Confidence and Nerves

Prior to walking into class last night, I found myself trying to calm some nerves and settle my mind.  And I've decided to dig a little deeper into that.

There are many people that simply ooze confidence.  And I don't mean ego....but confidence.

And I'm curious about a few things.

Do those people still also feel nervous?  If not...did they once and how did they manage to get rid of nerves altogether?  Or if they do, how have they figured out how to suppress/ignore/embrace that nervousness so that it doesn't negatively impact what they are about to do?

I'm not sure I would want to be entirely devoid of nervousness.  Nerves are a clear indicator that I deeply care about what I am doing...that it's important to me.  So suppressing or ignoring or trying to rid myself of them, doesn't seem like the right approach.  My gut tells me that nerves are an important part of progress and accomplishment.

So then how do you embrace the nerves?  How do you make them an integral and welcome part of the process, rather than something uncomfortable that could potentially derail your efforts?  I know for me, if my nerves get out of hand, they even start to manifest physically.  Shakiness, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, the inability to take a deep breath, jumpiness...etc.  And then there is the mental component...the mind taking over and sabotaging what I am capable of.  

Ultimately, I think where nervousness becomes a bad thing is when my mind is focused on the negative impact of failure.  What if this doesn't go well?  What if I fail?  Will people look at me negatively?  Am I expected to do well and what will others think if I don't?  How do I confess to those around me that I wasn't successful?  Will I get another chance?  What if I just keep failing?

I think what I'm settling on is that I am okay with feeling nervous.  But I want it to be positive nerves rather than negative ones.  What if I succeed!  What opportunities will that bring?  How will this propel me forward in my goals and in my journey forward?  

All of this digging has been helpful and I feel that focussing on the positive outcomes of any event is definitely the better choice.  But even as I wrote, I felt like I was still missing something.  

I realize now that, whether my nerves shift to the negative or positive, they both have a common trait.  All of these thoughts are based on the future.  They are based on the outcome of the event that I am nervous about.  And it's all a bunch of "what ifs".  So "what if" I simply shift my thoughts to the moment, rather than the outcome?

What an amazing opportunity.  I am so grateful for this moment.

Hm, I think this might be it.