When someone says prepare to fail, it used to make my stomach drop.
Ego isn’t something my mind takes lightly. Doing things to avoid failure is one of the meta drawbacks I have dealt with. I had various methods, from using my sense of humor, to quitting, to just plain making excuses to get out of things that I didn’t see myself winning. And I did this for everything, from video games to classes in college. My friends used to make me sit behind them so I didn’t “trip” and turn off the game system.
We are talking that deep.
So when I heard of negative visualization, or the act of visualizing the worst possible scenario and sitting in it, I thought it wasn’t for me. My ego couldn’t take that hit, and I couldn’t admit to that being the cause (the ego loves to hide) . I read about it, pushed it to the far recesses of my memory, labeled it something to talk about at networking events to sound interesting , and didn’t think about it again until it popped up in another article,book,or conversation I was having.
Then, I ended up booked(I do stand up comedy) at a show I didn’t prepare for.
Usually this isn’t a problem when it’s in some bar, where the stakes were lower, but this was a much bigger event. And, I had to do new material, none of the things I’ve honed over the years. This added a new level of stress.
I tried a bunch of methods, and I calmed myself, but I didn’t feel ready. Then, I remembered negative visualization. I sat down, closed my eyes, and imagined, second by second, everyone at the show not laughing, none of my jokes working, and people getting angry.
I fought my ego every step of the way, but eventually I got through it. I opened my eyes, and suddenly, I felt better. The anxiety lifted.
Soon I performed, and with that baseline in my head, the second I got my first laugh, the rest was gravy.
This technique helped my life by showing me that the worst, when you think about it, and mentally live through it, isn’t the boogie man. It is just a moment in your life.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 