Jane McGonigal Quotes

Anyone who has ever had the feeling of being higher than a kite after giving a public speech is well aware of the effects of attention.

In the right circumstances, terror is good. It makes you focus.

I've tried to play within myself but I need adrenaline and need to be pumped up to play well otherwise you will see snoring snooker like that.

Shock is shock. Your body goes into shock, regardless of it being real blood or fake blood. The mind sends powerful messages to all the various glands and secretions in the body. It's impossible trying to act it; it just happens. It's a very important question: no acting.

I'm at my best when I'm nervous, scared. I feel like I'm on the edge, that's when I perform better.

Nervous can be good. It means I'm ready to go.

There's something about the energy and the expectations that an audience projects at you. I get up on stage and work and work, and there's chaos all around me, then I'll shut my eyes, and boom! I slot into the zone. It's like the eye of the hurricane. Everything is easy, and I'm capable of doing things I didn't know I was.

The best thing is to go into an opposing arena, and 15,000 people are focusing on you. That's the best feeling.

That is why I can never walk away from wrestling because there's this moment - the bell rings and everything slips away. The path, the future. There's nothing but that moment right in front of you where the intensity is high, the risk and reward are high, and you have to enter into a mental state that doesn't allow for hesitation.

Whenever you give a shot, the nervous energy in your stomach is the key to that emotional breakdown, that kick that is needed to perform.

I like when my mind is being stimulated and challenged, and I'm forced to be creative.

I've played basketball, and I've stood at the free-throw line with a tie game and 0.2 seconds left. But there is no feeling in the world like being in that ring when they close it up and ask, 'Are you ready?'

I've main-evented WrestleMania a handful of times, but it never gets old. It's the same with nerves.

Closer to a fight, I can really feel my heartbeat in my chest. I can hear it beat through my mouth, this 'gunk, gunk, gunk' rhythm.

Sometimes I get off stage, and I almost have no recollection of what happened. It's almost like a trance; it's very bizarre.

As stressful as it can be trying to plan out your moves and think about the race, I think I do better when I'm hanging out with friends and family and just jump in the race track and go for it.

I always have gotten nervous before every show. But the second I step onstage, it's all gone. It's sort of like an adrenaline rush for me.

I remember doing this little physical gesture of holding up my foot and having my foot wave around while I held my ankle. It got a big laugh, and when people started laughing, it dumped some chemicals on my brain. It just felt so good.

We have this amazing ability to turn on the exactly same stress response worrying about a mortgage that a zebra does when it's sprinting away from a lion.

I like to be nervous, as I push myself harder.

The best feeling I get is when I walk on stage.

When I perform and the crowd is cheering, there's a ringing noise in my head. I'm just zoned in, and even though I know there are people watching me, all I hear is this ringing inside of me.

I still look forward to doing things I've never done before. But the fear beforehand is always worse than the actual moment. Leading up to it, especially before the match, is when the butterflies are at their worst. But in the match, the creatures - my fans - fuel me. They're a huge superpower for me and my survival.

I am extremely nervous before anything. People who say they aren't nervous are telling a white lie. Nerves get you going, as you are playing for so much at the highest level.

The pancreas releases insulin to make you ready for fight or flight when you're scared. So if you don't fight or flight - if you stay onstage, telling jokes - then your body stores more fat in your tummy which makes you insulin resistant. All comedians have fat bellies, even if they exercise.