A hot tip to battle performance anxiety? 'Pretend flush' a mistake down the toilet

In 2012, psychologist Cindra Kamphoff was running a marathon. Then at Mile 22, her self-doubt started to kick in. She remembers telling herself, "This is dumb.

Why am I doing this?" But Kamphoff, who works with top athletes on how to overcome performance anxiety — including from the Minnesota Vikings and USA Track & Field — was prepared. She had written positive phrases on her arm that she could read when she needed a boost during the race: "I'm strong, I'm fast, I'm fit, I'm ready." This is just one of many techniques that Kamphoff shares in The Confidence Habit: 7 Core Practices to Transform Self-Doubt to Self-Belief, published in September. The book offers creative ways to manage fear and negativity — like pretend-flushing your mistakes down the toilet — before, during and after a high-stakes task.

These tools can be applied to any situation, whether it's a race, work presentation or a job interview. The goal is for people to "be their best in the moments that matter most to them," she says. Kamphoff, who has a PhD in sport and performance psychology, shares four tools you can try today.

Maybe you fumble the ball in a big game or forget the lines in your school play and can't stop thinking about it afterward. If you make a mistake during a high-stakes moment, Kamphoff says it's important to move on quickly. She suggests a tool she calls "learn, burn, return" to build back your confidence and keep your goals in reach.

Try this if you fumble mid-performance, or as a way to reflect after the event. Learn: Ask yourself, what did you learn? Use this prompt: Next time, I will _____.

Burn: Think of a motion or a cue you can use to remind yourself to move on quickly. Kamphoff says you can snap your fingers, say "that fast" or "you might literally pretend to flush a toilet." She taught the toilet flush move to former Minnesota Vikings player Adam Thielen, who used it after he fumbled during a playoff game in 2020. He then went on to catch a 43-yard pass over his head that helped the Vikings win the game.