# Controlling Nerves - A Guide



## Sub1Hour (Jul 13, 2021)

Since Competitions are returning after over a year of nothing, I have decided to create this thread to assist in nerve control and mental toughness.

Thankfully I have been able to gain a great understanding of this topic thanks to the experiences I have come across during my lifetime. There are many different approaches to controlling nerves and I'll share a few techniques with you guys.

Controlling your breathing
This is a technique that many of us use, and it's quite simple. Focus on deep breaths in and deep breaths out. The 4-7-8 Technique is my personal choice in terms of a breathing exercise that helps calm me down. Inhale for 4 seconds, keep it in for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds. This technique has been proven to lower stress and anxiety, and it works really well for situations like competitions when you can't seem to calm yourself down. The technique is even more effective if you breathe with your stomach, and not your chest.

Positive Self-Talk
Self-reassurance is a great way to calm yourself down in many situations, and cubing is no exception. Coming up with a mantra that you can repeat to yourself is a great way to take your mind off all the stress in the situation by focusing on positive self-talk.

Visualization
Visualization isn't as effective in cubing as it is in other things like sports, but it can still be incredibly useful and reassuring to be able to see yourself getting that good single/average.

Using a Refocus Point
This is a much less common method than the others that I mention here in this post, but I find it to be the most effective personally. A refocus point can be just about anything. Anything from a logo on your warmup cube to the tiles on the floor. In sports, if I feel myself panicking then I just look at the scoreboard and count the individual lights that make up the numbers on the board. This technique can very quickly take your mind off that bad solve you just had and allow you to refocus on the next solve.

If you have any other methods you use to calm yourself down, feel free to share in this thread!


----------



## Waffles (Jul 14, 2021)

If you’re on the edge of the psych sheet (for 2nd round or something) don’t have high expectations, just breathe and don’t expect to get into second round. I was placed 101st for 2x2, but then someone withdrew and I ended up getting into 2nd round (on a side note, I had a DNF and an 11 so yeah). Also don’t record yourself. That helps too


----------



## abunickabhi (Jul 15, 2021)

Nice guide, this was just what I needed. Controlling nerves in blind events is a completely different ball game though.


----------



## BenChristman1 (Jul 15, 2021)

abunickabhi said:


> Nice guide, this was just what I needed. Controlling nerves in blind events is a completely different ball game though.


I think that the visualization technique is actually better for blind solving than it is for speedsolving. You just have to imagine pulling off the blindfold and seeing a solved cube, but it’s kind of hard to do for speedsolving events. The breathing and self-motivation both work with almost anything, though, so I don’t see how it would be any different with blind events.


----------

