I was a very shy and anxious kid growing up, and where I’ve gotten a lot better, sometimes I still feel that extreme inner child anxiousness where it feels like the world is crashing down around you. Where it feels like your mind is being squished and then pulled apart; your heart racing so fast you can feel it pulsing throughout your whole body. Dealing with this is no easy task, but I learned a great way to alleviate and actually turn these nerves into something good.
One of the hardest things for me when I started karate was competition; I actually didn’t compete at all until I was already a blue belt getting ready to test for my black belt. I was so anxious I could barely speak in front of others, let alone demonstrate my karate. My instructor would tell us to use your nerves, harness them into energy and power. The more nervous you are, kihap louder! It was a total lightbulb moment for me; my anxious mind tells me to shut down, but if I take that nervousness and use it to create energy, it becomes a positive release of the negative emotion!
Now, whenever I have anxiety, whether it’s for an event or just everyday anxiousness, I’ll try and transfer it into energy. If I can, I’ll go to the gym or karate, hopefully getting to hit something. If I don’t have time, I’ll just walk around/pace to try and get the nerves out. It’s a very healthy way to cope, and it’s been pretty successful for me. Try it out sometime!
