We are emotional beings. Emotions are a huge part of athletic participation. We are not able to compete at any level without the existence of emotions. Two primary emotions can either impede or contribute to our athletic success. Anxiety and Arousal. Anxiety is an emotion that exists when we perceive a threat. We are anxious when we feel that we will come to harm from failing, not reaching our expectations or some other threat to our comfort. Understanding that anxiety is both perceived and involves some sort of threat will help us to control and manage our emotions. Arousal pertains to the intensity we have when engaging in certain behaviors. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being very intense, we must determine the correct amount of arousal for each activity so we don't become "too hyped" or simply apathetic. Being overanxious and either over or under aroused will impede our performance. The objective of every athlete is to learn that these two emotions exist, then learn how these two emotions impact our personal performance and then to learn how to manage/regulate those emotions.
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