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In this monologue, Dr. Aziz observes that even highly skilled, experienced individuals—such as public speakers, surgeons, or charismatic professionals—often experience intense anxiety and sleeplessness weeks before a performance they have done countless times. He explains that the root cause is not a lack of competence but a failure to extract learning from repeated exposure. Instead of reflecting on past experiences, many people engage in excessive, surface‑level preparation, which paradoxically amplifies their stress. The talk highlights the distinction between mere exposure to a task and purposeful learning from that exposure, arguing that without reflective learning, overpreparation can worsen performance anxiety.
