Embrace Your Nerves

“A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.”

Rethink Your Nerves

“Don’t be nervous.” How often have you heard that as an athlete? You are getting ready to perform or play a game and your body doesn’t feel right.  Your palms are sweaty, your legs are shaky, your heart is beating faster than you’d like, those butterflies are out of control and you feel jittery all over.  You know this doesn’t feel good so you assume it’s bad and will impact your performance negatively.  You may suffer with these feelings in silent or try to ignore them and hope they go away and leave you alone.  Or perhaps you share some of these observations with a parent or coach and they say, “Don’t worry, don’t be nervous”.

So again, you conclude: this isn’t good and I shouldn’t be feeling these sensations. Now all you want to do is get rid of these nerves.  Your mind is trying to figure out how not to feel these things.  You are focused on not feeling what you are feeling. Guess what? All this does is create more of what you don’t want.  It’s exhausting, not to mention you are not thinking about what you need to do to perform at your best. 

But what if I was to tell you that those sensations are normal or to be expected and it’s your interpretations of these sensations as “bad” that is really at the heart of the problem?  We typically view stress as all bad and try to reduce or remove the stress or suffer negative health consequences. But what if we decided to take a new approach and view stress or nerves before big events differently?

Consider embracing your nerves.

What if when you told your coach you were feeling nervous, the reply was, “Great, the best of the best use the nerves as a sign they are getting pumped for the challenge ahead. Channel that energy to perform your best.”   How would you feel?  Would you still try to get rid of the nerves or ignore them? Would you start to think differently about these sensations? Perhaps you can begin to accept the nerves as a sign of good things to come.

Interpret Your Nerves for Good

Dr. Kelly McGonigal in the book, The Upside of Stress, presents the case that “how you think about something can transform its effect on you.”   You can choose to look at your nerves before a big event as harmful and try and get rid of them, (good luck with that) or you can adopt the stress is helpful mindset.  In this scenario you accept the stress as real and try to plan a strategy for dealing with it. You may seek information or help, and try to make the best of the situation and view it in a more positive light and as an opportunity to grow.

We develop ways of thinking based on our past experiences and they shape our reality even our physical reactions.  So, if in the past you were really nervous before a competition or game and then played or performed poorly you may believe when your body starts to have those sensations you are doomed for a poor performance. This is a mindset, a way of thinking and interacting with the world that reflects your beliefs. The more often you have this experience the more it confirms your belief that stress leads to bad things.

However, research shows that choosing to see stress as helpful changes its actual effect on performance. So, choosing to see anxiety or your nerves as excitement or energy can help you perform to your potential. It doesn’t change the existence of them, but when you interpret them differently, you assign a different meaning to the nerves and your body responds differently.  So when the heart is pounding think of all the energy your body is giving you. When you feel those butterflies think of it as your body telling you this matters, this is important. Reframe your thoughts about these sensations so you see the energy and drive your body is signaling.

Shift to a Challenge Mindset

Changing your relationship with your nerves can begin by seeing them as a challenge instead of a threat.   What if when you started to feel the slightest whisper of nerves, you thought, “Wow, my body is getting ready for the challenge and giving me energy, I’m excited to test my skills”.  This is an entirely different relationship than “On no, I have to relax, this isn’t good, I shouldn’t be feeling these things, I’m not going to do well.”

If we don’t believe we have the resources to meet a challenge, we default to a threat mindset. Oftentimes this is built on faulty thinking or associations.   When faced with a threat response, remind yourself of your strengths and acknowledge all the preparation and training you have done to meet the challenge.  Consider how you faced similar challenges in the past and what actions you took to build your resources.  This can help shift to a challenge mindset.

Scientists have studied the “threat vs challenge” response in high pressure situations and have found that when under pressure, viewing the situation as a challenge consistently predicts a better performance.  Remember you are not trying to ignore the signs or get rid of the nerves but work with them. Accept that they can serve a beneficial role in your performance.

It’s important to note, performance wasn’t enhanced by a lack of stress or nerves, but by how the nerves were interpreted.  Learn to get those butterflies to fly in formation. 

How will you interpret your nerves going forward?