What I do when I get nervous

You'd think that being a mindset coach would make me immune to nerves, self-doubt, or the occasional spiral of “I’m not ready for this!"

Spoiler alert: It doesn't.

The other morning, I was sipping coffee, scrolling through Instagram, and BAM — I saw a fellow competitor post about their stacked weekend of wins. Usually, I'd give it a heart and move on. But not this time.

This time, it triggered a spiral.

Suddenly, it wasn’t about their win - it was about my doubt:

• "What if I’m not ready for my big event?”
• "Why haven’t I gotten results like that?”
• "What if I crash and burn at Nationals?”
• And the real kicker: “Shouldn’t I be better at this by now?"

Sound familiar?

Yeah. Even mindset coaches fall into the trap of comparison and fear. But here's the difference: we just have a few more tools to climb out of the spiral faster. And today, I want to share exactly how I coached myself through it - in real time.

1. I name it and normalize it

First, I label what’s happening: fear and comparison.

These feelings are so normal - especially right before a big event. The brain loves to chirp loudly when you’re stepping outside your comfort zone.

So I remind myself:

These thoughts aren’t facts. They’re just noise - noise that shows up because I care and because I’m pushing myself.

And that’s weirdly comforting.

2. I interrupt the loop

Once I’ve named it, I do something to break the circuit. Because spirals feed off stillness and silence.

For me, that might look like:

• Taking a walk (no earbuds, just fresh air)
• Talking back to the voice in my head (yep, out loud)
• Reading old goal journal entries to remind myself how far I’ve come
• Saying, “Thanks for your opinion, brain. I’m busy preparing.”

Motion and truth are spiral kryptonite.

3. I coach myself (Like I would a client)

If a client came to me with this same fear and self-doubt, I’d say something like:

“You’ve done the work. You don’t need to prove anything — not even to yourself. Just show up and trust your training.”

And also:

“Social media isn’t the whole story. You’re not seeing the bad runs, the rough training days, or the mindset battles they had to win just to post that ribbon pic.”

Then I’d say: “Let’s write a mantra for this week.”

So I did:

“Eyes on my own work. I am not behind.”

4. I share it - because you might need to hear it, too

There’s a myth that if you coach mindset, you must never struggle.

But the truth is: coaches struggle. We just recover faster.

What makes someone a great coach isn’t being perfect — it’s having tools. And sharing those tools so others can get back on track, too.

So if you’ve got a big trial coming up … if nerves are kicking in … if the spiral has started …

You’re not broken.

You’re just in it - and you’re more than capable of walking yourself through it.

(Even if that starts with a pep talk before breakfast.)