What’s in Your Trophy Case?

💡How do you emotionally prepare for a high stakes negotiation?
💡How do you deal with the stress of delivering a presentation to your executive team?

You build a Trophy Case 🏆

Here’s an example that has served me well.

During my years as a martial arts instructor, I regularly trained with amateur and pro fighters.

One Christmas Eve I had a tough sparring session with a golden gloves boxer – a very powerful, crafty fighter who regularly fought pro boxers.

He assured me we’d have a ‘light spar’ – a red flag for anyone who trains 🚩

It was a grueling session, I took some heavy shots, but I was proud of myself for holding my own and not getting bulled in the ring. This fighter had many more years of experience yet I was able to counter punch him well and almost scored a knockout.

A few years later I was working for a software development firm in Vancouver.

The firm’s CEO held monthly review meetings with all the team managers.

We weren’t hitting targets and tough questions were being asked. I came prepared to the meetings, however this CEO was prone to getting emotional and reactive. I was in my mid-twenties and these meetings really stressed me out.

One technique that worked to calm my nerves before presenting my monthly report was to change my perspective. The CEO held a lot of power at the firm but he was not even close to being as scary as that golden gloves boxer I had fought.

Reflecting on that sparring session, (a significant ‘win’ in my development as a fighter) during those meetings, calmed me down.

It helped me put the current circumstances in perspective and allowed me to trust my preparation and not fixate on my anxiety.

Over the years I’ve built a ‘Trophy Case’ of experiences when I faced a challenge I had previously viewed as impossible or terrifying; skydiving solo is another experience that comes to mind 😃

🏆 The Trophy Case is the epic tale of your ‘wins’

Opening that Trophy Case and focusing on your victories helps manage your state when you feel anxious or overwhelmed.

Here’s how to build your own trophy case

Think about the following:

💪 When have you felt uncomfortable with a new task, but pushed through and did it anyway?
💪 What personal bests have you achieved in sports or athletics?
💪 Have you developed a winning proposal that resulted in saving the quarter for your team?
💪 Have you spoken up for yourself or your team and dove into a confrontation?

These are all examples of choosing to take a risk in instead of complacency.

Being afraid of taking action, and doing it anyway.

🔎 I highly recommend you take the time and reflect on your victories, write them down and think about how you felt before and after pushing through the fear into the unknown.

This is your Trophy Case 🏆🏆🏆