One of the first things that can disappear in the face of transition is your voice. When faced with uncertainty, it’s a natural tendency to say less, take a backseat role and occasionally lose a bit of confidence. It’s the body’s way of responding to stress.
Does this sound familiar? Perhaps you’ve been assigned a complicated new project or are gaining your footing after a restructuring. As our minds attempt to process change, sometimes the flight or freeze reactions are triggered. Where you once were confident, you’re now hesitant to speak up in this new, uncertain situation.
The key is making stress work for you instead of against you. Dr. Alia Crum, Associate (tenured) Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab, explains this concept in the Huberman Podcast.
Dr. Crum explains the societal message we receive is that stress and uncertainty are bad for our health. However, our bodies are actually designed to process stress in our environment, pointing to how big moments of stress can trigger growth and reconnect us to our values. It’s about strengthening our mindset around stress and uncertainty.
I recommend the following ways to adopt a better mindset around stress to help you reconnect to your voice during transitions:
1. Bring Awareness to Your Mindset. Go meta. The first step to recognizing how your mindset is impacting you is bringing awareness that you have a mindset. It’s about recognizing that your perspective isn’t always reality – it’s your interpretation of reality. When you recognize this, you can begin to shift how you think about things.
2. Center Around Your Values. When trying to reconnect to your voice, start by revisiting your values. Is your new situation or transition aligned with your values? Where can you infuse your values into the conversation? Can you speak up from a place that is value-centered, even when you’re unsure of the environment or situation?
3. Practice Using Your Voice During Low-Stress Moments. Speaking up during stressful situations is a skill that must be practiced. An easy way to do this is using your voice, and staying true to it, when the stakes are low. By practicing in these lower-stress environments, you’ll be better poised to use your voice in moments of uncertainty.
4. Identify the Fear that Holds You Back. Losing your voice is often connected to a fear. Are you afraid of saying the wrong thing? Is a limiting belief about your expertise holding you back? Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? If you can pinpoint the fear that’s associated with losing your voice, you can examine it and determine if it’s valid or if it’s something you can actively work on over time.
Whatever the stress, challenge or transition may be, please remember that your voice is important. You provide a perspective that needs to be spoken, no matter the circumstances or the mindset you may be in. Your voice matters.