The first time I ever spoke in front of a large audience, I was terrified. Even the (ironic) comfort that the topic was “my fear of public speaking” didn’t help.
Tag: tools
Sort of Fake It till you Sort of Make It
[post status: a quick & messy throwaway thought] It’s a two-way street between our feelings and our actions. Sometimes we perform well because we’re confident, but acting confident also helps our performance. Hence the popular advice: “Fake it till you make it!”
Using Anxiety Against Itself: The Power Of Failure Modes
[Today, for a change, a serious discussion. No jokes!] Let’s borrow a concept from the world of engineering and talk about Failure Modes.
The Insultingly Simple Guide to Breathing
Breathing has become strangely fashionable in recent months. Not only is everyone doing it, they’re talking about it a lot too: “Just breathe”… “Focus on your breath”… “Breathe your way out of a panic attack”… “Our most powerful weapon against anxiety is our breath”…”BREATHE YOU FOOL, BREATHE, QUICK, THEY’RE COMING, WE HAVEN’T GOT MUCH TIME”…
Laughing at Anxiety – Or With It – Or Something
[I originally wrote this article for the Huffington Post – click here to see it in its natural habitat] Laughter is the best medicine. (Unless you’re trying to treat insomnia, in which case laughter is at best highly inconvenient or – more likely – annoying beyond belief.) But how useful is laughter for the anxious?…