Why Pressure is a Privilege - Our Twenties And Us

“Pressure is a privilege” is a well-known quote by the famous tennis player Billie Jean King. It was at the Fed Cup in the year 2000 when she first said it to Lindsay Davenport, who then proceeded to win a match against her opponent Conchita Martinez.

I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately and I am quite fascinated by it. Pressure is usually seen as something negative, something to avoid. Taking the easier path can feel like a huge relief in the moment you make the decision, but I have noticed that it can quickly have a negative impact on your life.

For the past few weeks, I haven’t been feeling quite myself: A little less disciplined than usual, a little less determined, a little less ambitious. I didn’t know why, but a few days ago, I realised that it had all started going downhill from the moment I had made a decision to settle for second-best, just in order to reduce pressure.

So that made me wonder: How important is pressure and how much pressure is too much?

I personally think that King’s “Pressure is a privilege” quote doesn’t apply to all contexts. Some people are under pressure to get the next meal on the table for their children and there is no way that that can be seen as “healthy” pressure.

The way I see it, pressure can be a privilege when you are under pressure by choice. When you have the option to back out and pursue an easier path without facing critical consequences to your own health or that of others.

There is another quote somewhat along the lines of “It’s a privilege to be able to choose your ‘hard’” (I don’t know exactly who said it that way, but “Choose your hard” is a poem by Devon Brough). We often complain about the problems we face in our life and forget that we chose this exact path of life, along with the challenges that come with it. So maybe that’s where the privilege is.

Nevertheless, “Pressure is a privilege” shouldn’t be dismissed that easily.

The only time that we feel pressure is when there is actually something to loose — or to gain.

In the comments under this LinkedIn post, Shivanii G. said:

Pressure shows up only where impact exists. It’s not weight, it’s proof you’re playing in an arena that matters.

Although I think that not everything that matters involves pressure, I do believe that everything that involves pressure matters in some way. If you feel the pressure, it means whatever you are doing is important to you, because if it weren’t important, the outcome wouldn’t matter to you.

Billie Jean King also said:

Usually, if you have tremendous pressure, it’s because an opportunity comes along.

This quote directly depicts pressure as something positive, although we have to keep in mind that not every opportunity is worth grasping. For example, you may feel pressure because of other people’s expectations of you. In that case, you have the opportunity to make others proud, but that may not contribute very much to your own happiness.

So it’s really all about if the opportunity you are facing is something worth pursuing for you.

I think what stuck with me the most out of all those different viewpoints is the mindset that pressure gives our decisions and actions meaning. It can show us that we are on the right path to what we truly want to achieve. The really hard part is to figure out how much pressure is too much, but I guess “only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” (T. S. Eliot).

This is all for today, I hope that what I wrote actually made sense in parts and I will see you again next week!