Stress is an interesting phenomenon – we think of it as a bad thing, but without it, nothing would ever happen in the world. How can we use it to our advantage?

There is a thin line between stress and excitement, and in fact they have many of the same physical manifestations – sweaty palms, fluttery stomach, rapid heartbeat, shallow breathing. How do you know which one you are feeling? You have to get it from context, because your body can’t really tell the difference.

If you are about to stand up and perform before a room full of people, you may feel those sensations, caused by the release of adrenaline into your body. It’s called the fight-or-flight response, and it’s caused by what appears to be a threat. Many people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death – as I heard someone say, they’d rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy. You might want to run away, and you might feel like you are going to stumble over your words and do a terrible job.

But what if you are about to do something that makes you really happy and excited? Maybe you are at the airport to pick up your beloved. You might feel the same body sensations, and yet you aren’t afraid or wanting to run away – you can’t wait to see them, and you might be jumping up and down with anticipation and excitement, feeling like your heart is about to burst out of your chest, as you wait for them to emerge into the arrivals hall. 

How do you know which is which? Your mind is the one that is interpreting the bodily sensations, and telling you whether you feel awful or wonderful. What if you were able to choose what you feel, regardless of the external situation?

Bruce Springsteen is known for doing exactly that – transforming his pre-performance nerves into excitement, so he can channel that energy into a great show. Tiger Woods has been quoted as saying that the day he stops feeling nervous on the golf course, he would quit. Those nerves and stress reactions can be transformed into the kind of excitement and energy that electrifies a room or leads to a great performance.

So how do they do that? By breathing, and by self-talk. Breath can be used to calm ourselves down if we feel that is necessary, but if you are looking to transform the stress rather than get rid of it, you don’t want to lose the energy. So don’t make your breath too deep and relaxing – just enough to avoid becoming lightheaded. 

More importantly, talk to yourself – rather than saying “I’m so anxious” or “I’m so stressed”, say “I’m so excited”. The physical sensations are the same, so your body will only know what you are actually feeling when you tell it what to feel. If you label the sensations of shallow breathing, sweaty palms, and a churning stomach as anxiety or stress, that is what you will feel. If you tell yourself that you are excited, you may well surprise yourself at how much better it feels.

Are you going to give it a try? I’d love to hear back from you – tell me how it worked for you!