When Aaron Taylor got the opportunity to call his first NFL game on CBS, his wife — a two-time Olympic volleyball player — gave him advice that transformed his career: instead of thinking about what you want to do, think about how you want to feel after the event is over. Close your eyes and play out the whole experience — the high-fives, the texts, the feeling as your head hits the pillow.
“Every time that you’re nervous or want to do something, instead of thinking about what it is you want to do, think about how it is you want to feel after the event is over.”
The result was the best game Aaron ever called, the best season of his television career, and the first time he never experienced performance anxiety. The mechanism: by focusing on the desired feeling rather than the feared outcome, the brain can’t distinguish between imagined positive experience and real experience. It drops dopamine and oxytocin, creating a completely different internal state.
As Aaron frames it: “Fear is a misuse of the imagination.” The same imagination that creates dread scenarios can be redirected to create felt experiences of success. This shifts you from anxiety to presence — and “presence is the portal to a better outcome.”
Related Concepts
- Fear is excitement without the breath
- Fear constricts excitement expands
- Stage fright is a fuel cell
- Embracing fear versus avoiding fear
- Feel your way to freedom
- Confidence comes from authenticity not achievement