Do you get nervous before important life changing events like a job interview, a performance on stage or delivering a speech to an audience? Being nervous during such moments is natural, however nervousness negatively affects the way you perform during these critical times. You could begin trembling, become fidgety, you could even sweat from your palms. Internally you begin to lose your sense of calm which could even result in a total loss of focus on the crucial moments that you are about to indulge in. Here are a 4 ways to overcome nervousness and perform far better.

1) Be prepared: Being prepared is the biggest key to beating nervousness. Whether you are delivering a presentation, a key note address or a live performance on stage you got to be fully prepared. This means rehearsing several times right up until the big moment. When you have mastered what you are going to deliver you will lose your feelings of being nervous.

2) Breathe: Breathing helps you get a hold of yourself, loosen up and slow down. If you observe your mannerisms just before a crucial meeting or performance, you will notice that you are doing everything in haste and most likely haphazardly. When this happens it is best to pause for a while, find a quiet place to sit down and just keep taking deep breaths for a minute of two. You will instantly feel relaxed and calm.

3) Positive self-talk: Turn the nervous energy into something positive. As soon as you feel nervousness coming up start talking positively to yourself. You could say things like, “I am looking forward to this meeting”, “I am excited to be representing my company at this conference”, “I am feeling blessed to have this opportunity before me”. This will help you get over the nervousness and get into the right mind-set before the occasion.

4) Get rid of expectations: Your brain naturally loves to create a picture of the way you want things to go at the meeting. Such expectations are factors that create more anxiety. Just do your best and leave that which is beyond your control to God or the Universe. Do not be afraid to fail when things do not go as per plan. Be ready for any eventuality with a positive frame of mind.

We got to be confident to perform at our best. Put the above points into practice before your next big moment and let me know if it helps. Do check out my website www.mariosequeira.org for several programs to transform your life and live well.