Starting jitters!

I am a scaredy cat - big time! I am afraid of heights, of the dark, and of big hairy spiders (well, I don't know if this one counts - who isn't scared of big hairy spiders, unless you are one?). I also get scared when I am starting something new - scared that I might be doing the wrong thing, scared that the results of this new adventure might not be what I expected it to be, scared of all the things that might go wrong. Kind of why I was terrified when I first embarked on this whole MBA journey.

Basecamp (Tepper's 3 week orientation program) was the big introduction to the MBA world for me. I still (and will forever) vividly remember my first day walking up to campus to pick up my ID and walking up the stairs of Posner Hall (Tepper's main building), thanking my lucky stars (and also wondering when CMU might realize that they had made a mistake by letting me in) and just feeling immensely grateful and petrified of what lay ahead. The unknown is a scary realm ( I got a taste of that when I moved countries at the age of 17). I had to face this fight or flight moment and swallow my fears and put my best foot forward (as a dancer, you kind of learn that early on - the show goes on, no matter how scared you are). You don't need to have it all figured out (I honestly don't think I ever will) because the process of learning and changing is continuous.

Running is also similar in that I am anxious that my ambitious plan to pick up running as a hobby might not be conducive for my knees, and my goal of running a half marathon might disappear among my other priorities. I get jitters every time I head out for a run - will my knee hurt this time? Will my performance improve this time? Will I be less tired? Should I even go out for a run?

These jitters that I get before starting something new only help me do better, and prepare better. But at the end of the day, the jitters are worth embracing because even if the result wasn't what I expected, I will be thankful that I did something that I almost didn't do.

Bottom Line: Embrace the starting jitters as part of the adventure, unless of course it's the five cups of coffee that is causing it.