“The people who perform best in normal conditions may not be the same people
who perform best under stress,” Diamond says. People born with the fast-acting enzymes “actually need the stress to perform their best.” To them, the everyday is underwhelming; it doesn’t excite them enough to stimulate the sharpness of mind
of which they are capable. They benefit from that surge in dopamine – it raises the
level up to optimal. They are like Superman emerging from the phone booth in
times of crisis; their abilities to concentrate and solve problems go up.Some scholars have suggested that we are all Warriors or Worriers. Those with fast-acting dopamine clearers are the Warriors, ready for threatening environments where maximum performance is required. Those with slow-acting dopamine clearers
are the Worriers, capable of more complex planning. Over the course of evolution,
both Warriors and Worriers were necessary for human tribes to survive.
But doesn’t it depend?
We all know the student who can waltz through a theater performance yet crash and burn during a test, or a high school student who is a confident test-taker but chokes during a speech.
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So while the single-shot stakes of a standardized exam is particularly ill suited for Worrier genotypes, this doesn’t mean that they should be shielded from all challenge. In fact, shielding them could be the worst response, depriving them of the chance to acclimate to recurring stressors.
Johnson explains this as a form of stress inoculation: You tax them without overwhelming them. “And then allow for sufficient recovery,” he continued. Training, preparation and repetition defuse the Worrier’s curse.
