How to Turn Fear Into Excitement

Today’s Miracle Moment Is About Turning Fear Into Excitement

Is there something in your life right now that makes your stomach flip every time you think about it?

Maybe it’s a conversation you’ve been putting off. Maybe it’s a new job, a move, or a dream you’ve been sitting on for years. Maybe you’ve come close to saying yes more than once, and every time, that fluttery feeling shows up and you back away.

Is this a sign I’m not ready? Maybe I should wait.

If that sounds familiar, there is nothing wrong with you. That feeling is one of the most human things there is, and I’ve felt it more times than I can count.

And what might surprise you is that the very feeling you’ve been calling “fear” may be a sign that something good is on its way.

One of My Scariest Three and a Half Minutes

It was 2008, and my book Happy for No Reason had just come out. I was invited onto the Today Show, and they booked me for the 8 o’clock hour, their biggest hour of the morning. Millions of people watch while they get dressed, pour their coffee, and get the kids out the door.

I’d done a lot of TV by then, but this felt bigger than anything yet. Back then, the 8 o’clock hour of the Today Show was one of the ways a book could make it onto the New York Times bestseller list. Next to Oprah, it was one of the most coveted TV slots an author could get. My publisher was watching. My good friend Jack Canfield was watching. It felt like everybody I knew was watching.

I had four minutes to capture the attention of people who were buttering their toast and looking for their car keys. So I prepared. My friend John Gray, the author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, had been on more TV shows than I could count, and he helped me get ready. We went over every single sentence to get my four minutes perfect.

My wonderful husband Sergio flew with me to New York to support me. And believe me, I needed it. I was a wreck.

The morning of the show, I sat in the green room doing my meditation and my breathing. My heart was pounding. My hands were shaking. My stomach was doing somersaults.

Then a producer leaned in with some news. I didn’t have four minutes. I had three and a half. So there I was, moments before going on live national TV, trying to decide which two sentences to cut!

They walked me out to the set. The lights came up, and there was Meredith Vieira smiling at me, with my book right there on the screen.

I took a deep breath. I put on my best smile. 

And I decided to turn that fear into excitement.

And you know what happened? I had a blast. I even muscle tested Meredith right there on live TV, showing how her arm stayed strong when she held a happy thought and went weak with an unhappy one.

Then, just like that, it was over. That appearance helped Happy for No Reason make the New York Times bestseller list that very week.

Looking back, I can see it so clearly. That terrifying morning was a doorway. Walking through it took trust in the Universe, and it took trust in myself.

Is It Fear or Excitement?

Think about the butterflies I had in that green room. Racing heart. Shaky hands. That rush of energy.

Now think about how you feel right before something you’re excited about. A first date. A big trip. The night before a wedding.

It’s almost the same feeling. The biggest difference is the name you give it.

My close friend Lisa Nichols has a wonderful word for this. Lisa is a bestselling author and a co-teacher in my Your Year of Miracles program, and we were both featured teachers in The Secret. She calls this feeling being “terricited.” Terrified and excited, all at the same time. Isn’t that perfect?

Feeling terricited is natural whenever you’re stepping into something new. It’s a little burst of energy that helps you rise to the moment.

When the Feeling Takes Over

The trouble comes when you let that energy take you over. Then it can escalate into fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, and you miss the doorway altogether.

That’s when we start listening to the voice that says wait. We put off the conversation. We let the dream sit for another year. We tell ourselves we’ll go for it once we feel more ready.

The good news is that you get to decide what to call that feeling. And what you call it changes what you do next.

The Flutter Shows Up Right Before You Grow

There’s a second thing that feeling may be telling you.

Very often, that flutter shows up right before you grow. It shows up at the edge of something new, right before a door opens. Those butterflies tend to gather around the things that matter most to you. They appear when the soul is reaching for something bigger.

I teach that there are Five Foundations for Living in the Miracle Zone, that place where magical synchronicities happen and you feel like everything in the universe is working in your favor, like the wind is at your back and life just feels amazing. One of those Foundations is Trust in the Universe.

When you trust in the Universe, that flutter starts to look different. It starts to look like a sign that something good is on its way to you.

That’s what happened to me in New York. I was terricited, and I was also standing at the edge of a miracle.

Try This: Call It Excited

The next time you feel fear rise in your chest, try this one minute “terricited” practice:

1. Gently place your hand on your heart and take a slow breath.
2. Say to yourself, “I’m afraid.” Notice how that feels. Maybe something tightens. Maybe you feel a little smaller.
3. Shake that out and let it go. Take another breath.
4. Now, put your hand back on your heart and say to yourself, “I’m excited.” Notice how that feels. Maybe there’s a little lift, or a little buzz. Maybe you feel more open.

Does the excitement feel true, even a little? If it does, lean into it. Let that energy carry you toward the thing you want. Fear can stop you in your tracks. But excitement can help you take that next step.

You’ll be surprised how often fear is actually excitement wearing a Halloween costume!

Your Next Miracle May Be Waiting on the Other Side

So the next time you feel that flutter, remember my three and a half minutes in New York. That feeling may be the Universe lining you up for your next miracle.

This week, I challenge you to choose one thing you’ve been putting off because it gives you butterflies. Take a breath, put your hand on your heart, and call it excited. Then take one small step toward it, and see what opens up.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, from Eleanor Roosevelt: 

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

Isn’t that just so beautiful and so true?

What’s Your Terricited Thing?

Is it a conversation, a project, or a dream that gives you butterflies right now? Share it in the comments below. I’d love to cheer you on.

With love and miracles,

Marci 💛