In arboriculture operations, arborists will find themselves in situations that generate intense emotions. Some jobs require us to work large trees in extremely trying circumstances; whether it is a precarious storm damage situation in which there are many variables, a tree surrounded by several valuable unmovable targets where complex rigging is necessary to avoid those valuables, or a job in which many electrical hazards are present and need to be avoided in order to execute the specifications of the work order. Or a combination of any or all of the above. Even in the extracurricular world of tree climbing competitions, arborists may experience intense levels of pressure and nervousness due to the exhilaration of performing in front of peers and mentors. First-time experiences can also generate strong emotions as well: a climbers first big climb, the first time competing or the first day on a new job with a new company. In dealing with these intense waves of emotions, it is critical to have the tools and process in place to manage those feelings so that we can secure results of success.

In Adam Grant’s book Originals, How Non-conformists Moved The World, he tackles these emotional dilemmas in Chapter 8: Rocking the Boat and Keeping It Steady. Grant explains that we can deal with emotions in both optimistic and pessimistic ways, neither of which is wrong in the correct dosage. Grant writes, “Psycologist Julie Norem studies two different strategies for handling these challenges: strategic optimism and defensive pessimism. Strategic optimists anticipate the best, staying calm and setting high expectations. Defensive pessimists expect the worst, feeling anxious and imagining all the things that can go wrong,” (Grant, 212). Falling into either of these two categories can positively affect the process of executing in a trying scenario.

” ‘Defensive pessimism is a strategy used in specific situations to manage anxiety, fear and worry,’ Norem explains. When self-doubts creep in, defensive pessimists don’t allow themselves to be crippled by fear. They deliberately imagine a disaster scenario to intensify their anxiety and convert it into motivation. Once they’ve considered the worst, they’re driven to avoid it, considering every relevant detail to make sure they don’t crash and burn, which enables them to feel a sense of control,’ ” (213).

Converting fear into motivation is a positive thing, a characteristic highlighted in defensive pessimist. This type of thinking can be beneficial in arenas where the stakes are high and the variables are many: storm damage, trees that are structurally compensated or compound rigging scenarios where there are a million moving parts to manage. Losing sight of any potential failure that may occur can be an irreversible oversight, crippling or deadly. According to Grant, the defensive pessimist uses the anxiety of all those considerations in order to reconsider the design of the plan over and over in order to create the motivation for definite success. So then worry and anxiety are not necessarily our enemy when considered in this light. In fact, experiencing a healthy level of anxiety can help us to reconsider all the tools we’ve put into the equation and catch any lose ends before putting a plan into action and making the cut. It counteracts complacency.

Grant uses the example of the world famous cold-water swimmer Lewis Pugh, who attempts long distance swims in waters sometimes at temperatures of 29 degrees Fahrenheit. Pugh uses negative thoughts to his benefit. “…instead of trying to cheer up, he found that his negative thinking ‘shows where things can go wrong, and it gets rid of complacency.’ Considering the worst-case scenario impelled him to prepare thoroughly and mitigate against every single possible risk…’The trick is to make fear your friend,’ he notes. ‘Fear forces you to prepare more rigorously and see potential problems more quickly,’ ” (214).

Although arborists may not find themselves pruning in arctic waters, we can take a lesson away from Pugh’s frigid accomplishments. We can use fear in order to re-examine our plan so that we don’t overlook the potential for any one detail to cause failure to an entire operation.

Moving forward, arborists can also benefit from strategic optimism and the fruits that this mindset provides on the job. Interestingly enough, remaining calm-although not a terrible plan-should be replaced by the notion of remaining excited.

Grant writes that, “To overcome fear, why does getting excited work better than trying to calm yourself down? Fear is an intense emotion: You can feel your heart pumping and your blood coursing. In that state, trying to relax is like slamming on the brakes when a car is going 80 miles per hour. The vehicle still has momentum. Rather than trying to suppress a strong emotion, it’s easier to convert it into a different emotion-one that’s equally intense, but propels us to step on the gas,” (216).

“Physiologically, we have a stop and a go system. ‘Your stop system slows you down and makes you cautious and vigilant,’ explains Quiet author Susan Cain. ‘Your go system revs you up and makes you excited.’ Instead of hitting the stop switch, we can motivate ourselves to act in the face of fear by pressing the go switch. Fear is marked by uncertainty about the future: we’re worried that something bad will happen. But because the event hasn’t occurred yet, there’s also a possibility, however slim, that the outcome will be positive. We can step on the gas by focusing on the reasons to move forward-the sliver of excitement that we feel about breaking loose and singing our song,” (217).

I personally find this insight most applicable in the atmosphere of tree climbing competitions and credential test-taking when nervousness and fear can potentially slow us down because we are insecure about our abilities and uncertain about how our performance will turn out. Before you hit the horn, don’t get nervous, get excited and hit the gas. Remember to frame your fear and anxiety with the amount of preparation you’ve done, the experience you do have, and closing the small gap you have left on attaining the greatness that you envision for yourself. In this sense, we can control our destiny by staying excited.

Utilizing both of these emotional tools can have huge benefits for the arborist that finds themselves in situations that may conjure up feelings of fear and nervous energy, whether it is in the field working or at a climbing competition competing or even in the classroom testing for our next professional credential. In preparing for the situations that we find ourselves in, defensive pessimism will allow us to consider all possible outcomes, potential dangers and pitfalls, so that we consider our plan of action from every different angle. When the situation is upon us, and real fear begins to take hold of our mind, we can see how optimism and converting that feeling of nervousness into excitement can have a drastic effect on our performance. Instead of trying to slow the car down by calming ourselves, maintain the momentum of the moment by converting nervousness into excitement so that we allow ourselves to perform to our greatest abilities without being paralyzed by emotions. It all comes down to how we convert our emotions into positive actions. Understanding these emotional tools will not only allow us to better handle our inner feelings of anxiety and fear, but will also allow us to help co-workers, teammates, colleagues and fellow competitors manage their own personal emotions in order to perform to the best of their ability. Managing emotions in this way can have huge impacts on the problem solving process and accomplishing goals. By mastering the emotional tools in our toolbox we can fuel our arboricultural journey with the exhilaration of victory and success in the face of adversity.