out loud, after a couple of minutes of forcing yourself you will suddenly feel happy.

You also need to change your mood to release the tensions through excitement. If you act in a serious business man attitude, you’re not releasing any tensions so you’ll be more under pressure. Telling self-amusing jokes and laughing (or even smiling) before you get into the situation, can create a great amount of positivity and makes you more calm and relaxed.

Source: Huffington Post

One of the reasons to keep your brain on its normal mode is to make it present. Even if people bother you with irrelevant questions and ruin your focus, if you’re mentally present, you will hear what they say and the next moment you’re not thinking about it anymore. It’s like your brain just receive the signal and pass it to another part (let’s say wisdom) and zoom back into were it was. Even so, it’s easier said than done.
In order to become present you need mental practices. Remember that it’s a skill for life which change the way you react to everything and the best mental practice for being present is meditation.

I was resisting about meditation for a long time since it’s not something familiar in geek culture. However, it’s so much helpful in your career and you don’t need extensive learning to start it. Just use this app (not related to me) and start practicing one to ten minutes a day. Even five minutes of focused meditation before your interview makes a huge difference in the results. For more applicable results to match mindfulness to the situation you feel under pressure, you can meditate with open eyes. It's like looking at the eyes of your angry boss and feeling totally at ease. Believe me, after training your brain enough, it learns to work that way all the time.

Don’t try to solve the problem by becoming better in handling the situation. In life you are not always at control and you should learn to be comfortable with this. Even if you do it would give you a sense of being at ease since your mind doesn’t need to think much and is only focused at the stress. But you may know that with this approach you will easily lose your calmness with unexpected stimulants like a question that you are not ready for.