Why Connection is the Antidote to Fear & Anxiety
You know that feeling when you’re about to deliver a presentation, speak up in a meeting or say something in a social setting and you’re feeling really nervous?
Isn’t it interesting that in that moment when our heart is pounding and our hands are clammy that the thing that we want more than anything is for NO ONE to see that we are feeling nervous, for no one to even see us at all.
It’s here where we we typically withdraw from our audience — we convince ourselves we don’t deserve to be listened to and we feel like we’re fundamentally not good enough. We hate being seen in our “low” moments. We feel ashamed and we try to conceal them as much as we can because “god-forbid someone will see me feeling weak, that will make me look pitiable”.
It’s in this place of disconnection that our anxiety and fear prospers.
So what’s the solution?
Well, paradoxically, if we develop the ability to stay connected with others, especially in the moments we are feeling nervous/anxious/down, we will teach ourselves a big lesson which is to go TOWARDS people and not AWAY from them..
When we start making more of a conscious effort in training ourselves to seek connection rather than disconnection, we begin cultivating deeper levels of self-acceptance, which is the most essential ingredient in human expression.
“If I can’t accept myself, I can’t expect others to do that for me”
It’s hard to connect with people when you really feel like hiding away from the world, but it is extremely helpful to train ourselves to make a small steps towards connection in situations where we would usually withdraw.
When it comes to public speaking, allowing yourself to be seen, to be vulnerable is paradoxically what helps us to feel confident because we allow ourselves to feel connected to our audience without having to hide certain aspects of who we are.
Please stay tuned for next week’s post with more tips on how you can embrace your vulnerability :)
