Turn Anxiety Into Triumph in 30 Seconds
Use this simple trick whenever you feel nerves before a big event, from public speaking to running in a race.
Have you ever felt nervous before a big event? Perhaps your heart is racing prior to an athletic competition, or before a big presentation, high-stakes meeting, or sales pitch. Your instinct is probably to tell yourself something along the lines of “relax” or “keep calm.”
But, in a paradoxical twist, great performers, those who are at the top of their respective fields, don’t fight this natural arousal. Rather, they channel it toward the task at hand.
New research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that instead of trying to force calm, reappraising anxiety as excitement improves performance. The researchers found that something as simple as telling yourself “I am excited” or, “These heightened sensations are my body and mind getting ready to execute,” is effective.
Why such a simple intervention has such a profound effect
When you try to force yourself to calm down, you are sending a signal that something is wrong, that you are stressed; in a sense, you are reinforcing the negative emotion. But by telling yourself the sensations you are feeling result from the body engaging all the systems it needs for the task at hand, you transform negative energy into positive energy. Improved performance follows.
Put differently: The physiological sensations we associate with anxiety are actually neutral. They can be either positive or negative, and that all depends on how we choose to perceive them.
Try it for yourself:
- Next time you feel nerves starting to kick in before a big event, don’t try to calm down or fight it.
- Rather, tell yourself something along the lines of: “My body and mind are preparing to give it their all.” Or, even simpler, “I am excited.”
Thanks for reading! If you like what you read, I’d be honored if you checked out and considered pre-ordering my forthcoming book, PEAK PERFORMANCE. You can also follow me on Twitter @Bstulberg, where I share all of my writing and the latest on health and the science of human performance.
Brad Stulberg writes about health and the science of human performance. He’s a columnist at Outside Magazine and New York Magazine.
