Reasons Why The Sport Superstars Dont Choke

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. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, many of those same anxiety scenarios are with us today. Many of us have financial worries and bear the stress of finding a job. For those who have a job, there may be stress at the job. Maybe you have health problems and there is the anxiety of trying to overcome your illness. Or you may have a marriage that is so filled with stress that it is barely surviving. If you have kids, they could be facing the stress of dealing with bullies at school. Stress is all around us, and always has been. Those who survive are the ones who find productive ways of dealing with stress instead of capitulating to it. 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 couple of reasons why, but the main reason is that a large part of anxiety response is psychological. The first individual has learned how to manage his anxiety so well that he actually thrives under pressure. Likewise, a stress management expert will help you to achieve similar results. Where does anxiety come from? There's more than one answer. Many times the cause is a traumatic, life altering event such as losing a parent, losing a child, or losing someone that you love. But, stress can also be the result of less dramatic life changing events such as moving to a new neighborhood, attending a new school, or starting a new place of work. But just about all forms of stress or anxiety come down to either loss of the familiar or anticipation of loss of the familiar. The word "choke" is often used in sports. A sports team may win one game. Then they win another, and another, until finally they've managed to win 12 games in a row. Now, all eyes are on them and the pressure is on them to win. Because now they're playing for the expectations of their families, their coaches, and fans. Now, instead of being lose, they approach each game with the attitude that they HAVE to win. Keep in mind that even though they have not played the next game, some team members are already feeling tight. Since the loss hasn't yet happened, it can only be attributed to anticipation of what will happen if the team does lose. That's why, in many high profile, high stakes games you'll see players fumbling balls that they would normally catch with ease, missing goals that they would normally easily make, and passing up shots that they would normally take. They're choking. On the other hand, the superstars in these games have leaned to manage and direct their stress. They not only will avoid passing 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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About the Author:
Ellen Huston is writer and researcher for http://www.superstressmanagement.com . To read other articles on reliability of cardiac stress tests as well as other stress related topics, please visit her