Butterflies, Butterflies, GO AWAY!
Patricia asked me and Lana before our first meet as the Beans if we were 'Calm, cool, collected, relaxed and ready' and just like in any other meet, my answer was NO!! I, personally, have HUGE nerve issue and actually started chewing on my knuckle a while back. Once, my knuckle was actually BLEEDING! So, to avoid certain fate involving your knuckles, here are some tips to get rid of (or avoid) those butterflies.
Music
Listen to music. It doesn't even have to be classical or calming or relaxing. Just listen to your favorite songs, your favorite bands, your favorite styles. If you listen to something you don't like, you'll just be bored and sick of it by quizzing time.
Stay Focused
I know this seems like something that would make some people nervous, but if you don't keep your head in the game, meet time is going to come pretty fast and you're going to be even more nervous. Try visualising the set up of the meet. Picture yourself answering the questions right. It sounds creepy, but it does work. During quizzes, you want to do good, and if you want it bad enough, nothing else will get in the way. Not even the fact that your brother is jeering and your crush is on another team (or maybe right beside you... if only you could just reach over and tap them, then pretend it was... NO FOCUS!!!), see what I did just there? I re-focussed.
Pray
Most quiz teams pray before every quiz, and it really does help. When you pray, you know God is there, and that thought in itself is calming. Also, when teams pray, you know that the quiz is going to go how He wants it to go. So you have nothing to be worried about.
Use a fidget toy
I have a favorite purple stress ball to keep me from chewing on my knuckle, but I know some people use fidget rings, bracelets and other random stuff to keep their hands busy. I actually don't know why the hands have to be doing something, but it really helps.
Know people in the crowd
Invite friends and family to your quiz meets, and try to make sure they are there for the whole meet. If you haven't read my blog, watching my mom and grandma leave Nakamun kind of jinxed me. Having somebody you know there cheering for you really helps. That way when you aren't having a good quiz, you know they still have your back and when you are having a great quiz, they were there to see it!
Keep a smile on your face
Being depressed doesn't help your quizzing. Big surprise, hey? Even if you really aren't happy, fake a smile and in no time it will probably be real. Make sure you are encouraging to your teammates so they don't feel like they are letting the team down. Personal suggestion: Don't tell them that they did amazing when they really didn't. Some people get really emotional when they know they didn't do good and their friends will never tell them when they stunk, so they never know when they really did do good. Just tell them that they could've done a bit better but they still rock and leave it at that.
If you want to study, study!
Studying between quizzes calms my nerves a little bit at meets, because I am more confident that I know what I am doing. But some people might not want to study between quizzes because it gets them a bit too psyched or makes them even more nervous, and thats the last thing you need. So only study between quizzes if you want to study!
5 Positive Statements
Sometimes criticism is good for your quizzing, but you can't always be thinking about what you didn't do 'good enough' to try to put it into words. At quiz meets, keep 5 positive statements in your pocket on a recipe card. This helps reassure that you are doing great. These statements can be anywhere from 'I will do the best I can' to 'I will jump more in this quiz'. Make sure that the statements are derived from learning goals, not winning goals. That way, they are improving your personal quizzing, not just frustrating yourself. Also, make sure you are saying that you will, not that you might. If you say you might, you might not. If you say you will, chances are that you will because you KNOW you will, not just THINKING you will.
Have a Frustration Plan
Okay, this sounds sooo creepy. Basically what you do is find the level of excitement you quiz best at, not too calm and not too nervous. Then, if you have a really good quiz or a really bad quiz, that is where the frustration plan comes in. You basically do whatever you need to, to calm down or get a bit more psyched up, even just get out of a rut if you did badly or down to earth if you did amazing. Some people, like me, like to be alone, but I know that a lot of people like hanging out with friends between quizzes. Some ideas for calming down are: Writing in a journal, talking to some friends (not about quizzing), or listening to music (First menton^) or your 5 positive statements (^). To get psyched up, you can study, walk around a bit to get your blood pumping or do random fun stuff.
Eat/Drink/Chew Gum
Before every quiz (now) I eat 2 5-cent candies, and drink water as much as I can. I feel that having something in me helps me quiz better. Cold water feels good when you're stressed/nervous at a meet. Also, chewing gum kind of acts like a fidget toy, it give you something to do (as opposed to making funny faces and sticking your tongue out like me) (or chewing on your knuckle... heh).
Sleep
If you don't sleep enough, your brain won't work as well. You won't be able to focus as well. When you're tired, you're emotional, and if you have a bad quiz because you're too tired, your tiredness will cause you to go whacko and nervous and stuff. So sleep the night before.
BREATHE!
"Well DUH of COURSE I'm breathing!" Are you? Are you REALLY? Truly, the tendency is when you're nervous to either hold your breath or hyperventilate. If you're hyperventilating, breathe through pursed lips or take really deep breaths. Hyperventilating will make you lightheaded an you will most likely eventually faint. Then you'd run into problems quizzing. I don't know about you, but if I woke up in the middle of the quiz meet and somebody told me I fainted... I'd go insane and freak out. Thats just me.
Have Time With The Team
I don't know about anyone else, but if I don't know how the rest of my team is going to do, I'd be pretty nervous. If you are like me, talk to the other people on your team. Get to know them, what makes them frustrated during quizzes (with certain people you don't even have to ask), what makes them do better, wether or not they like being alone... that type of stuff.
Listen to music. It doesn't even have to be classical or calming or relaxing. Just listen to your favorite songs, your favorite bands, your favorite styles. If you listen to something you don't like, you'll just be bored and sick of it by quizzing time.
Stay Focused
I know this seems like something that would make some people nervous, but if you don't keep your head in the game, meet time is going to come pretty fast and you're going to be even more nervous. Try visualising the set up of the meet. Picture yourself answering the questions right. It sounds creepy, but it does work. During quizzes, you want to do good, and if you want it bad enough, nothing else will get in the way. Not even the fact that your brother is jeering and your crush is on another team (or maybe right beside you... if only you could just reach over and tap them, then pretend it was... NO FOCUS!!!), see what I did just there? I re-focussed.
Pray
Most quiz teams pray before every quiz, and it really does help. When you pray, you know God is there, and that thought in itself is calming. Also, when teams pray, you know that the quiz is going to go how He wants it to go. So you have nothing to be worried about.
Use a fidget toy
I have a favorite purple stress ball to keep me from chewing on my knuckle, but I know some people use fidget rings, bracelets and other random stuff to keep their hands busy. I actually don't know why the hands have to be doing something, but it really helps.
Know people in the crowd
Invite friends and family to your quiz meets, and try to make sure they are there for the whole meet. If you haven't read my blog, watching my mom and grandma leave Nakamun kind of jinxed me. Having somebody you know there cheering for you really helps. That way when you aren't having a good quiz, you know they still have your back and when you are having a great quiz, they were there to see it!
Keep a smile on your face
Being depressed doesn't help your quizzing. Big surprise, hey? Even if you really aren't happy, fake a smile and in no time it will probably be real. Make sure you are encouraging to your teammates so they don't feel like they are letting the team down. Personal suggestion: Don't tell them that they did amazing when they really didn't. Some people get really emotional when they know they didn't do good and their friends will never tell them when they stunk, so they never know when they really did do good. Just tell them that they could've done a bit better but they still rock and leave it at that.
If you want to study, study!
Studying between quizzes calms my nerves a little bit at meets, because I am more confident that I know what I am doing. But some people might not want to study between quizzes because it gets them a bit too psyched or makes them even more nervous, and thats the last thing you need. So only study between quizzes if you want to study!
5 Positive Statements
Sometimes criticism is good for your quizzing, but you can't always be thinking about what you didn't do 'good enough' to try to put it into words. At quiz meets, keep 5 positive statements in your pocket on a recipe card. This helps reassure that you are doing great. These statements can be anywhere from 'I will do the best I can' to 'I will jump more in this quiz'. Make sure that the statements are derived from learning goals, not winning goals. That way, they are improving your personal quizzing, not just frustrating yourself. Also, make sure you are saying that you will, not that you might. If you say you might, you might not. If you say you will, chances are that you will because you KNOW you will, not just THINKING you will.
Have a Frustration Plan
Okay, this sounds sooo creepy. Basically what you do is find the level of excitement you quiz best at, not too calm and not too nervous. Then, if you have a really good quiz or a really bad quiz, that is where the frustration plan comes in. You basically do whatever you need to, to calm down or get a bit more psyched up, even just get out of a rut if you did badly or down to earth if you did amazing. Some people, like me, like to be alone, but I know that a lot of people like hanging out with friends between quizzes. Some ideas for calming down are: Writing in a journal, talking to some friends (not about quizzing), or listening to music (First menton^) or your 5 positive statements (^). To get psyched up, you can study, walk around a bit to get your blood pumping or do random fun stuff.
Eat/Drink/Chew Gum
Before every quiz (now) I eat 2 5-cent candies, and drink water as much as I can. I feel that having something in me helps me quiz better. Cold water feels good when you're stressed/nervous at a meet. Also, chewing gum kind of acts like a fidget toy, it give you something to do (as opposed to making funny faces and sticking your tongue out like me) (or chewing on your knuckle... heh).
Sleep
If you don't sleep enough, your brain won't work as well. You won't be able to focus as well. When you're tired, you're emotional, and if you have a bad quiz because you're too tired, your tiredness will cause you to go whacko and nervous and stuff. So sleep the night before.
BREATHE!
"Well DUH of COURSE I'm breathing!" Are you? Are you REALLY? Truly, the tendency is when you're nervous to either hold your breath or hyperventilate. If you're hyperventilating, breathe through pursed lips or take really deep breaths. Hyperventilating will make you lightheaded an you will most likely eventually faint. Then you'd run into problems quizzing. I don't know about you, but if I woke up in the middle of the quiz meet and somebody told me I fainted... I'd go insane and freak out. Thats just me.
Have Time With The Team
I don't know about anyone else, but if I don't know how the rest of my team is going to do, I'd be pretty nervous. If you are like me, talk to the other people on your team. Get to know them, what makes them frustrated during quizzes (with certain people you don't even have to ask), what makes them do better, wether or not they like being alone... that type of stuff.