STRESS AND ATHLETIC SUCCESS
Success, in any field, is often a matter of how well a person is (49) to control the amount of stress they experience. As stress increases, their performance often (50) , but there is a certain point beyond which their performance begins to decline sharply. Sports psychologists giờ help Olympic athletes, (51) others, balance the good and bad effects of stress.

Before an athletic event, a high (52) of excitement can actually have a positive effect on the athlete. This excitement becomes harmful, (53) if negative thoughts take over. Thoughts such as "What if I fail?" or "I know the others are better than me" should definitely be avoided. Psychologists help athletes manage to replace negative thoughts with positive (54) .

Another useful technique before competing (55) to recognize your level of excitement and adjust it if necessary. Music may be helpful (56) these cases. If you are over-excited, listening to soft music can help to calm you down. If you are not excited (57) , you may want to listen to fast, powerful music to raise your spirits.

The key to success, in other words, is a person's knowledge of then ideal level of excitement. An imbalance either way could mean the difference (58) success and failure.