Author: Kim Wist

As a professional performer with 15 years of experience on stage in all kinds of circumstances – stand up, close up, big and small stages etc – and having experienced all kinds of stage frights and anxieties, I feel it is important to talk about this issue and shed some light on it.

If you picture yourself alone on the stage trying to entertain hundred people, does this image frighten you? Do you have butterflies in your stomach on Monday when you know you have a demanding gig on Friday or do they come only a day before? Do you have any idea were this fear originates? Do you think that nobody else feels like you, your fear is worse and others have easier lives?

Many questions, but now it’s time to give some answers:

From the beginning of your life you have been compared to other children. When you went to school it got even worse – and it has built a system inside of us that doesn’t approve us if we are not exceptionally good in what we do. It has also created fear, fear of failure and sometimes fear of success. Maybe you have had your creativity beaten down by your parents or your classmates and you are afraid to express yourself anymore. Parents can contribute to this factor more than we know and usually with good intentions from their side; you have expressed your child creativity and your mother comes along and tells you got it all wrong… next time in the same situation you are not likely to try the same thing again. Among children this comparison is especially rude and cruel, so no wonder that we think twice before expressing ourselves in front of others.

However this should not stop you from fulfilling your dreams or going on stage and stand up in front of people if you feel you belong there and have something to give.

It’s important to think about fear and get a grip of it.

Fear can be very big, so big you feel there’s nothing you can do and it gets the best of you. And we are customized not to show our fears. We act cool when in reality we shake life leafs. We think that by admitting our feelings we will lose our face. In fact it is the other way around, he who has courage and honesty to show his feelings to others is much braver, stronger and free. He doesn’t need to hide from anything.

The problem is not fear, although it is important to understand how it arises – the problem is how we deal with it. Think of fear as energy. Because energy it is. It is energy you don’t want, you wish it go away. This means you are not facing your fears, and if you don’t face your fears you will not conquer them. We often think of fear as our enemies, but everybody knows that first step in any battle is to know your enemy!

Actually fear in not your enemy – it’s your ally – if you can use it right. I said that fear is energy. Ride the wave instead fighting against it! Accept your fear and embrace it and it will yield its strength in your hands. Fear can be big and terrible but all gets down to you, how you handle it.

To be brave means to act despite you are afraid. Brave doesn’t mean fearless, it means you can handle it and don’t let it overrun you.

Next time you go on stage on a stand up gig and you see the ocean of people you got to entertain, you might feel stage fright and insecurity arise. Good! Use it, ride with it, breathe it in and let it come out in your actions. But whatever you do, don’t let it hold you back.

About the Author:

Kim Wist is a professional magician and one of the most successful performers in Finland: Taikuri Kim Wist

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Winning Stage Fright