Nervousness happens when you view yourself from others’ eyes. You have to learn to respect your own intelligence and pattern of growth. A cat has its own qualities and the dog its own. One has to optimise one’s potential and not compare and whip oneself with others’ potential.
Why do I get nervous when I have to make a presentation in front of others?
There are three patterns one has to be aware of: looking good, feeling good and being good. Looking good is where most of us operate and the best platform to come from is being good. Looking good depends on others’ endorsement. It makes you nervous thinking whether they will appreciate you or not.
How to change this pattern from looking good to feeling good to being good?
Drop giving importance to looking good; don’t be crazy to win others’ appreciation. Others’ appreciation may be needed in corporate life, but one need not be crazy about it. Such crazy energies give you imbalance. Imbalanced energy is a disease. Disease is when ease is disturbed.
Transfer giving importance from looking good to feeling good. Just feel good. You take a bath, there is a spontaneous experience of feeling good but validate by telling yourself that it feels great. Talk to yourself and just give bodily expression to your feeling good.
But the most important thing is changing your values to believing that being good is the most important thing. Value is a value if the value is of value. Be in the company of people who value being good as their top priority. Their energies will influence you.
Whenever you are nervous check yourself and change yourself to being good. Don’t suppress your energy of being nervous. Create pockets of psychological exercises to ‘let go’ these energies … by screaming, dancing and by doing certain types of meditations. When you don’t give physical vent to your nervousness by laughing or screaming, then they get deposited in your body and subconscious. Then they start controlling or influencing your life. You express nervousness through actions like biting your nails and shaking your legs.
If one does not transform nervousness into intelligence, then one will be more cunning and try to justify oneself, rather than being wise.
Reflect on this.
A young girl asked her teacher, “Should teachers be fair or unfair?”
“Definitely fair,” replied the teacher.
“It is wrong to be unfair, isn’t it?” asked the student.
“Do you think I am unintelligent?” asked the teacher.
“Should I be punished for something I have not done?” asked the student.
“It is unfair if someone does that,” replied the teacher.
“So, I should not be punished for something I have not done,” said the student.
“I know that,” replied the teacher.
“Then why are you punishing me for the homework I have not done – that is unfair and wrong,” said the witty student.
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