Have you ever stumbled during a performance or practice, even though you practiced the piece to perfection and were sure you could perform with no mistakes? Why do some people take that situation and perform better, while others can’t seem to get back on track at all? If you are more likely to blame yourself for these setbacks or think there is something wrong that you can’t change, this is a pessimistic explanation. If you consider more temporary factors that you can change as the cause of your setback, you have a more optimistic explanatory style.
According to Noa Kageyama, a performance psychologist, people with this more optimistic explanation are more likely to perform better, improve more with feedback, and have lower anxiety during their performance. Next time you run into a situation that doesn’t go your way, try asking why it happened instead and see what you could change.
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