Standing on the brink

Last night at 12:01 am I took the next step forward with the search for the life I want. I registered for my classes at the junior college. Doing this has made the going back to school idea that much more real for me and I am starting to get nervous and excited about the semester ahead. These are feeling we all deal with every time we start a new project or commit to any big decision in our lives. How we deal with these emotions can play a big part in how well the project turns out in the end.

There are two different emotions and mental states that we need to deal with in this situation: Nervousness and Excitement. The two often go hand in hand but must be dealt with in diffident ways to increase our opportunities for successes.

Let’s start by looking at nervousness. We get nervous when we worry about failing or when we think something will be too hard. It is not enough to just push the nagging worrisome thoughts out of our head and ignore them. Instead we must look at each worry and weigh it on the basses of its rationality. How do we know if a worry is rational or irrational? By knowing ourselves and being aware of our strengthens and our weaknesses. By knowing your self you will know the areas that could become stumbling blocks for you and when the voice of worry is preaching on the same topic then it is time to do something about it. By creating a plan ahead of time to deal with a possible negative situation if it does arise you will not be caught flat footed. Instead of being knocked to the ground and having to pick yourself back up you will be able to side step the problem and keep moving forward to your goal. The other important thing to remember is what I will call Quinn's first rule: "We only fail when we stop trying."


Now to deal with excitement: The excitement of a new endeavor is what takes us from standing on the brink of doing something great in to the actual action of doing it. The downside of excitement is that it where off a few weeks in when everything starts to become work. We need to nurture our excitement and keep rekindling it. Before you start your new project take a moment look at how you feel and capture that moment and feeling in your mind. Then when the hard work starts to bog you down pull out that mental snapshot and embrace that sens of excitement. By keeping your goals tide to your passion relighting the fire of excitement becomes easy. Remember we are doing what we are doing to achieve something we want, something that excites us.

When we are standing on the brink of a large life changing event it is natural to feel exhilarated by what is coming while still being apprehensive. We worry about if things will work out and if we will be able to achieve the things that we have set out to do. We look forward to getting started and making progress. By nurturing the excitement and addressing the worries we greatly increase our ability to succeed.

As always feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day.