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Our capacity to cope successfully with
life's challenges far outweighs our capacity to feel nervousness.
Yet in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to an event that we believe will
test our limits, we can become anxious. We then become increasingly worked up
until the moment of truth arrives, and we discover that our worry was all for
nothing. We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe
ourselves to be. But anxiety is not rational in nature, which means that in
most cases we cannot work through it using logic as our only tool. Reason can
help us recognize the relative futility of unwarranted worry but, more often
than not, we will find more comfort in patterns of thought and activity that
redirect our attention to practical or engaging matters. Most of us find it remarkably difficult to
focus on two distinct thoughts or emotions at once, and we can use this
natural human limitation to our advantage when trying to stay centered in the
period leading up to a potentially tricky experience. When we concentrate on
something unrelated to our worry — such as deep breathing, visualizations of
success, pleasurable pursuits, or exercise — anxiety dissipates naturally.
Meditation is also a useful coping mechanism as it provides us with a means
to ground ourselves in the moment. Our guides can aid us by providing us with
a focal point completely outside of our own sphere. The intense emotional flare-up you
experience just before you are set to challenge yourself is often a mixture
of both excitement and fear. When you take steps to eliminate the fear, you
can more fully enjoy the excitement. Though you may find it difficult to
avoid getting worked up, your awareness of the forces acting on your feelings
will help you return to your center and accept that very few of the hurdles
you will face will be as high as they at first appear. |
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