Being nervous about something means that it is something worth doing.
My daughter woke up very nervous this morning.
She was singing at the elementary school variety show today – outdoors on the playground, in front of the entire school from DK-5th grade. It was a big crowd, and it was understandable to be nervous.
In another time, I might have said, “Don’t be nervous! Everything’s going to be fine.” To attempt to reassure and mitigate the fear. But today I took a different approach.
Being nervous, I explained to her, is a sign that you think something is important. If you didn’t think the outcome of your performance mattered, would you be nervous? Of course not! So the nerves prove that you think this is important.
That means that whenever you feel nerves, it’s because you’re doing something important. Rather than think of nervousness as something to be mitigated and avoided, think of it as a sign you are doing something important.