I told my coach I was terrified before one of the biggest performances of my life… and then I skated the strongest program I’d ever done. Here’s the secret: fear isn’t the problem. Pretending you’re not scared is. Research shows that when you actually name your emotion, your brain calms down. It kicks your prefrontal cortex online so you can regulate instead of spiral. (Lieberman et al., 2007 for my fellow nerds). So the next time you feel nerves before a competition, don’t shove it down. Try sa