Why The Superstars Don’t Choke
Sunday, March 8th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Stress has always been with us. If we go back to caveman days, there was no doubt the stress of survival - finding food, seeking shelter, escaping predators, fitting in with the clan.
Today even though our lives have changed drastically, stress is still with us - we’re just stressed about different things. Some of us are worried about our financial future or the stress of being out of work. Others, who have a job may be facing stressful situations at work. Many people have health related problems and face the stress of dealing with their illness. Maybe you are in a loveless marriage that is so filled with stress that it is barely surviving. Even kids are not immune. They may be dealing stressed out from trying to conform to peer group expectations. The point is that stress is around us all, every day. And those who want to survive find productive methods of contending with it.
Researchers have well documented the effects of stress on the body. Furthermore, experts in stress management know that trying to eliminate stress from a person’s life is not only futile, it’s arguably not even desirable. So they concentrate on managing stress instead. But why is it that some people thrive under stress and others, in a similar situation, will collapse from it? There are a few reasons, but one undeniable reason is that much of a person’s response to anxiety is psychological in nature. In the first instance, the first person has learned to manage his anxiety to the point of turning it into an advantage. A stress management expert will help you to master the ability to take ownership and control over your anxiety.
Where does anxiety come from? There is no one answer. Often it comes from a traumatic life changing event such as the loss of a parent, the loss of a child, or the loss of anyone you love. It can also come from less dramatic life changing events such as moving to a new neighborhood, attending a new school, or starting a new job. But most forms of stress or anxiety boil down to either loss of the familiar or anticipation of loss of the familiar.
In sports terminology, think of the term “choke.” A team starts a season with zero wins. They win one, two, three, and eventually 12 games without a loss. Now they’re expected to win. In fact a loss would mean that they’ve disappointed their families, coaches, and fans. Suddenly as they approach each game, it’s with a feeling of “tightness”, because now they HAVE to win. The next loss has not even happened and yet some of the team members are already feeling tightness. Since the loss hasn’t happened yet, it can only be attributed to anticipation of what will happen if the team does lose. So, in many high profile, high stakes, games you’ll see players dropping balls that they would normally catch with ease, missing goals that they would normally make in their sleep, and passing up shots that they would normally take. In other words, they’re choking.
Superstars, on the other hand, have leaned to manage and focus their stress. They won’t pass up a shot. They’ll insist on taking the shot. They’ll actually want the ball in crucial situations. They will love being in the spotlight in front of thousands, maybe millions of people. Same game, same situation, different player, different reactions.
The important thing to note is that this feeling of confidence or comfort is not related to skill level. Because, we all know people who have little or no talent in their field who are nevertheless filled with supreme confidence in their actions and abilities.
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