What if I fail? What if it doesn’t work out? What if they don’t like me? What if I fail the interview? What if I freeze up? Have you ever noticed that anxiety often begins with a what-if question? And not any type of what-if question. These are negative what-if questions. They’re not happy, positive what-if questions. When we ask ourselves those negative what-if questions, the trap is that there are more and more negative what-ifs, and before we know it, it’s like we have dug ourselves into a big black hole of negative what-if questions. So the tip for overcoming anxiety and building confidence is to have awareness of it. Have awareness of when you’re doing this, when you’re saying it to yourself. With awareness you can press pause, take a time out, step back in your mind, and then maybe ask yourself some positive what-if questions. What if this is a great opportunity? What if it’s the start of something new and exciting? What if it’s a chance to test how far I’ve come? And with that you take back control. You’ve got control of what you think. In fact, you’re the only one that’s got control of what you think. Don’t take my word for it. Put it into action, try it out and test the difference. Be aware of the what-ifs, put positive what-ifs in, and then gauge how it feels.