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How to Stop Choking Under Pressure
Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom
— Søren Kierkegaard
Rewards are usually a motivator, but sometimes they are just too much. When enough rides on your good performance, you begin to feel the pressure. Professional athletes at the top of their game experience this during critical moments, and so do the rest of us when we realize that other people depend on our success, or when we step up to give an important presentation at work. Perhaps paradoxically, we are most likely to let ourselves down when we least want to. But at the same time, we need to keep attempting major challenges in our life, because without them we may be stuck at a dead end.
The main problem with pressure is the anxiety it causes us. Some level of anxiety is necessary when we face a challenge because it’s a sign that our efforts really matter. Sensible anxiety keeps us on our toes and gives us the impetus to prepare properly so that we do not mess up. If we don’t sufficiently care about an important event in our life, we are more vulnerable to failing simply because we did not prioritize it properly in our thoughts and preparations. But when anxiety is too high, it can become dysfunctional by pushing us into a shaky mindset as we approach the challenge itself. We need enough anxiety to care, but not so much that we choke.
