On Saturday, I did something I hadn’t done for two years. I played cricket. I wasn’t particularly fit for it. I wasn’t expecting to score a century. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.
And do you know what? I absolutely loved it.
For once, I wasn’t putting myself under pressure, no expectation to perform, no analysing every mistake. I just enjoyed playing the game.
It made me realise something. Too often, the biggest source of pressure in our lives isn’t our boss, our clients, our colleagues or our family.
It’s ourselves and I know that I am really guilty of this. I have seen it through every sport I have done. Back to when I was running marathons, regularly playing cricket, trying to hit numbers in the gym and even on my recent Hyrox
And the same happens in work. I hold myself to far too higher standards, standards only imposed by myself The irony is that the pressure I create for myself often makes me perform worse, not better.
Saturday reminded me what happens when that pressure disappears. You relax, think more clearly and enjoy yourself. And quite often, you actually perform better.
I’m not suggesting we stop caring or stop striving to improve. Ambition is a good thing. But perhaps we should stop confusing ambition with self-imposed pressure. It’s a lesson I’ll be trying to remember, both on the cricket field and in business.