Overcoming Nerves - by Jamie Kuijpers

I once heard a very knowledgeable man say " Everyone get's Nervous. Anyone who say's they don't are lying. The only difference between them & myself is that my butterfly's fly in formation". What he was getting at is that although he may feel nervous from time to time, he is able to control the energy created from being Nervous, and direct it into a positive state of mind.

So.... your next question would probably be " How do I do this?"

GLAD YOU ASKED!

It is all to do with what information you decide to feed to your brain. If you tell yourself that your going to stuff up a part of a song, chances are you'll stuff it up.... because you TOLD YOURSELF TO!

If you were to tell yourself "I've worked on that bit hard - I CAN DO IT" then chances are you'll have a positive outcome. The better the information you give your head, the better the result you can expect.

So, let's do an example........

Let's say we are about to play a gig, on drums, to approx. 200 people (it could be only 2, or even 2,000... it doesn't really matter). You've practiced your songs, you've got your gear set up.... your organized! But as the people are coming in to see you play, you start feeling a bit queasy in the stomach, you may even start to shake a little at the thoughts of going out in front of everyone...... your getting NERVOUS.

What you need to do here, is start to picture in your mind, the BEST outcome of any gig that you do. No matter how big or small, what are some of the BEST things that can happen at the end of a gig...... here's some things that can happen at a BEST GIG.....

* People clap and cheer - they're very happy!

* You get Paid and earn more money next time.

* You get more gigs from it.

* People ask for your autograph.

* You get asked for an Encore.

* You get signed to a record label and become a super star.

* The CHICKS! (or Guys, depending on what your preference is!!).

* You have the satisfaction of playing a great show.

There's a heap of other great things that can happen, but this is all the COOLEST STUFF that comes from playing YOUR BEST SHOW. So, now we want to picture all those GREAT things happening to us at the end of our BEST SHOW.... get it in your mind.... tell yourself that's the best outcome and what can happen.......

With these thoughts in your head, you'll find that your nervous energy is now being used to fuel your minds BEST GIG!

TRY IT, I promise you if you concentrate on the BEST things, rather then the worst, life will improve and your nervous will too! - JK