Rename, Don’t Suppress
In 2012, Alison Wood Brooks ran a simple experiment at Harvard.
Before public speaking, one group was told to say “I am calm.” Another was told to say “I am excited.” The calm group performed worse. The excited group performed better. Same racing heart, different story.
The physiology is identical. Elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, heightened alertness. Your brain interprets these sensations as threat or opportunity based entirely on the label you give them. Suppression — trying to calm down — doesn’t work. It increases cortisol and amplifies the very sensations you’re fighting. Reappraisal — renaming the sensation — works because it changes the frame without fighting the feeling.
Athletes call it “getting amped.” Sales trainers call it “qualification, not rejection.” CBT therapists call it reappraisal.
The principle shows up everywhere. In conflict resolution (reframe disagreement as dialogue). In pain management (sensation vs. suffering). In exposure therapy (rename fear as curiosity).
The racing heart doesn’t mean anything until you name it.