Do you have any scary things coming up in 2019?
Last week, I found myself VERY nervous right before the launch of the first iteration of 7 Weeks to Radical Self-Trust. I just really wanted it to go well, and it made me feel a lot of “what if” fear-based feelings:
- What if the technology doesn’t work?
- What if no one shows up?
- What if the participants don’t feel the value of the program?
- What if I’m not what the participants expected?
- What if the program, or me, are not enough?
Yes, I totally feel those imposter syndrome feelings, even after lots of program launches. It’s like that first day walking into the classroom where you question whether you should be there, whether your syllabus is full of typos, whether your students will riot partway through the course overview… anyone else have anxiety dreams the week before classes start?
Since I knew that I needed to pull it together, I turned to some of my tried and true methods to turn my fear into excitement. These are some of my favorites:
- Smile. A great way to shift my mindset from nervous, worried, or anxious is to slap on a huge grin. I think of something funny, or just get my facial muscles moving in the right direction to benefit from this trick.
- Move around. That nervous energy has to go somewhere. Taking a walk, or doing a few jumping jacks, squats, or pushups can get that energy out.
- Dance. This week, I’ve been talking with my writing group members about the music that gets them pumped up to do tasks that they are dreading or nervous about. Dancing out those nerves is a great way to shift my mindset in a more positive direction.
- Anticipate. But in a positive way! Don’t catastrophize all the things that could go wrong, but instead create a vision of everything going just the way that you want it to. Those vision exercises make it a lot easier to make my vision a reality.
- Say “I’m so excited!” Using short words or phrases like, “I’m so excited” or “This is going to be great!” or “I can’t wait!” can help to shift my brain into a place of excitement rather than being filled with nervous energy.
So, how did my first meeting of 7 Weeks go?
It was amazing. The participants were so excited and engaged about the materials and I know we’re going to have an incredible time together over the coming weeks.
To think on:
- What other methods do you use to turn fear into excitement?
- When are you most nervous? When are you most excited?
Interested in checking out the 7 Weeks to Radical Self-Trust program? Learn more at https://katielinder.work/rst.