It hangs from the ceiling above your bed while you toss
through the night hours. It waits inside the door of every
employment office you enter. It dogs your footsteps as you
pound the job search pavement. It lounges in an empty chair
as you crawl through another desultory interview. It sits on
your shoulder while you balance your checkbook's alarmingly
diminishing balance.
Its name is anxiety. Composed of fear, self-doubt, guilt,
dread, and self-reproach, it ties your stomach in knots,
makes sweat ooze from your pores, makes your head hurt, your
memory blur, and your concentration dissipate. You can't
wash it away, will it away, or beat it away. The only way to
contain it is to embrace it, to make it your ally and your
friend.
How?
1. Although anxiety can unnerve you and make you feel
paralyzed, consider its ability to energize you. Watch it
carefully, without emotion or judgment distorting your
vision, and you will see it raise the hairs on your neck,
excite your thought processes, heighten your senses, stir
your imagination and make you keenly aware of being alive.
Trace its pathway through your body, coursing through your
veins and touching every pore, every organ, every extremity.
Instead of fighting it, hold it close it as if it were a
natural amphetamine, a pill that makes you feel a little
strange but also exhilarated.
2. Learn to recognize when it will come and anticipate its
arrival with excitement. Without it, you are flat, beaten,
dejected. Wait for it to come, welcome it, and view it as
your body's ally to focus yourself on the job search
situation. Have your anxiety stay close to you, forcing you
to be aware of your surroundings and ready to express your
thoughts and feelings to a potential employer with
enthusiasm and energy.
3. Talk to your anxiety as with an old friend. Look at it as
your best personal source of camaraderie, loyalty, and
friendly support. Let it work for you, not against you and
you have not only tamed the beast but have created a more
enjoyable and positive environment for yourself. Your self-
doubts will always linger but they are at a manageable level
where you can calmly push them into the background while you
concentrate on making a great self-presentation.
After a short amount of practice, you will find yourself
almost in a panic before the anxiety arrives because you
need that charge of energy to get you going and move you
forward. Try it and see if it works for you.
