“I’ve always longed for adventure. To do the things I’ve never dared And here I’m facing adventure then why am I so scared.”
Walking to the podium to speak to an audience? Slipping behind the wheel for your first driving test? Standing on the first tee at Augusta National? Watching your bride walk down the aisle toward you? Nervous, doesn’t quite describe how you feel. Sweaty palms? Weak knees? We all get nervous. Even the pros. The question is how do you get your butterflies to fly in formation?
“It (Confidence) tells me all I trust I lead my heart to. All I trust becomes my own. I have confidence in confidence alone. Besides which you see I have confidence in me!”
As Maria von Trapp (played by Julie Andrews in Sound of Music) begins her trip to serve as the governess to a widower and his seven children. A position she’s always wanted, but she’s scared now that the opportunity is here. She realizes that sometimes one just has to have confidence that by stepping out confidence will come.
Some hesitate in learning new activities like public speaking or playing golf. Often it’s because they’re afraid that they will look bad. So, how do you minimize your butterflies (or at least get them flying in formation)?
- Preparation. Decide what you want to say. Figure out what shot you want to hit. Prepare your speech opening with your audience in mind. Create a solid pre-shot routine. Simplify each of your points. Practice taking the swings you will need during your round. Close with a strong emotional statement that pulls your points together. Make 3-foot putts into each hole on the practice green.
- Visualization. Checkout the auditorium where you will be speaking ahead of time. Walk out on the first tee. Stand at the podium. Picture yourself standing in that same spot. See the ball land in the middle of the fairway. Imagine the audience listening to your every word. Visualization can help each of us overcome demons of panic and the tendencies of flight and fight.
- Sensation. Your five senses tell your brain what’s going on around you at all times. You may not be aware of them, but your brain knows. Take a big whiff of the smell of the green grass. Feel the edge of the podium. Hear the birds flying overhead. Take a sip of water. Look around you.
- Execution. Sometimes the only thing standing between you and significant accomplishment is to just do it. Stand up. Go through your pre-shot routine. Waiting for confidence is like waiting for pigs to fly. Speak up. Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly during your backswing and just rip it. It’s just not going to happen by itself. Stepping out is the only way to step through.
“All I trust becomes my own.” When all is said and done what do you want out of your life? Prepare it. See it. Feel it. Trust it. Own it.
Quotations are from “I Have Confidence.” Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein. 1961.
