Anxiety-to-Excitement Reappraisal
Relabel nervous energy to focus on opportunity and improve performance
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
This reappraisal method treats manageable anxiety and excitement as closely related high-arousal states rather than opposites. Instead of trying to become calm, identify the physical activation, label it as excitement, and deliberately picture opportunities rather than threats. Brooks reports experiments in which participants instructed to say they were excited before karaoke performed better on measures such as pitch, tempo, and rhythm than participants who said they were anxious. She also describes applications to public speaking and collaboration. The intervention is deliberately small: a spoken phrase and a shift in appraisal. Its larger value comes from repeating it before comparable events until opportunity-focused self-talk becomes a familiar response to nervous arousal.
Origin
Alison Wood Brooks developed this approach through research on emotion reappraisal, including the paper she identifies as 'Get Excited.' She discusses it on The Diary of a CEO.
Core principles
- 01Anxiety and excitement are both high-arousal states
- 02Relabeling arousal is easier than forcing calm
- 03Opportunity-focused self-talk can redirect attention
- 04Repetition can turn the reframe into a habit
How to run it
- 1
Identify the arousal
Notice when a high-stakes event produces a racing heart, sweaty palms, or an urge to escape. Treat those sensations as activation rather than proof that failure is coming.
Pro tip Use the method when you are near the boundary between nervousness and excitement.
Watch out Do not treat this as a universal response to severe anxiety or genuinely tragic circumstances.
- 2
Label it as excitement
Say 'I'm excited' out loud before the event. The phrase is intended to change how you appraise the arousal.
Pro tip Use direct present-tense language rather than a long motivational speech.
- 3
Picture opportunity
Name how the event could go well and what opportunity it offers. Move attention away from escape and threat scenarios.
Pro tip Choose a concrete possibility, such as connecting with the audience or handling the first question well.
- 4
Perform while activated
Enter the situation without waiting to feel calm. Use the energy in service of the task.
Watch out The reframe may not work every time.
- 5
Build the habit
Repeat the same reappraisal before future high-stakes events. Review whether it helped you focus on opportunities and perform more effectively.
Pro tip Attach the phrase to a consistent cue, such as waiting backstage or joining a call.
In the wild
Participants were told they would sing karaoke in front of an audience. Immediately beforehand, an experimenter prompted some to say they felt anxious and others to say they felt excited. Brooks says the excited group performed better when software measured pitch, tempo, and rhythm.
→ A brief spoken reappraisal was associated with better measured singing performance in the described experiment.
Before appearing on Jimmy Fallon, Steven Bartlett told himself the appearance would be amazing and that he was prepared. He reports that he then enjoyed the appearance and felt it went well.
→ The host describes entering the unfamiliar performance with a more opportunity-focused mindset.
Common mistakes
Trying to erase all arousal
The method does not require becoming calm. It redirects a high-arousal state toward excitement.
Using it for every kind of distress
Brooks explicitly limits the claim and says it can be hard to use for genuinely dreadful circumstances.
Treating one success as a permanent change
The larger benefit depends on repeating the reframe across situations rather than relying on one isolated attempt.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for high-arousal situations such as presentations, exams, negotiations, performances, or important social encounters.
Not ideal for
It is not presented as a treatment for severe anxiety or as suitable for genuinely dreadful events such as a loved one's terminal illness.
From the transcript
“literally saying things out loud like I'm excited, change you how your appraisal of it”
“that makes you focus on opportunities rather than threats”
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