Why Your Racing Heart is an Asset

Rebranding Stress 

We have all been there: five minutes before a major presentation, a high-stakes board meeting, or a crucial negotiation. Your heart is hammering, your palms are clammy, and your breath is shallow.

The most common advice we receive in these moments is: "Just take a deep breath and calm down." 

But according to research from Harvard Business School, that advice might be sabotaging your performance. 

The Science of Anxiety Reappraisal 

Harvard researcher Dr. Alison Wood Brooks published a landmark study that challenged the "keep calm" industry. She found that when people are in a high-pressure state, trying to force themselves into a state of "calm" is cognitively exhausting. 

Physiologically, anxiety and excitement are nearly identical. Both are "high-arousal" states characterised by a racing heart and a surge of cortisol. Calmness, however, is a "low-arousal" state. Trying to jump from intense anxiety to total calm is like trying to shift a car from 100 mph directly into reverse. 

Brooks found that individuals who simply told themselves "I am excited" performed significantly better than those who tried to calm down. They didn't change their heart rate; they changed their relationship to it. 

The Physiology of the "Challenge Response" 

When you rebrand your stress as excitement, something remarkable happens inside your body. 

In a "Threat Response" (anxiety), your blood vessels constrict, and your body prepares for a blow. But when you shift to a "Challenge Response" (excitement): 

• Your blood vessels remain dilated, allowing for better blood flow to the brain. 

• Your focus sharpens as you view the situation as an opportunity to be conquered rather than a threat to be survived. 

• Your "mental residue" clears, allowing you to stay present in the moment. 

  
  

"When you view stress as a tool for preparation rather than a threat to your health, your physiology changes. Your blood vessels remain dilated, and your focus stays sharp." 

The Critical Distinction: Stress vs. Burnout 

While "Anxiety Reappraisal" is a superpower for performance, it is important to understand its limits. This technique is a tool for acute stress, the short-term spikes in pressure that come with professional growth. It is not a cure for burnout. 

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. If a workplace environment is toxic, workloads are unsustainable, or there is a lack of support, telling a team to "get excited" isn't just ineffective, it's dismissive. 

• Stress Reappraisal is for the big moments where you want to shine. 

• Burnout Prevention requires systemic changes: rest, boundaries, resources, and psychological safety. 

How to Close the Loop 

For the high-performer, the goal isn't to live a life without stress. The goal is to build a toolkit that helps you navigate it. 

The next time you feel that surge of adrenaline, don't fight it. Don't try to suppress it. Lean into it. Recognise that your body is pumping oxygen to your brain and priming your nervous system to help you succeed. 

Stop trying to calm down. Start powering up.