Testosterone is a big biological factor in determining how one performs during a competition, but it isn’t the only one.
Much of whether a person rises to the occasion, or wilts under the lights of the arena, has to do with their genetics, specifically, what’s known as the COMT gene.
One mutation of the COMT gene allows individuals to thrive under pressure, while the other mutation can makes folks prone to choke. Because of the different responses to stress that the different COMT variations induce, geneticists often call the COMT gene the “Warrior/Worrier” gene: if you’ve got the COMT gene mutation for thriving under pressure, you’ve got the Warrior mutation; if you’ve got the mutation for wilting under pressure, you’ve got the Worrier mutation. Many folks have a combination of the two.
While the Worrier gene may sound wholly negative (everyone wants to be a “warrior”!), it can come in handy when times are calm. Worriers are better at making responsible decisions, planning for the future, and staying motivated to tackle essential but boring tasks like writing term papers and filing taxes.
Warriors, on the other hand, can handle stressful situations like champs, but falter during times of calm. They have a hard time staying motivated to complete tasks when there isn’t external pressure to do so; they need a sense of urgency, stress, or competition to get stuff done and perform optimally.
So being a Worrier or Warrior has its pros and cons. The key is simply understanding which you are so you can manage and make the most of your competitive style. You can actually get tested to see which COMT variation you have, but you already probably know intuitively which way you lean.
If you’re the Warrior type and shine when the pressure is on, then you should put yourself in competitive situations as much as possible. Get involved with sports when you’re young, and consider pursuing a competitive career.
If you’re more of the Worrier type, and tend to get flustered under pressure, you’ll need to be a bit more thoughtful in how you approach competition. You may wish to engage in it less, and choose jobs and hobbies where competition is less of an element.
However, you can’t, and shouldn’t, avoid competition entirely. Class rankings, negotiations, and even job interviews are, in a sense, competitions — ones you can’t get out of. And always skipping out on optional competition means you’re skipping out on the benefits that come with it, like self-improvement, enhanced creativity, and camaraderie.
Fortunately, if you want to pursue opportunities where there are unavoidably high stakes, you’re not doomed to folding under the pressure. For example, researchers found that some pilots with the Worrier gene perform better than pilots with the Warrior gene during simulated in-air catastrophic failures. The catch? Pilots with the Worrier gene who thrived in stressful situations had trained extensively for those types of situations. So being a Worrier can be an advantage in high-pressure situations so long as use your apprehensive disposition as motivation to practice for them.
The bottom line, then, is that if you’re a Worrier, you’ll need to be more proactive about managing your competition-induced stress by embracing rigorous practice and giving more heed to all the tips given above.
If you’re a Warrior, you’d still do well to heed the advice that’s been given, in order to even further enhance your performance and the benefits you get out of your much-beloved competitions. But know that you’ll also need to be more intentional about tackling life’s mundanities
Much of whether a person rises to the occasion, or wilts under the lights of the arena, has to do with their genetics, specifically, what’s known as the COMT gene.
One mutation of the COMT gene allows individuals to thrive under pressure, while the other mutation can makes folks prone to choke. Because of the different responses to stress that the different COMT variations induce, geneticists often call the COMT gene the “Warrior/Worrier” gene: if you’ve got the COMT gene mutation for thriving under pressure, you’ve got the Warrior mutation; if you’ve got the mutation for wilting under pressure, you’ve got the Worrier mutation. Many folks have a combination of the two.
While the Worrier gene may sound wholly negative (everyone wants to be a “warrior”!), it can come in handy when times are calm. Worriers are better at making responsible decisions, planning for the future, and staying motivated to tackle essential but boring tasks like writing term papers and filing taxes.
Warriors, on the other hand, can handle stressful situations like champs, but falter during times of calm. They have a hard time staying motivated to complete tasks when there isn’t external pressure to do so; they need a sense of urgency, stress, or competition to get stuff done and perform optimally.
So being a Worrier or Warrior has its pros and cons. The key is simply understanding which you are so you can manage and make the most of your competitive style. You can actually get tested to see which COMT variation you have, but you already probably know intuitively which way you lean.
If you’re the Warrior type and shine when the pressure is on, then you should put yourself in competitive situations as much as possible. Get involved with sports when you’re young, and consider pursuing a competitive career.
If you’re more of the Worrier type, and tend to get flustered under pressure, you’ll need to be a bit more thoughtful in how you approach competition. You may wish to engage in it less, and choose jobs and hobbies where competition is less of an element.
However, you can’t, and shouldn’t, avoid competition entirely. Class rankings, negotiations, and even job interviews are, in a sense, competitions — ones you can’t get out of. And always skipping out on optional competition means you’re skipping out on the benefits that come with it, like self-improvement, enhanced creativity, and camaraderie.
Fortunately, if you want to pursue opportunities where there are unavoidably high stakes, you’re not doomed to folding under the pressure. For example, researchers found that some pilots with the Worrier gene perform better than pilots with the Warrior gene during simulated in-air catastrophic failures. The catch? Pilots with the Worrier gene who thrived in stressful situations had trained extensively for those types of situations. So being a Worrier can be an advantage in high-pressure situations so long as use your apprehensive disposition as motivation to practice for them.
The bottom line, then, is that if you’re a Worrier, you’ll need to be more proactive about managing your competition-induced stress by embracing rigorous practice and giving more heed to all the tips given above.
If you’re a Warrior, you’d still do well to heed the advice that’s been given, in order to even further enhance your performance and the benefits you get out of your much-beloved competitions. But know that you’ll also need to be more intentional about tackling life’s mundanities
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