success!

Yesterday I had my annual performance review. All day I kept forgetting it was coming and then suddenly remembering. From peaceful to a punch in the stomach. I hate that feeling. The remembering part.

So all morning, every time I felt the grip of anxiety start to come over me, I would reassure myself that I would be fine. And amazingly enough, some of the positive statements from my therapy naturally popped into my head. It was relieving to realize the therapy is really seeping into my brain right where it's supposed to be!

One thing I have always known about myself, is that if I'm as prepared as I can be, it will help alleviate some of my anxiety. So I had prepared myself. I had written out a list of goals for the coming year. I had compiled a list of successes from this past year. I wrote out a list of things I love most about my job. You never know what they're going to ask you.

As I took the hot seat, I continued repeating calming, positive, rational statements in my head. As a mini wave of anxiety began, I replaced it with positive, rational statements. This continued all the way through the review. And to my surprise, I wasn't asked to share anything I had prepared. My boss did all the talking. I guess I'm used to my past higher level positions where it is expected to have those types of things prepared. Oh well, at least I walked out with a success under my belt!