Anxiety and Failure

Anxiety dulls the intellect. Thus, anxious people are more likely to fail despite their high scores on their IQ.

Anxiety affects any kind of performance. This kind of concern is a negative cognitive interference when it is inserted into a situation that requires our attention; it invades all attempts to achieve concentration. This is because the concern detracts from the resources available to process information in a cognitive task.

If we focus on the concern of failing we devote less attention to clarify responses. Therefore, Goleman says that "our concerns become self-fulfilling prophecies, pushing us to predict disaster."

People who are adept at using their emotions can take the anxiety to motivate and prepare well for a good performance. A euphoric state can promote creative activities that require fluency and imagination, like humor, which favors the ability to think with greater flexibility and complexity. But if the euphoria gets out until it became a mania, as in bipolar disorder, the agitation weakens the ability to think coherently.

Mild mood changes can influence thinking. At the time of making decisions or carry out projects of people who are in a good mood, they tend to be more communicative and have a positive mindset. Memory depends on the particular mood, so that when we are in a good mood, it is easier for a person to remember positive events.

On the other hand, when we are in a bad mood we tend to take negative directions because we cannot see or think clearly. People in a bad mood cannot coherently grasp what must be done because they are more engrossed with their bad feelings, thus when one is in a bad mood one must take a more cautious decision.

From the standpoint of emotional intelligence, hope protects against defeatism and depression when facing difficulties or setbacks.