Many of my coaching clients often ask me: How do I overcome performance anxiety?
Fear of performing in front of others can affect all of us. Even a talented singer like Adele gets nervous before a live show and a professional like Tony Robbins has a powerful warm-up routine before stepping on stage.
Recently, I was in Dubrovnik (Croatia) shooting a promotional video for the company who loaned me my campervan for the Van-Life adventure I’m currently enjoying. I thought I would sail through it having filmed before, a few months earlier in Venice. Instead, anxiety and insecurity cropped up to sabotage my performance.
There are six steps I use in my coaching programmes to help clients achieve more freedom, and which also work for calming performance anxiety too.
Disarm Performance Anxiety !
Over-thinking and people-pleasing are the factors that impact me most. What are yours? Being aware of the blockages helps dealing with them and focus on what’s more important.
Humans are hardwired to seek social acceptance and geared with sophisticated defense mechanisms. They’re triggered at the tiniest perceived danger: shame, failure, and pain all play a part.
My Steps to Overcome Performance Anxiety
1. CHANGE
Get ready to change mindset with the following actions:
- Remove all judgements, do not take things personally and make no assumptions.
- Disregard unfounded fears.
- Snap out of anxiety with calming or energising rituals. Offset trembling voice, shaky hands, memory loss, panic, with happy thoughts, a dance, smiles and slow breaths.
2. UNLEASH THE BEAUTY
I use all tools and knowledge I have, unleashing my unique traits, powers and abilities, like there’s no tomorrow.
Many uncontrollable factors can affect performance: environment, mood, health, and weather but I have control over giving my personal best, push as far as possible in that moment.
3. POWER OF LOVE
All systems need fuelling and ours works best when powered by Love.
Based on like attracts like and Love being unconditional, I fuel up to give my best performance reminding myself to LOVE ME, LOVE what I do, LOVE my audience, and LOVE whatever outcome.
4. HAVE FUN!
Have fun performing and your audience will enjoy it too. I try not to take anything too seriously and get on with living your best life.
5. SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES
Each performance is an opportunity, regardless of outcome. I appreciate failing as much as winning. Worrying about how it will be received takes me away from the focus I need to be my best and the joy of the moment.
6. CHOICE IS OURS
Ultimately, the choice is ours.
I choose whether to change or not, show up in all my beauty or hide behind imaginary fears, fuel up with love or not, enjoy performing or create hardship, appreciate all opportunities or live miserably.
Theory to Practice
Anxiety almost ruined my filming experience.
As the spotlight turned on me, so did my worries about my looks, choice of words, being difficult for the crew, pleasing my sponsors, my viewers opinions, missing opportunities and so on.
The moment I practiced my six steps to overcoming performance anxiety, it all changed.
If you’re looking to overcome anxiety and reach more freedom, so you can get on with living your best life, find out more about my freedom coaching programmes and get in touch below.
