Renew You!

How to Calm Your Jitters 

We have all had that jittery feeling before “the big event.” Will I do well? Will they like me? Will I look good? Should I change something? Am I ready for this? Should I go over everything just one more time?  Will I ever fall asleep tonight?

The answers to the above questions should be yes, yes, yes, no, yes, no, and yes. Problem solved. All is well. Good night. 

If only it were that easy to stop being nervous and worrying. In reality, we know it is much more difficult. Yet, we know if we do not calm ourselves it will only make things worse. We don’t want to start to worry about the worry!

A great way to gain control of yourself and stop this cycle is to figure out what it is about the situation that has you so scared. Now that your fears have been identified, think of the worst nightmare situation that you can imagine regarding those fears. What would you do if it happened?  What could you do to prevent it?  How likely would it be for all those events to take place? 

As an example, let’s say “the big event” is a large presentation you have been asked to give at work. What is the worst thing that could happen?  You could trip walking to the front of the room, fall flat on your face, and your notes would go flying. As you stand up and attempt to retrieve your notes, your pants split open and the heel on your shoe breaks. Everyone starts to laugh. You can’t remember one thing you were supposed to say.

If this seems over the top, it is supposed to be that way. The purpose of this is to make us realize that it really will not be that bad. Also, by facing the worst, we solve the real problems; so we can be confident when the event takes place.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with the jitters. What’s yours?