Introducing Performance Under Pressure, a Blog.

Performance Under Pressure: The Secret is There is No Pressure.

I’m starting a new thread on Instagram called Performance Under Pressure or PUP. These reels will feature stories that many people seem to be interested in regarding how a surgeon deals with the high stakes of operating on a fellow human being. As a surgeon, I face these challenges daily and I am always searching for a better way to do things. Sometimes its hard to believe that there is a better way, but I believe its there, we just need to find it.

In this introductory segment, I discuss a specific strategy that I think is very important to dealing with pressure. This is that our instinct to perform better when the stakes are high is to be in a rush. Nothing could be further from the truth. The minute you let the pressure or time become the priority, the task you are trying to complete becomes a subordinate priority.

This is a common trap in human mental organization. To let our emotions override our executive function—in this case allowing ourselves to become preoccupied with the stakes verses the actual task itself. You must avoid this trap at all costs. The priority is never to get things done quickly or to allow pressure to whip you to work faster. You are in control of the task. It is done when you say it is.

This concept matters so much in surgery because the person you are operating on cares about your precision and craftsmanship. Ultimately the job needs to be done beautifully and fluidly, not hurried.  

But there is a contradiction here. In surgery time is critical. There is bleeding, patients are under anesthesia, and OR time is a finite resource. So, shouldn’t you be in a rush? My answer is the same as above and if you anwered yes, you fell into the trap. Do not let time, other people, or emotions distract you from your ultimate task, which for me is completing my surgery with perfect skill. Any ounce of energy directed at dealing with “pressure” is an ounce that is not directed to your task. Performing under pressure? The first step is to forget about the pressure.

As a side note, thank you for reading and following my content. I’m going to be adding blog posts to my Instagram reels so if this is something you enjoy I would love to hear about it. This blog will be distinct from my clinical blog. Feel free to contact at collab@katsuramd.com. Any feedback would be appreciated. Please forgive typos, formatting or grammar mistakes. These blogs are 100% human produced.