Don't Choke

I've gotten a lot of emails from people about my recent WSJ article, which looked at the superstar effect, choking and performance anxiety. Most of the letters ask a similar question:

Can anything be done to prevent choking? Or are we destined to sabotage ourselves when it matters the most?

Let's begin with the bad news: choking, which I'll define as "performing below skill level due to performance related anxieties," is far more prevalent than most people assume. In recent years, choking h...