Opinion | Beijing Olympics: Why Mikaela Shiffrin Stumbled, and Why We All Stumble - The... - 0 views
www.nytimes.com/...in-olympics-combined-fall.html
failure distraction recency noise disruption anxiety grief worry
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Humans are biologically hard-wired to crave a sense of control and certainty over what will happen in the future.
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But with that comes a tendency to overfixate on the details of our performance, which can get in the way of achieving our best.
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Instead of focusing on what we hope to achieve — at tomorrow’s board meeting, at that cocktail party we’re braving solo, at a major exam — our brain is preoccupied by running through scenarios to avoid. Unfortunately, this does nothing to help prepare us, and only invites an overattention to details best left outside conscious awareness — noise.
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Studies have found that simply talking on the phone while walking actually slows down and disrupts our gait
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When our brain is processing complex emotions and stressors, it hinders our ability to function at our best.
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As I tell my students, remember to play your whole movie — not just the clip of your latest stumble on repeat
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If a phone call is enough to disrupt our performance of basic tasks, we should be especially mindful of cognitive loads associated with grief, loss and general uncertainty about what is to come. All are major triggers for depression and anxiety, and profoundly affect our ability to perform even the most routine, practiced tasks.
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holding tightly on to our latest failures is a common phenomenon, thanks to the recency effect — a cognitive bias that prioritizes our most recent experiences over past ones. This natural tendency sends our brain the wrong messages, and makes us forget how skilled, credentialed or qualified we really are