Stress and Athletic Success Success, in any...

Stress and Athletic Success

Success, in any field, is often a matter of (0) .......... well a person is (13) .......... to control the amount of stress they experience. As stress increases, their performance often improves, but there is a certain point beyond (14) .......... their performance begins to decline sharply. Sports psychologists now help Olympic athletes, (15) .......... others, balance the good and bad effects of stress.

Before an athletic event, a high level (16) .......... excitement can actually have a positive effect (17) .......... the athlete. This excitement becomes harmful, (18) .......... if negative thoughts take over. Thoughts such as "What if I fail?" or "I know the others are better than me" should definitely be avoided. Psychologists help athletes manage (19) .......... replace negative thoughts with positive (20) ..........

Another useful technique before competing (21) .......... to recognise your level of excitement and adjust it if necessary. Music may be helpful (22) .......... these cases. If you're over-excited, listening to soft music can help to calm you down. If you feel you're not excited (23) .........., you may want to listen to fast, powerful music to raise your spirits.

The key to success, in other words, is a person's knowledge of their ideal level of excitement. An imbalance either way could mean the difference (24) .......... success and failure.