My client called me the day after it happened…
“I went to the emergency room, she said. “I thought I was having a heart attack. I guess I’m really anxious about this speech. Her tone was heavy with shame and self-recrimination.
“Well, it’s better to die of embarrassment than a heart attack,” I said, “but let’s talk about what got you there.”
Anxiousness is a really poor use of imagination.
I am not a doctor and I don’t play one in my coaching practice, but what I see from lots of clients and my own personal observation is
Anxiety is: fear, discomfort and catastrophizing on steroids
Yes, some people genuinely need medicine to alter or interrupt their maladaptive brain patterns,
but the behavioral component of
Stopping what you’re doing that got you into that state is an often overlooked component.
You need to create different body postures and think different thoughts if you want a different outcome
People who are not anxious DONT keep visualizing repetitive catastrophes–
They don’t repeat dialogue in their head that is the equivalent of an accelerant
They interrupt their thoughts if they go astray
They create new pictures
They breathe and move
They change their body postures
They say soothing things
and when their brains go rogue they say: “STOP IT”
They interrupt their patterns because they know it’s easier to stop a car going 5 miles an hour than a train going 100 mph.
Something as simple as “STOP IT” has magical effects.
The perfect illustration is Bob Newhart’s Youtube clip, “STOP IT!”
Humorous, Simple and Divinely wise: A Less than 5-minute counseling session that will help anyone.
Is anxiousness ever a good thing?
Yes, anxiousness is a signal that says you need to get ready. It lets you know something needs to be done. It’s a call alerting you prepare. As you prepare, anxiousness converts to excitement.You may still have a butterfly tingling stomach, but the energy moves you toward taking flight not freezing, crumbling or ending up in the emergency room.
It’s energy speeded up to give you the power to complete something bigger than you thought you could.
As for my client with the fake heart attack…
Together we worked on a few simple exercises, more practice with her speech and some inner and outer game pattern interrupts.
The result?
She gave her speech, got some laughs, connected authentically with her appreciative audience and was asked to speak at another event.
Most importantly she liberated herself from the tyranny of that crazy smack talk and found she was of genuine service to her audience.
What will you STOP so you may release your true gifts?
Make Believe ~Make Belief: Today I will interrupt my negative thoughts and say, ” STOP IT!” change my body posture and breathe.
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