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Reframe your anxiety to increase performance

Reframe anxiety to increase performance

I dreaded the telltale of nerves before a big exam or presentation. My heart pounding, sweaty palms, thoughts spiralling into a maze of what-ifs. I’d take deep breaths, try to relax, attempt to banish the butterflies. But fighting my anxiety only seemed to make it worse.

What I didn’t realize then was that anxiety was trying to help me. When we perceive stress as an ally, not an enemy, it becomes our secret power.

Reframe stress as a performance booster

Do you also feel anxious before an important presentation or exam? New research shows that by simply reframing how you view stress, you can transform it from a performance killer into a performance enhancer.

When you feel anxious, your body prepares you to face a challenge. Your heart races to pump more blood to your muscles and brain. Adrenaline gets released to sharpen your mind.

These are the same physiological responses that elite athletes experience before a big game. For them, sweaty palms aren’t a sign of impending failure. They’re a sign they’re ready to perform.

Amazingly, adopting this “stress-is-enhancing” mindset is often all it takes to turn anxiety into an advantage. An analysis of multiple studies by psychologist Jeremy Jamieson found:

  • When students were told anxiety before an exam would help them, their scores increased by 9% on average
  • When people were told that increased heart rate during public speaking would enhance their performance, they gave longer speeches and were rated as more persuasive and confident

Stress only hurts performance when we interpret it as a sign we’re ill-equipped to handle a challenge. But we can choose a different interpretation. We can welcome stress as a tool that unleashes our full abilities.

Steps to harness your anxiety for challenges

Next time you feel anxious before a presentation or exam, use these techniques:

  1. Notice anxiety’s physical cues – sweaty palms, a pounding heart, etc. Tell yourself: “My body is getting ready to help me crush this.”
  2. Recall a time you felt similar anxiety but ended up succeeding, an exam you aced, a presentation that went well. Remind yourself that a stress response doesn’t doom you to failure.
  3. Imagine you’re an elite performer about to take the stage. Picture Michael Jordan before a playoff game or Beyonce before a sold-out concert. Embrace anxiety as part of the process of rising to the occasion.

No matter how much you prepare, feeling anxious is normal before a big challenge. Don’t fight the feeling. Channel it into sharper focus and more dynamic energy.

Bottom line

Next time your heart starts pounding before a big presentation or exam, don’t try to calm down. Instead, tell yourself, “This is my body helping me rise to this challenge.”

Anxiety is simply the price you pay for a meaningful life. Once you understand that, it becomes a powerful tool rather than a paralyzing handicap. Channel that nervous energy. Tap into the hidden benefits of stress. Because the biggest secret to peak performance isn’t getting rid of anxiety – it’s getting better at anxiety.

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