What Anxiety Really Is

"Anxiety is practicing failure in advance."

-Seth Godin

What a quote! Seth Godin is in my opinion the most insightful thought leader of our time with regards to a whole lot of subjects but this might be my favorite quote of his ever.

If you suffer from performance anxiety maybe you should sign up for something like this?

That Anxiety Ain't Helping

"No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen."

-Alan Watts

Anxiety about a concert, a job interview, or anything else is never going to help make it go any better.  I always find that when my mind wanders and starts to act against my best interests that it helps for me to focus on things that I can control.

Two things that I can't control: the past and the future.  Even if I know deep down that I should have prepared more for something, worrying about that now will not help anything.  Even if I am being reasonable in expecting bad news in the near future, worrying about that will always distract me from taking the next positive step.

For some it is meditation, for some it is prayer, for others it is listening to their favorite music.  Find whatever it is that gets you focused on the here and now and you will be amazed at how it puts you in the best possible position to succeed.

My tuba backstage next to some taiko drums before a Boston Brass performance in the mountain town of Yuzawa in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan.

Confidence as a Byprodct of Preparedness

“Confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a result of hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication.”

—Roger Staubach

Whether an athlete or a musician, confidence is a byproduct of knowing deep down that you've done absolutely everything you could to be prepared for whatever task is in front of you.