Call It Excitement for a Moment
Sometimes anxiety arrives before the thing itself.
Before a phone call.
Before entering a room.
Before answering a difficult question.
Before sending something that matters.
Before beginning a task you are not sure you can do.
The body tightens.
Then the mind says:
I need to calm down before I can do this.
Sometimes calm comes.
But sometimes trying to become calm gives you one more thing to struggle with.
Now there is the task.
There is the anxious feeling.
And there is the pressure to make the anxious feeling go away.
But you may not need to make it go away.
You may only need a different way to carry it into the next moment.
Consider this:
Anxiety and excitement can both feel like energy gathering in the body.
A quicker heartbeat.
A little heat.
A restless urge to move.
A sense that something is about to happen.
Those sensations do not always tell you what the energy means.
Try this:
The next time ordinary anxiety appears, do not try to calm yourself before you start.
Quietly say:
I am excited.
Say it a few times, without arguing with whatever else you feel.
Then take the next small action.
Make the call.
Open the door.
Answer the first question.
Send the message.
Begin with the smallest part of the task.
You are not trying to prove you aren't nervous.
You are not covering fear with positive thinking.
You are not promising that everything will go well.
You are simply giving the energy you already have another possible direction.
Yes, the anxiety may still be there.
Your hands may still feel unsteady.
You may still wish the moment were easier.
That is all right.
Don't try to make yourself feel excited.
The practice is to stop requiring calm before you start.
This is a small experiment for ordinary moments of nervousness or tension.
It is not meant to explain away severe or persistent anxiety, or anything that needs medical or professional care.
But in the smaller moments, you may find that you do not need to become calm before you begin.
You can use the energy that is already here.
Call it excitement for a moment.
Then move.
Looking for small ways to make more room in your life for what matters? Here's a guide that might be helpful: Making Your Days Your Own.