If you asked most people if they like being nervous, they'd say no.
And sometimes, no question about it, being nervous is terrible because there's something very serious on the line, like the results of a medical test.
But most of the time, nervousness is a good thing and it should be embraced. It's energy to harness.
That's the thing - you have to decide to harness it, instead of letting it hose you.
I wake up nervous every morning.
It's a combination of excitement, passion, and, yes, fear. I think anyone who's ambitious carries a little fear around with them - the fear of losing what you've built for yourself.
That fear fuels your ambition to build even more.
Sandy Koufax once said: "Sometimes the most terrified people do the best work." He would have known, too; did you know he had a fear of crowds?
Wayne Gretzky spoke of nervousness in a similar way. "A fear of failure drives the great athletes," he said. The Great One was driven by a fear of losing his greatness. It spurred him to build on it.
When you wake up, you can't be passive about the day's possibilities.
The day owes you nothing.
You owe the day.
You owe the day effort.
Your nervousness is the energy you're going to burn in that effort.
So embrace that nervousness, that energy.
Love it. Harness it.
And unleash it on the unsuspecting day!
If you can bring yourself to do this, it won't eliminate your nerves. We were meant to be nervous.
But I promise you this - it will change the way you feel about nervousness.
Eventually you'll learn that nervousness is a good feeling.
As long as you make use of it.
