“I work better under pressure”.
“The less time you have, the better the ideas”.
“Just say whatever comes to mind. The first thing that comes to mind!”
Oof. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have to be in a very rare sort of mood to feel like I can just jump right into these sorts of things. If it’s a smaller group of trusted friends, sure, take my unfiltered thoughts and have at them. If I feel comfortable, I’m willing to share as much as possible. But if I don’t, and you’re asking me to take the first leap into that ice-cold silence, then good luck.
Moments like these, when the pressure all hits, can feel daunting. I’m not going to lie, I don’t have a solution yet. But I have what helps in my own experience. Time, I’d suppose. Being comfortable in my own self has helped, recognizing that I’m social at certain times of day. That it depends on how comfortable I’m feeling, how hungry or tired or irritated. And, speaking on time, it takes time to find confidence. When I was younger, I was teased a lot. I had the self-confidence of a field mouse about to get eaten by a hawk.
But, as time passed, I forgot that I was supposed to stay as this mousy person who never spoke up. I started learning how to be a new me. How to speak up. How to stop caring. How to cope when the going got tough and the tough kept coming.
At the end of the day, don’t let anybody tell you how to handle pressure and ideas and inspiration. It’ll come to you in your own time. I believe in you.