Anxiety or Nerves

Starting a new project is the norm in management consulting. With it, will come a set of learning curves before you reach a moderate level of performing. I recently started a new project at a top tier High-Tech organization. The organization is at the pinnacle of software and hardware. To work there, you need to be super smart. They only hire the best and the brightest. In this new role, I am working alongside a client counterpart independently.

There is a lot on the line and the client is looking to me to deliver value. With the new start, I've been dealing with some work related anxiety.

By definition, anxiety is experiencing failure in advance. You feel lost before you even start. You view the future instead of the present. It is the fear and apprehension of what is to come. With any new beginning you are bound to have some anxiety.

However, is it anxiety or is it nerves? Nervousness is often a response to something specific. It could be the response to starting something completely unfamiliar. A new job, project, or team can cause nervousness.

After the second day on the project, my nerves and anxiety have eased. I'm confident in what I am capable of doing. That's all it took. A little bit of time and I'm reassured that I know what I am doing. Perhaps in the next few days there will be less of both.