How To Cope With Performance Anxiety

Dear Christine,

What advice do you have when it comes to coping with high demand jobs? I'm in the fashion world as an assistant photographer, but I'm doubting myself and my future when it comes to my performance since I feel everyone expects so much. I do love the creativity and what the job entails, but sometimes it can be too much, as with any job. Are there any ways to cope when in such a fast-paced, high-stress industry? - A passionate 24-year-old trying to free himself from himself so he can finally live his dreams!

Dear Passionate,

From college graduation until about the age of 26, I worked in the entertainment industry. I started as an assistant at a talent agency (think Lloyd on Entourage) and eventually worked my way up to becoming a Television Literary Manager at one of the big firms in Hollywood. And I was miserable. I felt like I was at work 24/7. Even when I wasn't physically there, my job was constantly on my mind. I worked twelve to fourteen hours a day and when I'd walk out of the office at 9pm, there would still be other people there! It was almost like there was a badge of honor for the person who stayed the latest.

Certain industries, like entertainment, music, fashion, finance, law, and the medical field (and I'm sure I'm leaving some out) have a reputation for being fast-paced and high stress along with a "given" that anyone who works in these fields is expected to pay their dues by basically giving up their life and putting up with senior people in their industries treating them like crap because at one point they too paid their dues and now it's payback.

What keeps people in these industries? Pure ambition. And most people who "make it" in the pressure cooker industries are Type A and thrive on the adrenaline rush. Also, the industries that come with the "you don't really think you are going to be able to have a life and still make it in this business" expectation usually lead people to believe in a big pay-off. Fantasies of wealth, fame, power, and childhood dreams come true justify the stress. I'll admit I used to visualize myself giving an acceptance speech at the Emmys for some fabulous TV show I helped create, hoping all the girls who teased me in high school and all the guys who broke my heart would be watching. But those fantasies of sweet revenge were not enough to sustain me.

How did I cope? Denial, commiserating with other burnt out people, and when/then thinking (i.e. "When I'm promoted and making a lot of money, then all this stress will be worth it"). But it didn't sustain me for long. I quit. I left the industry all together and went down a very different path with lots of bumps, twists, turns, and dead-ends. But I knew I did not have enough passion for the entertainment industry to match what it demanded.

So the first thing you have to be absolutely sure of is how badly you want to work in the fashion business. If you want it badly enough and you love it, then you have to re-frame how you think of the pressure and stress. Focus on the things you like about your job, like creativity.

In terms of the performance anxiety, you are in an industry that does not pass out gold stars. Better than excellent is expected; it's the culture of any high-stress industry. The only coping skill that really works is to not take things personally and see every critique as an opportunity to learn and hone your craft.

You can also explore if there other types of companies within fashion that are not as high-pressure. There is nothing wrong with making the choice that the New York fashion industry is "too much." But if you want to play with the Big Boys, you are going to have to pay your dues.

Since I chose to leave what was "too much" for me, I reached out to some individuals who are still working in what are stereotypically fast-paced, high-stress industries. In my column next week, I will feature the advice from successful people in the fields of law, medicine, finance, fashion, music and television.

To be continued . . . * Christine

Please send me your questions by posting them in the comments section below. You can also email me at [e-mail]

Comments

[wm1066]

Fashion photography is very high stress because you are always competing with the latest cover of a fashion mag. Its like being the fastest gun in the west and everyone trying to take you down. You have to continually reinvent yourself. Some art director see's a photo and wants you to recreate it.
Try 'table top' photography,or room shots, you can take your time to work on a shot and you don't have to work with' live talent'. Some of those Models and Art Directors can be quite hard to work with. But then again hand models are easy to work with, and women who model clothes are okay, its the high end fashion that can drive you nuts.

[phoebusapollo]

Hopefully things are changing somewhat, as gen y moves into the workforce. We are unwilling, and frankly unable to provide the sort of extraordinary diligence and commitment to make-work, to process and to un-fulfilling environments. On the other hand, we provide a willingness to innovate and experiment, we embrace change, and we care about more than money! All these factors should be particularly relevant in fashion, where presumably creativity is a must.

The way to get around pressure is to remember that your happiness is always more important than your career. Not momentary pleasure, but mid to long term contentment. If it ain't doing it for you, change your attitude, or your work habits, or your job, or your field.

In a world where automation, computing and robotics are eliminating process work, paper shuffling and literal red tape, it is FAR more important to have something different and interesting to offer than to be a drone. Drones can be replaced. Far better to suggest a different way of doing things than compete against drones to do things the old way.

I know that in my field, the law, firms struggle to retain graduates, even with huge salaries, because it just ain't worth it. The firms that are succeed do so because they are flexible and understanding- which they get back from their lawyers.

And that's what will define my choices as I leave behind staying up all night on the web behind me....