Attempting to control anxious thoughts with more thoughts ("top-down") is often ineffective. A more efficient strategy is to first regulate your body's physiology through techniques like controlled breathing ("bottom-up"), which then sends safety signals to the brain, making cognitive shifts easier.

The physiological states of anxiety and excitement are nearly identical. Relabeling the feeling by saying "I'm excited" shifts your mindset from threat-based to opportunity-based, improving performance in tasks like public speaking or negotiation.

Shift your mindset away from a pass/fail evaluation, which fuels anxiety about uncontrollable outcomes. Instead, approach the situation as a curious exploration. This reframe lowers the psychological stakes, reduces nervousness, and allows for more authentic and effective engagement.

Top performers don't conquer nervousness; they listen to it. Self-doubt is an indicator to lean into, not a signal to stop. Performance coach Giselle Ugardi suggests talking back to your inner critic as a way to reframe and manage the feeling, rather than trying to suppress it.

Instead of treating fear as a psychological flaw, view it as a neutral, physical vibration in the body. This atomic perspective, inspired by physics, allows you to step out of self-judgment and use the energy creatively. You stop managing the 'idea' of anxiety and start experiencing the raw sensation.

Instead of viewing anxiety as a negative emotion to be eliminated, reframe it as a helpful signal. Anxiety arises from perceived uncertainty about something you value. Recognizing this connection transforms it from a threat into an indicator of what's important to you, enabling a more productive response.

Don't aim to eliminate negative emotions. Instead, reframe them as valuable data. A little anxiety signals the need to prepare for a performance. Anger indicates a personal value has been violated, prompting you to intervene. This view allows you to harness emotions for productive action rather than being controlled by them.

Top performers are trained to reframe self-doubt. Instead of internalizing "I am not confident," they observe "I am having thoughts that I'm not confident." This cognitive distancing frees them to perform their tasks, allowing confidence to become an outcome of their actions, not a prerequisite for them.

Instead of viewing pre-performance physiological arousal as anxiety, reframe it as excitement or energy. Sam Harris explains that the physical sensations are nearly identical; consciously relabeling them connects the feeling to a positive desire to perform well, rather than a fear of failure.