{"product_id":"psyched-up-isbn-9781591848301","title":"Psyched Up","description":"\u003cb\u003eClosing the sale. Asking for a raise. Nailing the big presentation. Of the 2,000 hours you work every year, your success or failure is determined in the couple of dozen crucial hours when you need to bring your absolute best. Will you?\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe last few minutes before a major challenge can be terrifying. Ever wished you knew how to make sure you ace the make-or-break test, audition, or interview?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe often feel the most powerless just before we’re expected to act powerful. As you’ll learn in this life-changing book, practice might make perfect, but perfection is useless if you can’t summon it when it counts. Pulling off a great speech or the pivotal at bat also requires the right kind of mental preparation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003ePsyched Up\u003c\/i\u003e, journalist Daniel McGinn dives into the latest psychological research and interviews athletes, soldiers, entertainers, and others who, despite years of practice and enviable track records, will ultimately be judged on their ability to delivera solid performance when it’s their turn to shine. For instance, he reveals...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• How Jerry Seinfeld’s jacket and Stephen Colbert’s pen help them get laughs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• What General Stanley McChrystal said to Special Forces before they entered the battlefield.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Why the New England Patriots hired the DJ from the Red Sox to help them win.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong other counterintuitive insights, McGinn reveals why trying to calm your backstage jitters can be worse for your performance than channeling it into excitement; how meaningless rituals can do more to prepare you in the final moments than last-minute rehearsal; and how a prescription from your doctor could help you unleash your best skills.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhether you’re a sportsperson or a salesperson, an actor or an entrepreneur, one bad hour can throw away months of hard work. There’s so much conflicting popular advice that we often end up doing the wrong things. McGinn separates the facts from the old wives’ tales and shares new, research driven strategies for activating your talent, optimizing your emotions, and getting psyched up to take the spotlight.“Performance anxiety can scuttle great opportunities to showcase your talent and work. \u003ci\u003ePsyched Up\u003c\/i\u003e is an essential user’s guide for ensuring you’ll be your best when you take center stage—whether the cameras are rolling or not!” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—KATIE COURIC\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Daniel McGinn takes readers into locker rooms, backstage on Broadway, onto the sales floor at Yelp, and inside the DJ booth at Fenway Park to discover the secrets of how high performers use psychology, superstition, and a surprising mix of other tools to get ready for the make-or-break events in their lives. It’s a fascinating read.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—CHARLES DUHIGG\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Power of Habit\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSmarter Faster Better\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003ePsyched Up\u003c\/i\u003e is filled with actionable, practical tips and tools to help reduce anxiety, lower stress, and build confidence. McGinn’s strategies can create a winning pregame routine for anyone.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—ARIANNA HUFFINGTON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This book is a gift for entreprenuers or anyone else who pitches ideas for a living.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—BRAD FELD\u003c\/b\u003e, venture capitalist and cofounder of Techstars\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003ePsyched Up\u003c\/i\u003e provides a wonderful overview of the science and practicalities of how to perform well when it matters most. The book is full of useful takeaways for all of us, including—my favorite—how powerful it can be to have lucky exam shoes.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—GRETCHEN REYNOLDS\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e fitness columnist and author of \u003ci\u003eThe First 20 Minutes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A wonderful pleasure to read, Psyched Up is an expertly crafted investigation into thevibrating heart of peak performance.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—PO BRONSON\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eTop Dog\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNurtureShock\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I can’t think of another book that’s as helpful as this, whether you’re shooting a free throw, taking a big test, giving a toast, or on one knee proposing. Read \u003ci\u003ePsyched Up\u003c\/i\u003e before your next big moment.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—MATT MULLENWEG\u003c\/b\u003e, creator of WordPress and CEO of Automattic\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003ePsyched Up\u003c\/i\u003e offers compelling, entertaining, and well-researched advice on how to prepare for stressful situations.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—TONY HSIEH\u003c\/b\u003e, CEO of Zappos.com and author of \u003ci\u003eDelivering Happiness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Daniel McGinn’s \u003ci\u003ePsyched Up\u003c\/i\u003e offers that perfect combination of informative, applicable advice and page-turningly good entertainment.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eKEITH FERRAZZI\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eWho's Got Your Back\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNever Eat Alone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eDANIEL MCGINN\u003c\/b\u003e is an editor at \u003ci\u003eHarvard Business Review\u003c\/i\u003e. His writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eInc.\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in suburban Boston with his family.Chapter One\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Fighting Back Against Fight or Flight\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Should you \"calm down\" or just        embrace the adrenaline rush?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When Noa Kageyama was seven years old, he attended a summer music      program at Ithaca College, and like most music camps, this one      culminated in a recital. Kageyama, who was raised in central Ohio,      had begun playing violin at age two. At five, he'd traveled to      Japan to study with Shinichi Suzuki, creator of the famed Suzuki      method of music instruction. By six, he'd played his violin on      television. So by the time he was seven, Kageyama was a seasoned      performer. As he stood waiting to go on stage, he felt relaxed and      at ease. What could possibly go wrong?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Then, a few moments before his turn, a young female violinist took      the stage and had a meltdown. She kept stopping and starting, as      if she were forgetting the song. The distress on her face was      obvious, and watching from a few feet away, Kageyama experienced      an epiphany-one that would change the course of his life. \"The      whole concept that something bad could happen on stage popped into      my awareness. I didn't know that could happen, because I'd never      seen that before,\" he says. As he waited to play, Kageyama began      to feel this strange mix of feelings, a kind of apprehensiveness      that was so unfamiliar he didn't even know what to call it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Despite this nascent anxiety, Kageyama performed just fine at the      Ithaca recital. Afterward, he kept practicing the violin every      day. As a teenager, he played with adult symphonies, won      fellowships, and studied with world-famous violinists. During his      senior year of high school, each weekend he would fly from Ohio to      New York City, to participate in a precollege program at the      Juilliard School. Along the way, he never experienced a full-blown      panic while performing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Still, he did experience subtle signs of anxiety. Sometimes his      hands would sweat excessively. Sometimes his mind would wander.      \"There was this frustration over why I couldn't consistently play      the way I was capable of playing, even if I was prepared,\" he      says. Although his performance anxiety was not particularly      noticeable to observers, he began to see it as an unpredictable,      pernicious tax that unjustly subtracted from the expected return      on the time he'd spent practicing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In 1999, as a twenty-three-year-old a graduate student at      Juilliard, Kageyama signed up for an elective class called      \"Performance Enhancement for Musicians,\" taught by a sports      psychologist who'd previously worked with Olympic athletes. The      course taught him that backstage jitters are an unavoidable part      of a musician's life, and that even if you can't entirely      eliminate them, you can systematically develop skills to perform      well despite them. \"It was such an eye-opener,\" Kageyama says.      \"It's not a crapshoot out there. There are things I could do to      get better at this.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The course had an unintended consequence: It led him to quit      playing violin altogether. As an undergrad, Kageyama had majored      in psychology, and the more the young violinist considered what      really interested him, the more he realized he wanted to teach      people the skills he'd learned in the Juilliard course, rather      than play music himself. So after graduating from Juilliard's      master's program, he moved to Indiana University to pursue a PhD      in psychology. Today his violin sits in a case that is rarely      opened.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Instead, at 11 a.m. on a September morning, Professor Kageyama      stands in Room 102 at Juilliard, teaching a new version of the      course that changed his life. Kageyama is thin and soft spoken,      with close-trimmed black hair. Around him in a circle of chairs      are twenty grad students, instrument cases-violas, cellos, flutes,      bassoons-at their feet. The previous week, in the semester's first      class, he'd made the students take their instruments, one by one,      to the front of the room while he fiddled with a video recorder      set up on a tripod. (He didn't actually record the performances.      He used the camera, and told students he would send the videos to      Juilliard's dean, to increase their stress levels.) He told each      student to play for sixty seconds, but then actually set a timer      for ninety seconds, to flummox them. He wanted to see them play      under pressure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In this week's class, he alternates between lecture and      discussion, focusing on how adrenaline and the body's      physiological fight-or-flight response can have particularly      detrimental effects on musicians. Pianists' fingers will go cold;      shallow breathing and dry mouth can wreak havoc on musicians      playing wind instruments. To help these students learn to cope      better with these phenomena, Kageyama leads them through a      relaxation exercise called centering, and then schedules      appointments with each student to go over their individual results      from an 84-question Performance Skill Inventory, which highlights      each musician's particular strengths and weaknesses in dealing      with performance anxiety.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As Kageyama and I exit the classroom and walk uptown to a Chinese      restaurant, he tells me his plans for next week's class: He's      going to make the musicians do calisthenics until their hearts are      racing and their bodies are sweaty, and then have them play their      instrument. \"It's distracting when your heart is pounding,\" he      says, but if you practice playing while feeling that sensation, it      can become a little less unnerving. \"It's the same thing you need      in an audition-to see past what your body is saying, and to focus      on the task at hand.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Kageyama compares a musician facing an audition to a rocket that's      poised on the launch pad, experiencing the ticktock of the      countdown. Rather than experience this countdown passively, he      wants students to practice specific steps to get them ready to      launch. The ultimate goal of his fifteen-week course, he says, is      \"to ensure that, in those last few seconds, you're set up as best      you can to be successful.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 2.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In helping humans perform, psychology is the software, but biology      is the hardware. Much of what performance psychologists like Noa      Kageyama do is help people control and adjust to the chemical      processes happening inside their bodies-and the emotional      responses they create-when they're getting ready to perform.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e These processes primarily involve the hormone adrenaline and the      emotion of anxiety. Finding ways to control this biological and      emotional response is the first step in making better use of the      countdown period Kagayama describes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Doctors first identified the adrenals, the small organs attached      to the top of the kidneys, in the sixteenth century, but it took      anatomists three hundred years to figure out what purpose they      served. By the mid-1800s, doctors began seeing a pattern in      patients with tumors on these organs: When the adrenals weren't      working well, patients suffered from low blood pressure, fatigue,      and fainting. In the 1890s, doctors began injecting adrenaline,      which they extracted from adrenals, into animals (and a few      humans) and observing how this mysterious substance resulted in      instantaneous jumps in blood pressure, heart rate, and      respiration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In one 1903 experiment reported by the New York Times, a      researcher used anesthetics to stop a dog's heartbeat, rendering      it lifeless for fifteen minutes, and then revived the animal with      a shot of adrenaline. Afterward, the researcher was besieged with      letters asking if he could use the hormone to perform Lazarus-like      revivals of people who'd been dead for years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Although adrenaline isn't that miraculous, scientists immediately      marveled at its adaptive utility. \"When a person is, say, running      form a ferocious dog, [adrenaline] changes and integrates the      function of organs in favorable ways,\" writes Harvard Medical      School professor Brian B. Hoffman in Adrenaline, his fascinating      history of the hormone. \"It increases the output of the heart in      order to pump more oxygen-rich blood full of nutrients to the rest      of the body; increases blood flow to the muscles and away from      other organs where it is not immediately needed, such as the      intestines; opens the lungs to breathe in more oxygen; and cuts      blood flow to the skin to limit bleeding in case of injury.\" By      the 1920s, the Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon had coined a      name for the distinctive set of reactions this system creates in      response to stress: \"fight or flight.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Stage fright is just one peculiar manifestation of fight or      flight, but it's such a familiar and widespread phenomenon that      it's been deeply researched. That makes it particularly useful in      trying to understand what works and what doesn't in trying to      manage adrenaline and anxiety.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Although most of us are not concert musicians, a surprising amount      of the research done on stage fright focuses on this profession.      That's mostly because performing as a concert musician is really      hard, especially when compared with giving a TED Talk or a      boardroom presentation, or appearing on television. \"With public      speaking, there's a lot of wiggle room. The audience doesn't know      what you're supposed to say,\" Kageyama says. \"There's a lot of      improvisation going on in a presentation, but in music, everybody      knows what note is supposed to come next, and how it's supposed to      sound.\" There's also insane competition: A big-city symphony may      audition two hundred musicians for the single opening.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If you dive deeply into research on stage fright, the most      striking aspect is the pervasiveness of the problem. In Playing      Scared: A History and Memoir of Stage Fright, the journalist and      amateur pianist Sara Solovitch tallies up the musicians (including      Paul McCartney, Vladimir Horowitz, Ella Fitzgerald, Luciano      Pavarotti, Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, and Barbra Streisand) who've      struggled with severe onstage anxiety. Solovitch describes stage      fright as \"both utterly mysterious, an act of mutiny by the mind      against the body, and ludicrously commonplace, as ordinary as the      common cold.\"She goes on to list the techniques-including      hypnosis, meditation, yoga, cognitive behavior therapy,      psychopharmaceuticals, exposure therapy, eye movement therapy, and      various breathing exercises-she sampled to overcome her fears and      perform a piano recital.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Some performers develop creative techniques for dealing with the      affliction. Carly Simon is an extreme and oft-noted example. In      1981, during a concert in Pittsburgh, Simon suffered an onstage      anxiety attack so profound that she asked audience members to      climb on stage to rub her arms to help calm her down, allowing her      to finish the show. (She describes the incident in detail in her      2015 memoir, Boys in the Trees.) The episode caused her to cancel      a tour, and she didn't sing again in public for seven years. \"It's      terribly paradoxical, because I do enjoy [performing]. But when      the anxiety comes on, the adrenaline is so strong it topples me,\"      she recalled later. Over time, Simon began instructing theaters to      turn on the houselights, to reduce the spotlight's focus on her.      She would focus obsessively on a single spectator in the front      rows, intending to make this fan feel embarrassed by the      attention, pushing that emotion away from herself. In the 1990s,      she began bringing a couch on stage so she could sing lying down.      When she learned that physical pain could reduce her emotional      anxiety, she began jabbing her hand with pins while on stage, or      asking to be spanked before the show began. John Lahr, writing in      the New Yorker, recounts how at a 1996 birthday performance for      President Clinton, the curtain very nearly went up while Simon was      being spanked on stage by the entire horn section of her band.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alas, Simon's prescription notwithstanding, there is no academic      research suggesting that pre-performance spanking can help large      numbers of people beat back pre-performance jitters. But there is      surprising research that suggests that the most common advice      that's given to people who are nervous before a performance-to try      to relax and calm down-usually does more harm than good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 3.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As a freshman at Princeton, Alison Wood Brooks auditioned for a      coed a cappella singing group called the Princeton Roaring 20.      Gaining a spot in the group is hypercompetitive: Each year,      approximately a hundred students try out for the three or four      spots left open by graduating seniors. Although she had no formal      singing experience-she'd played oboe and piano in high      school-Brooks had a splendid voice. So on a fall evening, she      confidently walked into the audition room and sang \"Beautiful\" by      Christina Aguilera. \"It was exactly like something out of Pitch      Perfect,\" she says. A few nights later, Brooks was invited the      join the group.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Once she did, she became one of the judges at future auditions.      During her sophomore, junior, and senior years, as Brooks watched      several hundred candidates go through the tryout ordeal, she began      to notice two distinct types of behavior. One group of singers      would be visibly nervous before they sang. Their voices or their      bodies might tremble slightly. Some might even apologize before      they started singing: \"I'm sorry. I'm really nervous.\" A second      group of singers acted differently. They seemed more positively      energized and less uncomfortable. They tended to smile and talk      about being excited rather than anxious. \"I really appreciate the      opportunity,\" they'd say sincerely.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As Brooks watched the divergent behavior, she noticed a trend in      how they performed. \"The people who seemed to do well in the      audition reframed their anxiety as excitement, or channeled it in      a positive direction,\" she says. The visibly nervous singers      generally didn't sing as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e After graduating from Princeton, Brooks entered a doctoral program      at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. In the      evenings she began watching American Idol, and as she watched the      early-season auditions, she observed behavior that mirrored what      she saw at the Roaring 20 auditions. Contestants who talked about      being nervous during preaudition interviews with Ryan Seacrest      tended to do poorly in front of the judges, while people who      expressed excitement often performed better.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As a grad student, Brooks became interested in how different      emotions affect people's performance in various kinds of tasks.      Her primary interest: anxiety. \"Researchers have been interested      in and aware of anxiety issues, at least at a clinical level, for      a very long time, but what we don't know a lot about is the      anxiety that normal people feel every day,\" she says. Brooks is      talking about the difference between \"trait\" anxiety, the      individual quality that may make someone susceptible to an anxiety      disorder that requires medicine or treatment, and \"state\" anxiety,      which describes how well-balanced people with no particular      susceptibility to anxiety react to a stressful situation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As a doctoral student, Brooks coauthored papers that examined how      people negotiate while feeling anxious (they generally do poorly),      and how people who are anxious become overly dependent on advisers      or experts when making decisions. Her research utilizes unique      methods to make people feel anxious: In one set of experiments,      she had subjects listen to the music from Psycho and watch clips      of horror movies before they engaged in tasks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For her dissertation, she set up a scientific experiment to test      out the phenomenon she first noticed while judging auditions for      the Princeton Roaring 20. First she tried to understand how      frequently people think that \"calming down\" is the best way to      deal with a performance situation. She surveyed two hundred people      about what they'd tell a nervous coworker who's about to give a      big speech. More than 90 percent of participants would tell the      friend to \"try to relax and calm down,\" while just under 8 percent      would advise to \"try to be excited instead of anxious.\" In her      dissertation, she references the British wartime poster with the      motto \"Keep Calm and Carry On.\" For people facing stressful      situations, this is the ubiquitous advice.","brand":"Portfolio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302633263333,"sku":"NP9781591848301","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781591848301.jpg?v=1767735189","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/psyched-up-isbn-9781591848301","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}