Optimal Performance Before High-Pressure Moments: Dr. Johann D’Souza On How To Relieve Stress, Clear Your Head, and Prepare Yourself For High Stakes Business Encounters

This interview was done as a part of Authority Magazine’s series about “Optimal Performance Before High-Pressure Moments”.

Dr. Johann D’Souza is the founder of Values First Therapy, where he teaches teens how to master anxiety and OCD.

He earned a PhD and MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Houston on a Presidential Fellowship after receiving a prior MA from Boston University in Psychology and BA from University of Dallas in Theology.

His research publications focus on the psychological benefits of hope and optimism. Dr. D’Souza is a research affiliate at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and a coach for OptimalWork.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I’ve always been curious about everything and a big reader. From a young age I found fulfillment in deep conversations and helping people. So, I suppose clinical psychology was a natural track for me to pursue although it took me some time to figure that out. 

What or who inspired you to pursue your career as an entrepreneur or business leader? We’d love to hear the story.

In middle school, back when people used to use libraries, I found books on entrepreneurial success and advice so inspiring in different ways. Trump’s The Art of the Deal gave memorable examples of entrepreneurial creativity and drive. Rich Dad, Poor Dad painted a graphic picture of the benefits of being money smart (and the drawbacks of not being so). I think it was in 5th grade that I called into The Dave Ramsey Show to ask how best to invest my total assets of $500. I’m grateful to all the people and authors I’ve never met who keep the entrepreneurial fire alive and all those people I have met who have encouraged me personally.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

I’m grateful to have several very good friends who are extremely encouraging while being impressive entrepreneurs in their own right, all the while committing to lives of service and growth in virtue. That combination is so rare, and I don’t take it for granted. The one who’s known me the longest likes to tell me that he always knew I could never work for someone else. Well, he knew me better than I knew myself!

 The road to success is hard and requires tremendous dedication. This question is obviously a big one, but what advice would you give to a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your success? 

First, clarify your ideals and what kind of person you want to become, not just professionally, but personally. As part of this, I found it helpful to come up with a personal vision, mission, and values statement, even if you never share this with anyone else. Second, develop the habit of study. Strive to learn how the most effective people have thought through the areas you are interested in from the broadest to the most specific questions.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

How to Win Friends and Influence People. Carnegie was a writer of another age, and we’d all be happier and more effective if we recalled his timeless advice.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

How about “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love” – Mother Teresa. One of the beliefs that’s core to my being is that everyone is called to be a leader, which is to say, to bring out the best in others. This is done by seeing every challenge as an opportunity for personal growth and service to others. 

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

I’ve started a podcast where I interview virtuous leaders, that is, extraordinary individuals who are witnessing to the truth and striving to bring the most good to society through their professional work. I find it so inspiring to discover these people and hear their stories, and I want to give them a platform for their message to reach others.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. As a business leader, you likely often face high stakes situations that involve a lot of pressure. Most of us tend to wither in the face of such pressure and stress.  Can you share with our readers 3 or 4 strategies that you use to cope with the burden of stress? 

The number one principle to keep in mind here is to recognize the “upside of stress”. The work of Dr. Kelly McGonigal and others teaches us that stress is bad for us if we believe it’s bad for us. However, if we believe it’s good for us then stress leads us to perform better and even live longer! This is not simply positive thinking. The cognitive skill of reframing allows us to deliberately discover the opportunity hidden within any challenge—the opportunity to grow in knowledge, skills, ideals, or relationships (I credit this explanation to Dr. Kevin Majeres of OptimalWork). The most successful reframe is when you become grateful for the challenge and even look forward to it, like an athlete who gets pumped before a competition.

Aside from being able to deal with the burden of stress, can you share with our readers five strategies that you use to optimize your mind for peak performance before high pressure, high stress situations?

Sure. After reframing, try mindfulness. This brings your attention to the present moment so that you are most capable of addressing the situation. You can also set a very specific challenge goal for yourself during the situation. For example, if it’s a speech, set the goal of speaking more slowly than usual, or making eye contact while delivering each major point, or smiling more. More distal strategies include intense, aerobic exercise before the situation and preparing your mind with silence rather than noise and distractions. 

Do you use any special or particular breathing techniques, meditations or visualizations to help optimize yourself? If you do, we’d love to hear about it. 

I find mindful breathing highly effective in clearing my mind and preparing myself to face a challenge. I follow the box breathing technique recommended by OptimalWork, namely 4 seconds in, 2 second pause, 4 seconds out, 2 second pause, breathing in and out through the nose. In terms of visualization, simply visualizing oneself performing at one’s best is an encouraging and enlightening experience.

Do you have a special technique to develop a strong focus, and clear away distractions?

So many things to say here. This is really an exciting area of study. When I work, I use a timer, have a clear goal with clear steps, put my phone on work mode, and go to a quiet place. In addition, I try to tap into my deeper purpose for working, take a few deep breaths, and make sure to take a short but meaningful break after the timer ends. 

We all know the importance of good habits. How have habits played a role in your success?  Can you share some success habits that have helped you in your journey?

The helpful thing about habits is once they’re established, they don’t require much thought or energy to perpetuate. Some of the habits that have served me well through the years are having a set bedtime and wake up time, exercising 3 times a week, eating at regular times, not carrying my phone in my pocket and keeping it on silent, having a start time and stop time to the workday, resting on Sundays, having scheduled times of silence throughout the day, eating dinner with family, and reading a little each day.

What is the best way to develop great habits for optimal performance? How can one stop bad habits? 

Being intentional. Have a structured process on a regular basis for deciding which habits to build, specifying your goals, and measuring your progress. Also, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Benefit from the great resources that are out there. Having a mentor to encourage and guide you is crucial for most people. Stopping bad habits starts with awareness of the habit. Pick your battles and strive for consistent growth.

As a business leader, you likely experience times when you are in a state of Flow. Flow has been described as a pleasurable mental state that occurs when you do something that you are skilled at, that is challenging, and that is  meaningful. Can you share some ideas from your experience about how we can achieve a state of Flow more often in our lives?

There is a science to flow. It turns out that we can achieve flow at will using some of the skills I’ve mentioned previously. The first step is flipping our motivation from reluctance to excitement by practicing reframing. The second step is bringing all our attention into the present moment using mindfulness. And the last step is unleashing an adrenaline boost by purposely giving ourselves a challenge. The Golden Hour has a great episode on this.

Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 

If I could accomplish one thing in my life it would be to teach others to love one another. However, I’m as much of a student in this area as anyone.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Feel free to check out The Dr. Johann D’Souza Podcast and connect with me over LinkedIn. I’m happy to meet other entrepreneurs. 

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success. 

Thanks so much for the opportunity and for the work you do in inspiring entrepreneurs!

To see the original interview with Authority Magazine, please visit this link.