Is there upcoming event that you feel apprehensive about? Or is there something you need to do and every time you think about it you feel nervous? In today’s UPdate I am going to share some tricks that will combat anxiety that truly work. How do I know they work? I use them myself!

This past week I traveled through the Midwest to do television interviews as part of my work with the Zync Quarterlife Project.  And I was nervous!  Even though I’ve had experience being on TV, I discovered some unwanted knots in my stomach leading up to the interviews.   Fortunately, I know that anxiety is a useless AND malleable state so I took action steps to relieve myself of it.

Let’s face it, anxiety just gets in the way of enjoying the process of anything we do and becomes a barrier to doing our best!  To follow are two powerful tips to dealing with anxiety or nervous anticipation.

The first is the power of visualization and anchoring. Fortunately for me, my mom is a hypnotherapist so I was able to reach out to her to walk me through a guided imagery process.  But don’t worry; you can totally do this on your own by simply guiding yourself through the process I am sharing.  To begin, I saw myself journey to a very peaceful place and then visualized with great concentration conducting the interview with eloquence, passion, articulation, insight, likability and confidence. Not only did I see myself, I heard my voice and felt the calmness in my body to produce a kinesthetic experience. While this was happening, I formed what is called an anchor by pressing my thumb and forefinger together. Forming a physical anchor during a powerful visualization process is like taking a snapshot of your state of being at the time.  Once an anchor is formed, each time you produce that anchor, you will reference the desired physiological state that you took the snapshot of.  My anchor became my secret lucky charm during each of the interviews.  I’d press my thumb and forefinger together and voila! I was immediately in the state that I created in my visualization.  If you look closely at the clip I posted below, you can see I am doing it when my hands are in my lap.

My second tip is a NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) technique that I refer to as the “post 15 process” when anxiety rears its ugly head. Begin by calling forward your visualization of the event you are anxious about going exactly how you want it to go – in fact, see it going even better than your wildest dreams.  See it, hear it, smell it, feel it and then turn the colors, size, volume, scent, and feelings WAY up so that your visualization becomes bigger and brighter.  Then project yourself into the future 15 minutes AFTER the event you just visualized is over. I assure you that as soon as you move your awareness into a future that is 15 minutes after the successful completion of the event, the anxiety will be gone.

Another thing to remember when you are feeling nervous about something is that the line between nervousness and excitement is very thin.  We often misinterpret being nervous about something when we are actually excited.  The next time you feel nervous energy in your belly, consider taking a sharp, fast inhale and move the energy upward into an elevated feeling of excitement.  Then exhale as you relax into the present moment.

Whatever that thing is that you are anticipating, let all that worrisome energy go! You have the inner tools and ability to shift your consciousness.  We may not always be able to control our circumstance but we can always influence our state of being.

Love,

Christine

“Everyone has got it in him, if he will only make up his mind and stick at it. None of us is born with a stop-valve on his powers or with a set limit to his capacities. There is no limit possible to the expansion of each one of us.” – Charles Schwab