Mental Freedom through Competition
- Anna-Karina Schmitt
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
At first glance, competition and mental health seem like opposites. Competition is often associated with pressure, stress, anxiety, expectations, and the fear of failure.
Mental health, on the other hand, is associated with peace, balance, calmness, and well-being.
So why do people voluntarily sign up for competitions? Why do athletes, artists, performers, entrepreneurs, and even ordinary people repeatedly put themselves into situations that make their hearts race?
Perhaps competition is not the problem. Perhaps competition simply reveals what is already there.
The Hidden Side of Competition
Whether you are preparing for a freediving competition, a swimming race, a marathon, a public presentation, or any other challenge, something interesting happens the moment you commit.
The activity that you love suddenly becomes public.
What was once a very personal journey becomes visible to others. And with that, a feeling may appear that was perhaps not there before: vulnerability.
When we train, practice, and explore our sport on our own, we usually do not think too much about how we look. We are focused on learning, on improving, on enjoying the process. But the moment we sign up for a competition, things can change. Suddenly, people are watching.
People may judge.
People may compare.
People may see us succeed.
People may see us fail.
Or perhaps they simply see us perform. And somehow, that can feel very different. A fear of making mistakes may arise. A fear of not performing well. A fear of being judged. For some people it is even a fear of being seen at all. Because the moment we enter a competition, we take something that is deeply personal and bring it into a public space.
This is where emotions begin to appear. And this is often the moment where people start talking about stress.
When I begin working with people in the wider context of sport and health, I hear this frequently.
"I would never compete."
"It would stress me too much."
"I am not a competitive person."
And every time I hear this, I find myself wondering:
Who really is competitive?
And who really isn't?
If we look at human nature and our evolutionary history, every one of us wants to belong, to be accepted, and to feel valued. For thousands of years, our survival depended on our position within a group. Being excluded from the tribe could literally mean death. So it is no surprise that we care what other people think about us.
I also believe that every human being has a certain degree of ego. And I do not mean this in a negative way. Having an ego is not necessarily a bad thing. It helps us protect ourselves, pursue goals, and find our place in the world. The problem only begins when we are unaware of it and allow it to sabotage our performance or our enjoyment.
If we are honest with ourselves, much more of our world revolves around ourselves than we would usually like to admit. This is not selfishness; it is an instinct. Otherwise, our species would probably not have made it this far.
You can even observe this in early childhood development. Newborn babies arrive in the world completely dependent on others for survival. Their first concern is not the needs of the group but their own needs: food, warmth, comfort, safety, connection. Social awareness, empathy, and the ability to truly understand another person's perspective develop gradually over the first years of life. In other words, we are not born thinking about the group first. We learn it over time.
And perhaps this is why competitions can feel so personal.
The moment we step onto a competition field, a starting block, a diving platform, or a stage, something inside of us begins asking questions:
How will I be seen?
What will people think?
What if I fail?
What if I disappoint myself?
What if I disappoint others?
Suddenly, the performance is no longer just about the activity itself. It becomes connected to our identity. And once identity becomes involved, pressure is never far away.
Of course, modern sport is not about survival. But our nervous system does not always know the difference.
What is fascinating is that the performance suddenly feels incredibly important. Yet if we take a step back, most of us are not earning our living from these performances.
Most of us are not competing for survival. Most of us are performing in front of a relatively small audience. Still, the emotions can feel huge.
This is one reason why I like to put things into perspective. For example. As a freediver, I sometimes remind myself that the ocean contains canyons deeper than 8,000 meters. So what difference does it really make whether I dive 50 meters or 120 meters?
From the perspective of the ocean, probably none.
The ocean does not care.
Nature does not care.
The fish certainly do not care.
And somehow, that thought helps me. Not because my performance suddenly becomes meaningless, but because it helps me step away from myself for a moment. It helps me loosen the grip of the pressure that I may have created around the outcome.
It helps me remember why I started diving in the first place.
Not for a number.
Not for a ranking.
Not for validation.
But because I love the experience itself. This is only one way of looking at it, and it certainly does not solve everything. But I have found that when we honestly put things into perspective, some of the pressure begins to soften.
Talking about pressure. In this context it is important to understand what pressure is.
What Is Pressure?
Pressure is the perceived importance of an outcome. It appears when something matters to us and there is uncertainty about whether we can achieve it.
A swimmer standing behind the starting blocks before a final. A freediver attempting a personal best. A runner chasing a qualification time. A coach presenting in front of colleagues.
The outcome matters.
And because it matters, pressure appears.
Pressure can come from different directions.
External Pressure
External pressure comes from the environment around us.
It can be expectations from coaches, family, sponsors, social media, rankings, or simply the presence of an audience.
A swimmer may think:
"Everyone expects me to swim a very good time"
A freediver may feel the attention of spectators watching via a live cam.
Sometimes the pressure is real.
Sometimes it only exists in our imagination.
Yet the body often reacts the same way.
Internal Pressure
Internal pressure is often more powerful. This is the pressure we create ourselves.
Perfectionism.
Fear of failure.
The need to prove ourselves.
The belief that our worth depends on our performance.
A diver may think:
"If I don't reach this depth, I am not progressing."
A swimmer may think:
"If I don't swim a personal best today, the season was a failure."
Many athletes discover that the loudest pressure is not coming from the outside world. It is coming from inside their own minds.
When Pressure Turns Into Stress
Pressure and stress are not the same thing.
Pressure is the demand.
Stress is the response.
Stress is the body's natural reaction to a perceived challenge or threat.
A faster heartbeat.
Tighter muscles.
Shallow breathing.
Restlessness.
Negative thoughts.
Doubt.
Even panic in extreme situations. These reactions are not signs that something is wrong.
They are signs that your nervous system is doing exactly what it was designed to do. The body is preparing for action. The problem is that many people interpret these sensations as a sign that they are not ready. In reality, they are often experiencing something completely normal.
Why Competitions Feel Different From Training
Many athletes wonder why they can perform perfectly in training but struggle in competition.
The answer is simple.
Competitions contain variables that training often does not.
There are schedules to follow.
Rules and protocols.
Officials and judges.
Time pressure.
Changing weather conditions.
Unexpected events.
Other competitors.
Spectators.
The unknown.
A swimmer may break a pair of goggles minutes before a race. A freediver may arrive at the competition site and find conditions completely different from what they expected. An athlete may watch another competitor struggle and suddenly start questioning their own readiness.
All of these factors can add layers of pressure and stress.
Not because something is wrong. But because competition is exposing us to uncertainty. And uncertainty is one of the strongest triggers of the human stress response.
The Real Gift of Competition
Here is what I have learned after years of competing. The greatest lessons rarely come from winning.
The greatest lessons come from discovering how we react when things do not go exactly as planned. Competition has a unique ability to reveal hidden patterns.
Patterns of self-doubt.
Patterns of perfectionism.
Patterns of fear.
Patterns that often have very little to do with sport itself.
Many of these patterns already exist in daily life. Competition simply shines a brighter light on them. This is why some of the most valuable growth happens outside of the result.
Not because we achieved a record. But because we learned something about ourselves.
You Are Not Broken
If competition makes you nervous, you are not weak.
If you feel pressure, you are not broken.
If your heart races before a performance, you are human.
Almost everyone who steps into a meaningful challenge experiences some version of this.
The difference is not whether pressure exists.
The difference is how we relate to it.
And the beautiful thing is that this relationship can change.
In my Mental Mentoring Program, I help athletes, performers, leaders, and speakers develop the ability to stay present, focused, and grounded when the stakes are high.
Read more about it...
The goal is not to remove pressure. The goal is to change the relationship with it.
Together, we work on quieting the inner dialogue that fuels doubt, fear of failure, overthinking, and the urge to give up. Instead, we strengthen your connection to what brought you here in the first place: your purpose, your passion, and your reason for showing up.
When the nervous system feels safe and regulated, something powerful happens. Attention shifts away from self-judgment and back to the task itself. Trust replaces control. Presence replaces pressure.
This is where flow becomes more accessible. Not because you force it, but because you stop standing in its way. Whether you're preparing for a competition, a live TV appearance, an important presentation, or another high-pressure moment, you'll receive a personalised approach and practical tools that can be applied immediately. Perform with trust. Compete with freedom. Stay connected to yourself when it matters most.
And maybe, just maybe, competition could become something much bigger than chasing results. A place where you discover who you are when things matter. Because in the end, the medal, the ranking, and the record will eventually fade.
What remains are the lessons. The memories. The feeling of being fully alive. And that is something worth competing for.
What If Competition Could Feel Different?
Imagine arriving at a competition not with the goal of proving yourself, but with curiosity.
Imagine seeing the event as an opportunity to learn rather than a test to pass.
Imagine being able to experience the same excitement without carrying the weight of constant self-judgment.
Would the pressure disappear completely?
Probably not.
But perhaps it would no longer feel like an enemy. Perhaps it could become part of the experience. A signal that what you are doing matters. A reminder that you are stepping outside your comfort zone and grow.
If this article resonated with you..
you might be wondering: How do I actually change my relationship with pressure? How do I train my nervous system to stay calm, focused, and present when it matters most?
That is where the real work begins. In a future article, I'll dive deeper into the practical tools and training methods I use to help athletes, performers, and leaders transform pressure into trust and build genuine resilience under stress.
If you don't want to wait, I'd be happy to explore your unique challenges with you. Whether you're preparing for a competition, an important presentation, a live performance, or simply want to feel more at ease under pressure, get in touch.
Together, we'll build the skills to perform with confidence while staying connected to yourself.
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