Fencing in Call Centres

Last week saw a day which I approached with both tension and anticipation. As an athlete, I am used to controlling feelings of apprehension when a competition nears and I need to perform at my highest. All athletes have their own way of preparing for competitions, from training themselves into the ground to taking a relaxing holiday. I think I am somewhere in the middle. I like to feel like I’ve done the best training and then make sure I do something completely unrelated to fencing the day before. As an athlete, you spend as much time as possible keeping control of the controllable to gain confidence in your performance and ultimately, the outcome.
Last Friday, however, I had to deal with a new nervousness I had not yet felt. This came from a situation whereby I was so in control of the outcome that I completely lost confidence in my ability to perform. I am building this day into something quite significant, however, for many people it is something they do on a very regular basis: organising a day of fencing sessions - I did this at Bury Call Centre to raise money for charity. The week leading up to the event, I ‘encouraged’ people to sign up for sessions, but couldn’t shake the feeling that because I was in control of the event going well, it would go wrong. As it was, all the sessions filled up and were a great success. Over £200 was raised for the charities, enthusiastic feedback given and even a couple of emails asking for the nearest fencing club were received.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day, but I think it raised an interesting question – why spend all my time trying to gain control to perform at my best, when I panicked once all the control was in my hands? I think it’s important for anybody performing under pressure regularly, to be able to remain steady when under pressures out of their comfort zone (i.e. under different types of pressure). I think I need a bit of practice at this as I discovered the other day when I tried to reverse out of the (narrow!) drive in front of my family. One of my biggest learning points from the event was to embrace discomfort to build confidence.