Welcome to this performance anxiety protocol.
This is designed to have you overcome the anxiety around performing.
This can be anything from public speaking,
Playing a sporting event,
An interview,
Socializing,
And whatever gets you anxious.
The goal isn't to fight the anxiety or to even completely get rid of it.
The goal is to rise above the anxiety and take back control so you can find your flow.
Having some nerves isn't a bad thing,
But when they're so intense and hijack control,
That's the problem.
Grab a seat or lie down,
Get comfortable,
And let's get started.
Let's begin with a powerful breathing technique called the physiological sigh.
Take a full deep inhale through your nose,
Then another short inhale right after,
And then a long exhale through thinly pursed lips.
It goes something like this.
Going for one minute,
Starting now.
Let's move on to 90 seconds of box breathing.
Inhaling for four seconds,
Holding four seconds,
Exhaling for four seconds,
Holding four seconds,
And repeat.
Letting your belly,
Ribs,
And back expand with each inhale and settle down with each exhale.
Starting in three,
Two,
One.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Let's dive into a visual exercise.
You'll be moving back and forth between two states,
Visual focus and horizon gazing.
You'll start with finding a spot no bigger than a coin and stare at this spot with 100% of your attention.
Then,
After 30 seconds,
You'll move on to horizon gazing.
This is the complete opposite.
You'll focus on your visual field as a whole,
Taking in everything from your peripherals to what's in front of you,
All at once.
Please breathe normally and blink as needed.
Starting with visual focus,
Find your spot and begin.
Moving to horizon gazing,
Relax the eyes,
Take everything in.
Now back to visual focus for 30 seconds.
Back to horizon gazing for 30 seconds.
Let's end with a powerful visualization technique called procedure visualization.
Feel free to close your eyes.
Imagine yourself before the event that gets you nervous.
Notice how you're feeling.
Perhaps you're a little anxious,
Maybe even very anxious.
Just acknowledge and observe these feelings without judging them or trying to push them away.
Now envision yourself calmly taking control of that nervous energy,
Transforming it into focused and steady confidence.
Begin visualizing yourself performing with this newfound confidence.
You may still have some nerves,
But your mental control has taken over,
So those nerves are nothing but background noise.
You keep performing like you're meant to be there.
At this point,
You're in the flow.
Even if you make a mistake or things don't go as planned,
You remain calm and composed,
Knowing you have the self-control to overcome anything that comes your way.
You embrace the moment and rise above any resistance that's still trying to bring you down.
You get to the end and you are so happy with your performance and effort.
Even though you're anxious,
You managed to gain control and find your flow.
And if something went wrong,
You didn't lose your cool,
You kept going like a pro.
Filled with excitement and can't wait for the next challenge.
Really take a moment to feel and experience this one.
Now get out there and have some fun.
You got this.
