Performance Under Pressure Paperback – September 5, 2019

"Perform Under Pressure" by Dr. Ceri Evans is a must-read for anyone serious about self-improvement and optimal performance. What sets this book apart is its science-backed red-blue framework, which offers a pragmatic and straightforward guide to understanding how our brain operates under stress.As someone deeply interested in stoicism, I found compelling parallels between the ancient philosophy and Dr. Evans' contemporary approach. However, this book goes a step further by offering scientific validation to the methods it prescribes, making the advice not just wise but also actionable.This has become my go-to recommendation for anyone looking to better themselves, both in professional and personal settings. Dr. Evans reframes challenges as opportunities, inviting us to engage with the question 'what if?' in order to unlock our fullest potential.Strongly recommended for high-performers and teams aiming for excellence. Five stars.

This book is full of usable information and actions that can be implemented. It helped me understand the different responses I have under pressure, how to prepare and how to respond. I guess now the real work starts in implementing it daily.

Firstly, a disclaimer: I have not put the concepts to practice yet; I've just finished the book. However, the concepts seem easy enough to use as and when I'm subjected to pressure.There are a few takeaways which I thought was useful for me:1. Under pressure, people tend to be APE: Aggressive, Passive or Evasive2. In this case, you would need to ACT: Aware of what you're feeling, Clear about the situation (by stepping back and have an overview), understand the Tasks you're required to performThe book introduces various methods to achieve this, and there is also a section on calming down when faced with pressure (Three Belly Breaths) and a meditation guide (Offload Technique), which I felt was useful for me, who is just starting to meditate as well. His feed-forward concept (as opposed to feedback) provides another way to think about how to improve: where do we want to be, how far we are from that currently, and how and what must we do to get there.

A lot to take in but I found this book super informative and helpful. I am actually going to read again!

This book is incredible. The theory of red and blue minds is very insightful and I am excited to put the lessons into practice for performing under pressure.

It’s very practical and straight to the point. Normally, when a psychologist or psychiatrist writes a book, it is full of studies and the reader is left to figure out how to translate the ideas into something practicable. Not so with Ceri, and you can tell straight away that he knows how to cut to the heart of the matter both from personal experience and from consulting with top performers like the All Blacks.