318 — How to Turn Anxiety Into a Competitive Advantage With a 2-Minute Play That Tricks Your Brain

Want strategies to help you stay mentally strong right now? Pick up a copy of ⁠The Mental Strength Playbook⁠.
 
Have you ever been about to walk into something important — a big presentation, a tough call, a conversation you’ve been dreading — and your body just completely betrays you? Your heart is pounding, your palms are sweaty, your stomach is in knots. And no matter how many times you tell yourself to just calm down, it doesn’t work?
 
When they physical symptoms of anxiety spike, telling yourself to calm down is usually the worst thing you can do. So today I’m sharing a play that does the opposite of what your instinct tells you to do.
 
Some of the things I talk about are:
 

• What was really happening backstage at my TEDx talk — and why I deliberately didn’t try to calm down
• Why “just calm down” backfires when your anxiety is giving you physical symptoms, like a racing heart
• Why the label your brain puts on your physiological symptoms matters and how to assign it a different label
• How a threat mindset quietly sabotages your performance, and what flips you into an opportunity mindset instead
• The story of an NBA player whose game-day jitters were wrecking his performance — and the small change that turned his nerves into fuel
• The four steps to run the play so you can calm down fast
• The two mistakes that wreck this play ( including the subtle one almost everyone gets wrong)
• Why your racing heart isn’t proof that something’s wrong or that you’re not ready

Key Takeaways:

• The difference between anxiety and excitement often lies in how we mentally label our physiological responses.
• By focusing on excitement, you can frame challenges as opportunities rather than threats.
• Pay attention to your physiology and trick your brain into thinking fear is excitement.
• Avoid neutralizing fear. Create your reverse worry list to fuel your excitement and drive your performance.