They may not. We can spend an entire high-stakes moment reacting to a future that never arrives. Across more than 30 years performing stunts and 11 years applying performance psychology with elite Army units, I have watched capable people treat imagined consequences as established facts and lose contact with what they can influence now.
Pressure is created when attention moves from present execution to the imagined consequences of success or failure. Those consequences may be plausible. They may even be likely. However, anything that has not happened yet remains a prediction.
Plausible Is Not Certain
The mind is very good at turning “might” into “will.” An employee thinks, “If I mishandle this presentation, senior leadership will never trust me again.” A manager thinks, “If this project fails, my career here is over.” Once that prediction starts feeling like a fact, the future can occupy more attention than the work itself.
I have done the same thing.
On my first night doubling Chris O’Donnell on 9-1-1: Nashville, his character was struck by lightning. My job was to fall straight forward onto wet gravel in the rain. The first take went fine, and they asked for another.
Before the second take, I was already imagining what success or failure would mean. If I did it well, I might have steady work doubling the lead actor on a major television show. If I screwed it up, I might lose one of the best stunt opportunities available in Nashville and damage my reputation with the people watching.
Then we did the second take. The next thing I remember is waking up in an ambulance.
By any reasonable definition, a stuntman knocking himself unconscious and waking up in an ambulance is a failure. Only half of the job is falling down. The other half is getting up. The consequences of that failure, however, were nothing like the ones I had predicted. The stunt coordinator checked on me repeatedly and hired me again after I recovered. I had been certain about a future that did not happen.
Follow the MAP
MAP is a three-question process used when someone’s attention becomes fixed on what success or failure might lead to. It keeps realistic consequences in view while opening the mind to other possibilities and returning attention to execution.
M: Modest. What if I’m wrong? Intellectual modesty means recognizing the limits of prediction. Ask what evidence supports the expected consequence, what assumptions are filling the gaps, and what other outcomes remain possible. The purpose is to reopen possibilities around a prediction the mind has prematurely promoted to fact.
A: Ambiguous. How do I know whether the consequence will ultimately be good or bad? Even when we predict an event correctly, its meaning can change as life continues. My divorce was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, and at the time I would have called it unquestionably bad. Years later, I am remarried, two more children have become part of my life, and I am happier in my relationship than I have ever been. The divorce did not change. My understanding of what it meant did.
P: Present. Do the requirements for success change? Even if the prediction is correct and the consequence ultimately turns out to be bad, the requirements for successful execution remain the same. If the executive team must approve a proposal, the presenter still needs to explain the problem, support the recommendation with credible evidence, answer questions, and ask clearly for the decision. If an investigation carries legal and human consequences, the HR leader still needs to gather relevant facts, document them accurately, and follow a fair process.
Even if we could be sure that the consequences will happen and ultimately be bad for us, that does not change what is necessary for us to do now to create conditions for success.
What MAP Sounds Like at Work
MAP is most useful when an employee begins speaking in “I have to” and “If this happens, then everything changes” language. That language signals that attention has moved beyond the task and into an imagined future.
Suppose an employee says, “I have to impress the executive team. If I don’t, I’ll never get another opportunity like this.” A leader can ask: “What makes you certain that one presentation will determine every future opportunity? If this presentation does affect what happens next, can you know what that will ultimately lead to? Either way, what does an effective presentation require from you right now?”
That conversation separates what is known from what is predicted, then redirects attention toward what the employee can still influence.
Pressure depends on treating an imagined future as though it already exists. MAP opens the mind to possibilities that a single prediction had pushed out of view and returns attention to the only place execution can happen: the present.
Are pressure and stress the same thing?
I help leaders and high-performing individuals eliminate pressure, reduce stress, prevent burnout, sustain motivation, and build cultures where teams perform at their best when it matters most. Mention this LinkedIn series when you schedule a free 60-minute session to discuss your organization’s challenges and how we could work together.
