How to Pivot from Anxiety to Action
Oct 22, 2021 8:13 pm
Happy Friday,
Today I have two messages to help you overcome anxiety and get back to being your best under pressure.
Thanks to the athletes, musicians and artists I work with one on one, as many of these ideas and strategies come from my experiences with you.
The first illustrates how your deepest beliefs will ultimately affect your behavior more than what you think.
And the second teaches you how to use anxiety as a trigger to pivot from worry to action.
Let me know how they work for you.
Best,
Dr. Eddie
***
What Do You Really Believe?
It’s like you have two people inside you.
One has confidence and believes.
One doubts you and doesn’t believe.
Which one shows up on the field?
When you engage in your positive self-talk, do you believe it?
Belief means “acting as if it were true.”
You have to do more than be optimistic. Saying positive statements in your head won’t do anything until you believe it in your heart.
Your behaviors reflect what you believe.
If you think you can, you will do the things that reflect confidence and preparation. You will act assertively and be productive.
If you believe the doubt, you will play it safe, be cautious, avoid risks, and procrastinate.
You can’t believe both … what beliefs are your actions showing?
Believe the positive, objective truth and act as if it were true.
***
Pivot in Anxiety
Obstacle:
We've established how anxiety is normal. It warns us of danger. The problem arises when we respond to this anxiety with a continuous focus on the threat. Worry without action hurts our performance.
It can look like this:
- repetitive "what if ...?" thinking
- predicting poor outcomes
- images of past mistakes, or fear of mistakes in the future
- stories of how people will be disappointed in us in the future
- stories of how embarrassed we will be in the future
Ultimately, a response like this lead us to:
- play overly cautious
- lose motivation
- avoid practice or competitive risks altogether
How to Overcome:
- Lean in to the fear and recognize that you do have something to be afraid of. It is a valid concern.
- Recognize the anxiety as a red flag to check out ... pivot and discover the action you can take right now to prevent the feared outcome.
For example, a guitar player is anxious about a gig he has coming up. The songs are new and he is nervous about making a mistake on stage in front of a large audience. Every time he picks up his guitar to practice, he feels this anxiety. So he puts it down and distracts himself with video games. He feels better, but worry returns the next time he tries to play.
He overcomes this by validating his fear. He should be worried! The threat of making a mistake is real. His embarrassment is real. And he really doesn't want to let his band down.
He pivots and asks, "So what can I do to prevent these outcomes?"
Practice is the only answer.
By focusing on the solution (the action he can take while he is anxious), he picks up his guitar and starts rehearsing.
The action of practice reduces his anxiety, prepares him for the concert, and prevents the feared outcomes.
Two Steps:
- Reduce the power of fear by validating it
- Respond to the fear with action that protects you from what you are afraid of
If you need help pivoting in your performance area, I can help with individual consultations here.
***
Dr. Eddie O’Connor
