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Just once in my life have I been temporarily paralyzed by fear; that was the occasion of sitting for a Navy Officer's Candidate advanced placement exam for language codes. I remember the room that fall morning; the feelings of doom that enveloped 30 people also sitting for the important exercise. For maybe seven or eight minutes I stared at the booklet in front of me. Some simply got up, turned in their booklets and headed for the exit. It was the first time, the only time my emotions overran my ability to think. I closed my eyes, willing my brain to overcome this unexpected paralysis.
Then it came to me. Other guys were walking out, half the room emptied in the first ten minutes. I remained and started to reel back in time to challenges met, running the mile, taking tests, and the like. I marshaled as many past-positives as possible, then picked up the booklet and proceeded to do the complex exercise that required taking a fictitious language and code-breaking it. 40 minutes later I walked out of the room drained but hopeful. I've never forgotten it. Days later, I was stunned at my high score.
When emotion overruns concentration what scientists call "working memory" is being swamped. Working memory is an executive function of great importance to our mental life; from giving a speech to completing a tough analytical proposition. But when the circuitry that converges on the prefrontal cortex is in high emotional upset, the first casualty is our working memory: we can't think straight. No one is immune; performers in Radio and TV, musicians, and athletes can all become inert under the effects of emotional distress.
But on the other side of the balance sheet the role of positive motivation can stir the feelings of confidence, enthusiasm and zeal. From the Olympic Chinese divers and gymnasts to 10 year old Violin virtuosos, proof that starting earlier can offer a lifetime edge. It's back to Gladwell's treatise on "Outliers" and the ten-thousand-hour benchmark. To the degree that that our emotions either get in the way of, or enhance our ability to think, plan, and visualize success or failure is the master aptitude that will determine whether we pursue a distant goal, solve major problems and define our capacity to use our innate abilities that make all the difference in how we do in life.
When my mind goes back to that Navy classroom and the seemingly un-passable language coding, it was the deep inner capacity to manage the fear, raise my expectation, and do that which for a moment, I felt I couldn't do.
The concept of "emotional intelligence" being more important than test scores or grade point profoundly affects our skills and self confidence. IQ by itself is not destiny. Instead, it's a combination of belief, positive picturing, self-awareness, and determination.
Greatness may be closer than you think.
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