Is anxiety sometimes a case of mistaken identity? A mental shift can turn anxiety into excitement while increasing confidence.
I once heard someone say “If you’re surrounded by chaos your life is chaotic.”
But oddly, sometimes the entities causing the chaos seem to be having a lot of fun.
Kids at the park. Cats tearing around the house. Drunk people at parties to name a few.
What if with a little tweak, we could reframe these threats to our peace, as a challenge or game?
Is your anxiety actually an aversion to excitement? Is excitement and uncertainty a scary feeling to you? Because some people like to feel excited. Like on a roller coaster. Some people hate it and confuse any arousal as anxiety.
But both anxiety and excitement are similar arousal states felt during anticipation.
Here’s whats the same and different about them.
Anxiety is connected to negative valence, uncertainty, and a lack of control.
Negative valence systems are responsible for responses to perceived negative situations. Things such as fear, anxiety, and loss. It’s a state of distress to stimuli and the potential for undesirable outcomes.
When you feel anxious, you tend to focus on the potential negative outcomes of future events. And you believe that those outcomes are more likely to occur.
Those beliefs can lead you to have lower self-confidence. This means shying away from risks and struggling while learning.
Excitement on the other hand, is characterized as positive valence and optimistic.
How you feel in reaction to stimuli in the environment is a powerful tool. It helps shift negative stress states to more positive ones. This causes you to learn quicker, respond better and feel good.
When excited, we focus on the possible positive outcomes of upcoming events. Things will turn out the way we want and continue that way.
Excitement and anxiety have opposite effects on learning ability, motivation, and performance. But how your body reacts to anxiety and excitement are very much the same. They both feature highly aroused states and elevated heart rate.
And it’s much easier to switch between similar states than opposite ones. Going from anxious to calm requires lowering heart rate and changing perspective. Whereas going from anxious to excited only requires a mental reframing.
It’s all about your brains wiring and how you interpret what you have experienced or think MAY happen. I love thunderstorms. You hay hate them if you’ve had a bad experience with one.
Anxiety feels out of control. Excitement is a different animal but… the difference is a mental construct.
The Confidence Anxiety Connection
Here’s where it all ties together.
To be confident in yourself, you must be able to rely on yourself in times of trouble. You have to know you are capable of handling whatever comes your way, regardless of what people say or do to you.
Self reliance is the cornerstone of confidence. If you always need others opinions or help to make decisions, you are never in charge of yourself.
Anxious people frequently look for others advice, even if it’s bad advice. They don’t trust themselves or feel confident in their own abilities. They doubt their ability to come to the correct conclusions.
This is not a helpful life trait.
Feeling anxious instead of excited, kills your self confidence. You’re less likely to take even well calculated risks. This is a major obstacle to success and general enjoyment of life across the board.
Be unafraid of anyone or anything and you are free to act, in your own best interests.
Anxiety takes away control in your motivation, behaviour, and social environment.
Getting excited instead of anxious.
Confidence affects your negotiations with life. Do you settle or do you believe in yourself?
Believe it or not, it can be as easy as saying to yourself, “I’m excited.”
Todays Takeaway: Morphing your anxiety into excitement will help you perform better than if you don’t. Positive self-talk works. Changing the way we think can change the way we feel.
Telling yourself out loud that you are excited tells your brain that the bodily effects you are feeling are excitement and not anxiousness. So while they feel the same, you can change your mindset by focusing on positive outcomes. Say the words as outward inputs.
Use the anxious power that is already there to your energetic benefit. Use it and don’t try to calm down.
Research Paper – Get Excited: Reappraising Pre-Performance Anxiety as Excitement