What commitment have you made that generated a nervous feeling? Was it the uncertainty, the scale of the endeavor, the unknown result, the inability to de-commit?

Feeling nervous can be viewed as a privilege in some situations. We put ourselves on the starting line of a race by choice. However, it can also be generated by external forces, a deadline, a demand placed on us, or unfortunate circumstances. Nervousness heightens our senses, and we must react. We might feel isolated, as if on an island with insufficient space to gather resources and respond. Our mindset could be our most significant advantage or disadvantage at this moment. How we frame nervousness has a profound impact on how we act? Seeing a competition as a celebration of all the training we endured has a different feel than seeing a race as an event filled with moments of possible failure.

How might we embrace the privilege of nervousness (when appropriate) and celebrate the opportunity to act? How might we recognize that we may not always have the chance to feel nervous and this is a unique moment?