Zeke Thoughts is my branded post where I pick a lesson I have learned, some advice I have taken, or some simply universal truth I have tested with time. Sure I can get preachy but I am rather passionate about helping people, and one of the easiest ways is sharing life hacks that have worked for me.
I have posted this pic of the weekend already because it is a pretty funny group of shiny beautiful idiots. A couple of these guys in our yearly cover band have zero stage or live music performance experience. I can understand how this can be stressful. Nerves can get you when you are in front of many people speaking, performing or anything really. I remember high-school speeches, early musical performances and even my first karaoke song paralyzing me with fear. So I can relate but have overcome so long ago, I barely register it.
Here are a couple things I have come to learn as simple and logical ways of handling this performance anxiety:
Nervousness is just excitement - Nervous is a negative thing. If you can immediately tell yourself that nervousness is just excitement, it REALLY helps.
Those butterflies in your stomach are just a sign you are ready for this - It is a neat concept I took to heart before entering a fight in a tournament. Instead of focusing upon any doubt, trust in the preparation/training you have and know you are ready to win or learn.
Own It - This is the reason I posted the shiny pic in this post. One of the happiest and most confident smiles in this picture was deathly nervous. When he mentioned his performance anxiety to someone else with experience, the advice he was given was "Ah that doesn't matter. Just get up there and own it." I thought about this for a while and recalled all of the imperfect performances I have seen and how they were awesome just the same because the person owned it.
So, I would advise you to take long strides til you die. Do bold things, turn your nervousness into excitement, rejoice in the butterflies, and, no matter what you do, just OWN IT