Ananya’s Review with CLARITY
Focus On The Challange
Her first Review was of a presentation she had given to the rest of her team at work. She had been very nervous but got through to the end. Her team found it very useful, even though her nerves nearly got the better of her.
Learn Your Automatic Stress Response
Review helped Ananya surface the warning signs of her panic response;
- She imagined the challenge leading to humiliation.
- Her heart thumping
- A surge of adrenalin.
- Panicky, unable to collect her thoughts.
- Stuttering and waffling.
Once CLARITY had focused her thinking, she found it pretty easy to spot these signs. And they were typical of all her stress responses.
Assess Identity Beliefs
Review helped Ananya to surface her Limiting Identity Belief (LIB). Using the questions I outlined in the previous section, she dragged her LIB out from the deep recesses of her System 1 mind. And now, for the first time, she was aware of it and its hold on her.
As we discussed above, it was, “I’m useless”.
Spotlight Link Between Identity Beliefs And Response.
Ananya gained clarity when she saw the link between her Limiting Identity Belief, “I’m useless”, and her panic reaction.
Her IB, formed in childhood, led her System 1 mind to assume that if she had to present to a crowd, people would see her as useless and reject her.
Her mind triggered the FFF to “protect” her from this imagined threat. FFF was the source of all her nerves.
With this insight, Ananya could see that the root cause of her panic was an out-of-date and false belief. For the first time, she realised her anxiety stemmed from her mind’s attempt to avoid a nonexistent danger.
This revelation freed her from feeling that her panic response was inevitable. It allowed her to regain control over her emotions and reactions.
Halt With 7-11 Breathing
Ananya quickly used this insight to improve her abilities under pressure. She would spot the warning signs, which began with her heart thumping, and start 7 – 11 breathing.
Ananya often practised 7-11 when she was calm. She used to do it sitting at her desk while working. So when she was stressed, she could do it quite easily.
And she felt immediate relief from this simple and easy drill. She would say something to herself like, “I can do this, I’m more than good enough”.
This worked very well. Ananya could now interrupt the process that created her stress response. But, as helpful as this was, R&P is much more than some insight and upbeat affirmations.
This good start is the stable ground on which her self-confident and high-performing state of mind would be built.
Up Next: How CLARITY Part 2 harnesses your superpowers to nurture a High IDQ.
Do you want to unlock your unique strengths and talents and perform under pressure? The next chapter reveals how to identify your abilities and attributes (SQAs), the building blocks of confidence, belief and mental strength.
Click ‘Review with CLARITY Part 2’ below and learn potent yet simple drills to discover your SQAs and nurture your High IDQ.