I have always been interested in top performers and successful people. A thing that most of them have in common is that they can perform under pressure. Not only that, they perform better than they would when under stressful circumstances.
There´s been numerous books written about the subject. Here's just one.
If we could discard all the generic answers like meditate, eat well, sleep well, genes and noots etc. What other answers are there on the subject?
What makes some people break (another book) under pressure while some become more controlling, regulative, competitive, dominating etc??
As the link above states, some call it a clutch, others call it the zone or state. Do you think everyone perceives this state being the same way? Or are they totally different experiences?
I have studied performance psychology myself and my teacher specifically said that if you crack under pressure while you are in a high stakes scenario/job such as being a policeman or fireman or live under a competitive edge, then you need to change your job/situation/life. (Personally I'm not taking his words as final).
But I do think that a lot of guy´s here has an egalitarian standpoint and like to imagine that such traits are possible to attain. We all like the idea that anything is possible. But is it? What does research say and do you have any such real life experience yourself?
The final question is: Who can and who can't?
