Cloud Hosting

Getty

Whether you signed up to take the bar exam or you are about to deliver a do-or-die presentation, your mindset determines whether you rise to the occasion or crumble under the pressure in an anxiety provoking situation.

Anxiety feels uncomfortable. So your natural defense might be to avoid these types of situations altogether.

Your mind and your body might try to convince you that you cant handle the stress. But giving into that fear is the only way youre certain to fail.

Champions know how to rise to the occasion during an anxiety provoking situation. They perform their best when their is much at stake.

Heres how to stay mentally strong when youre faced with an anxiety provoking situation:

Contrary to what you might think, anxiety is not all in your mind. It is also waging a war with your body.

Anxiety produces a variety of physical symptoms too, like sweaty palms and a rapid heartbeat. These physiological signs of anxiety will likely fuel your anxious thoughts and feelings. When your body acts like its in a state of panic, your mind will probably begin to freak out.

Fortunately, you can calm your body when you begin to experience this fight-or-flight response.

A couple of slow, deep breaths might go a long way to calming your mind and your body. Heres how to practice:

Slow, deep breaths can reduce your physical symptoms, help you become more present in the moment, and prevent you from developing a doom-and-gloom mindset.

So whenever you feel yourself panicwhether youre presented with a life-changing opportunity or youre doing simple that evokes a lot of fearuse this deep breathing exercise to calm yourself.

Anxious feelings lead to anxious thoughts. So when you feel afraid, you might convince yourself youre going to fail. Or you might tell yourself you should give up.

Those anxious thoughts will increase your feelings of anxiety. That leads to a vicious downward spiral thats hard to break.

Fortunately, you can break this cycle by giving yourself a quick pep talk. Ask yourself, What would I say to a trusted friend who was in this situation? Then, give yourself that same advice.

Whether you think, "All you can do is your best" or "Go knock 'em dead!" those words of encouragement can give you a quick boost in mental strength and help you enter the situation with a champion-like mindset.

Dont waste your valuable energy on things you cant control. Stay focused on yourself.

You can control how many people you introduce yourself to at a networking event, but you cant control whether people follow up with you. You can control the delivery of your speech but you cant control how receptive the audience is.

When you catch yourself thinking about things you cant control, refocus your energy. Remind yourself that you are only responsible for what you do and you cant control how other people think, feel, or behave.

It can even help to have your own mantra that you repeat beforehand as many times as you need to. Say to yourself out loud something like "Do your best" each time you catch yourself thinking about things outside your control.

Imagination fuels anxiety. All too often we imagine the worst-case scenario. What if no one likes me at the party? What if I stumble over words? What if I cant think of anything interesting to say?

Those catastrophic thoughts can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. As you worry about stumbling on your words, you might grow distracted and forget what you were saying. Or, as you focus too much on whether people like you, you might not engage in authentic, meaningful conversations.

To keep your anxiety at bay about all those what ifs, create an if...then plan.

Establish how youll respond if the problem youre worrying about actually happens.

If I get nervous during my speech, then Ill take a few deep breaths and look at my notes. If I cant think of anything interesting to say, then Ill ask about where they grew up.

Developing a plan for the worst case scenario will eliminate your need to keep worrying about disastrous outcomes. And itll free up your mind to focus on more important things.

Trying too hard to fight anxiety can be a waste of energy. Its not productive to tell yourself things like My anxiety must mean Im not good enough for this or I cant handle feeling anxious. Youll just drain yourself of the mental strength you need to perform at your peak.

Concentrate your efforts on building courage rather than trying to reduce your anxiety.

Embrace a little anxiety, rather than fight it. Remind yourself that anxious feelings are proof that you are doing something challenging and important.

Regardless of whether you delivered your speech perfectly or you nailed every nerve-racking interview question perfectly, congratulate yourself for facing your fears.

Tackling anxiety provoking situations head-on gets easier with practice. But it also helps sharpen your skills.

Every tough challenge gives you an opportunity to build more mental muscle. And each step you take toward becoming mentally stronger is one step toward reaching your greatest potential.

Link:

How To Face An Anxiety Provoking Situation Like A Champion - Forbes