Some reasonable level of anxiety shows that an individual cares enough about the task at hand, but is still able to keep a clear mind. Too much anxiety, on the other hand, has negative effects on performance by affecting your self-esteem and self-confidence. No anxiety at all means a total lack of interest, and thus poor performance results. How does that work? A theory is that the levels of anxiety are somehow correlated to how much you care about a specific task or a specific outcome. This is the Goldilocks effect at play: we need an optimal level of anxiety to be able to perform at our best, a level of anxiety that is just right. This concept is known as the Goldilocks Principle and has been used across disciplines to describe something that is not too high, not too low-but just right.Ī recent research study from the British Journal of Psychiatry found that school children with high levels of anxiety did badly performance-wise, but that kids with very low levels of anxiety also did not perform well. In the children’s story The Three Bears, Goldilocks tastes three different bowls of porridge, and finds that she likes the porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold-but just at the right temperature. What about stress and anxiety-is there a sweet spot, something that’s strong enough to motivate us to give our best shot to reach our goals, but not strong enough to paralyse us? I recently discussed the concept of worrying well. Worry, stress, and anxiety are very common in demanding jobs, whether people love their job or not. We did worry about the outcome of some of our projects, but we also felt driven and energised. We could not come up with the right word to describe that exact feeling: we were stressed, yes, but not in a negative way. As I was chatting with a friend, we noticed that we both felt incredibly excited and anxious about the work we were currently doing.

The goldilocks effect