High performance athletes have this ability to freak out right before an event. The same thing goes for actors, almost total and utter panic! Have you ever had to speak in front of a crowd? Research says public speaking and heights are the two biggest fears, so imagine your anxiety right before you step to that really tall podium!!! Yikes!!! But what the best athletes, actors and public speakers do to conquer this fear is what should amaze us. Do you know what that is? A little red box...
Well, not really, that's my new trick. But what does work is the idea of channeling your anxiety into a mental object. I use a small red box (not really sure why). I ask my anxiety, fears and concerns to flow gently into the box. I focus on the box. I'm staring at it in my mind. I see the concerns as images, and they ride, like on a wave, into the box. It opens and takes them in, but it doesn't grow. The little red box stays the same size. It has infinite space... There's no peeking inside. I can only see the outside... But this little red box has a unique feature that seems contrary to its lack of growth, it can burst!
Just at the moment when I need that energy, all that raw emotion, I can open the box and push all that junk out and WHAM! I'm on a wild ride of power... The trick is to focus on the box, store your energy, but pull from it as you need it... I'm not expert here, but thinking of this tactic has really calmed my spirit, when it needs to be soothed.
Comments