The Function of Nerves: Why Pressure Feels Like a Privilege

You always hear athletes say that pressure is a privilege. We’re told that nerves are good, that they keep us sharp.

But I’ve always wondered: if that’s true, why do nerves feel so uncomfortable? Why don’t we get excited instead? Why does the feeling come wrapped in anxiety instead of anticipation?

I’m not claiming to have the answer, but writing this post is my attempt to make sense of it.

The Inevitability of Nerves

For me, nerves are inevitable.

They show up in all kinds of situations. Sometimes even in places where they have no business being. I’ve felt them before routine work meetings. I’ve felt them walking into a café. I’ve even felt them while grabbing milk from the grocery store.

It doesn’t always make sense. But that’s kind of the point, nerves aren’t rational. They just appear, often uninvited. Yet, they serve a purpose.

So what is that purpose?

The Contrast That Creates Calm

One thought that resonates with me comes from Buddhist philosophy, which teaches that joy and suffering are inseparable, that we can only understand one through the existence of the other.

I think nerves and calm operate in a similar way. They exist in contrast.

When I’m feeling calm, grounded and in control, I only truly know that feeling because I’ve experienced its opposite. Nervousness. Without that contrast, calm would be invisible, just the baseline hum of existence.

So maybe nerves are a kind of emotional calibration. They define the edges of our emotional range, sharpening our awareness of peace, confidence and joy when they finally arrive.

Still, the Mystery Remains

Even with that framing, there’s something about nerves that remains mysterious to me. Why do they appear so inconsistently? Why do I sometimes feel nervous about things that shouldn’t matter?

I haven’t figured that out yet. And maybe I never will.

But I suspect that with experience, I’ll start to see the hidden patterns: the subtle links between those seemingly unrelated contexts that trigger nerves. Until then, I’m choosing to see them not as flaws or failures, but as reminders that I’m alive, alert and connected to what’s unfolding around me.

Maybe that’s what people mean when they say pressure is a privilege. It’s proof that we care!

Sometimes, the nerves aren’t there to stop us, they’re there to highlight what matters most.