By Mike Pawlawski | Pawlawski Martin Leadership | teamsplaybook.com
I’ll never forget standing in the tunnel before Arena Bowl XIII.
The stadium was already electric. The crowd was buzzing. I could feel the energy before I even heard it. My chest was tight, hands sweating, breath shallow.
And the truth? I loved it.
But it wasn’t always like that.
The Fear I Used to Run From
When I was younger, that same feeling terrified me. I hated it. I thought it meant I wasn’t ready. That I wasn’t good enough. That I didn’t belong. That I was about to fail.
I didn’t know then what I know now: fear isn’t the enemy. Fear is the teacher.
We’re wired to avoid discomfort. Evolution has trained our brains to see stress as danger, to see the unknown as risk. But the irony is—every great thing in life lives just on the other side of fear. That nervous energy? That’s biology. That’s your body trying to help you rise.
The Biology of Fear and Performance
When you feel fear, your brain triggers the release of stress hormones—adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol. These aren’t just signs of stress; they are your performance enhancers.
According to a 2013 study in Nature Neuroscience, norepinephrine enhances alertness, focus, and memory consolidation. Adrenaline increases strength and speed. Cortisol helps regulate your metabolism and energy. In other words, fear is your body priming you to perform.
Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford, explains that elevated stress, when viewed positively, can sharpen our cognition and perception. He often says: “The presence of stress does not mean you’re doing poorly. It means you care.”
So instead of running, what if you reframed that fear?
The Arena Bowl Shift
Over time, I kept stepping into those moments. From college ball at Cal to pro football and championship games, the fear never left—but my relationship to it changed.
The fear became familiar. The discomfort transformed into a signal, not a stop sign. A sign that something important was about to happen. A cue that growth was available. A call to level up.
I began to associate fear with the joy that came after. Not every big game ended with a trophy. But every time I faced the fear and moved through it—I grew. I built resilience. And eventually, I began to crave those moments.
Like Pavlov’s dogs salivating at the bell, my nervous system started linking the fear with the flow. The trigger with the triumph.
Why This Matters in Business and Leadership
If you’re reading this, you may not be suiting up for kickoff. But you’re stepping into big moments—boardrooms, critical pitches, tough conversations, high-stakes decisions. The feeling is the same.
And the opportunity? The exact same.
One of the biggest misconceptions I see in corporate environments is that fear and discomfort are signs of weakness or failure. That a racing heart or sweaty palms mean you’re not cut out for leadership. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Leadership starts in those moments.
As psychologist Susan David says, “Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life.”
Great leaders don’t avoid fear. They get curious about it. They embrace it, decode it, and move forward with it.
The Science of Reframing Fear
Reframing fear isn’t just mindset fluff—it’s backed by research. Harvard psychologist Dr. Alison Wood Brooks conducted a study where participants were instructed to say “I am excited” before a stressful performance (like public speaking or singing). The result? Significantly better performance outcomes compared to those who said “I am calm.”
Why? Because the physiological symptoms of fear and excitement are nearly identical. But the interpretation makes all the difference.
Instead of fighting your body’s response, you ride the wave. You let the adrenaline serve you, rather than sabotage you.
Turning Fear into Fuel
Here’s what I’ve learned and what we now teach at Pawlawski Martin Leadership:
- Discomfort is information.
- Fear is a performance signal.
- Resilience is built by repetition.
- Growth lives outside your comfort zone.
- Confidence is earned on the far side of fear.
Whether you’re a startup founder, a CEO, a coach, or a rising leader, the principle is universal: fear is the front door to growth.
If you avoid it, you shrink. If you face it, you expand.
What Great Leaders and Athletes Know
Let’s bring in a few more voices:
- Michael Jordan: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games… I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
- Nelson Mandela: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
- Nick Saban: “You never stay the same. You either get better or you get worse.”
- Billie Jean King: “Pressure is a privilege.”
These aren’t just quotes. They’re mindsets. And they’re powerful reminders that discomfort isn’t a sign you’re on the wrong path—it’s a sign you’re on the right one.
How You Can Apply This Right Now
- Name the feeling. Don’t bury the fear. Identify it. Say it out loud. “I feel nervous.”
- Reframe it. Say, “I’m excited.” Or, “This means I care.”
- Step in. Don’t wait for the fear to vanish. It won’t. Move with it.
- Reflect after. What did you learn? What did you overcome?
- Repeat. The more you face fear, the more resilience you build.
This Is What We Teach
At Pawlawski Martin Leadership, we work with executives, athletes, and teams to turn fear into fuel. To shift mindsets. To grow resilient leaders who step into the arena instead of avoiding it.
Because greatness isn’t born from safety. It’s forged in the fire of discomfort.
You don’t need to eliminate fear. You need to train for it.
If you’re ready to rewire your response and build a mindset for high performance, this is your playbook:
👉 Every Day Great: The Playbook for Winning at Everything
Want us to help your team take the next step?
👉 Reach out to bring me in to speak to your organization, or to schedule a High Achieving Teams Playbook workshop with our team at Pawlawski Martin Leadership. We’ll help you develop the mindset, systems, and strategies to perform at your highest level—under pressure, through change, and in pursuit of excellence.
Let’s keep growing,
Mike Pawlawski Co-Founder, Pawlawski Martin Leadership @teamsplaybook | #EveryDayGreat | #LeadTheWay
Sources:
- Brooks, A.W. (2014). Get Excited: Reappraising Pre-Performance Anxiety as Excitement. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(3), 1144–1158.
- Sara, S.J., & Bouret, S. (2012). Orienting and Reorienting: The Locus Coeruleus Mediates Cognition Through Arousal. Neuron, 76(1), 130–141.
- Huberman, A. (2021). The Science of Stress and Growth. Huberman Lab Podcast.
David, S. (2016). Emotional Agility. Harvard Business Review Press.