Practice the "see it, own it, use it" reappraisal
Crum’s framework: notice the stress (see it), acknowledge why it matters (own it), and channel it (use it).
Key takeaways
- What it is: Crum’s framework: notice the stress (see it), acknowledge why it matters (own it), and channel it (use it).
- Why it works: Suppression of stress arousal — trying to calm down — is often counterproductive: it consumes cognitive resources and signals threat. Reappraisal, by contrast, keeps the physiological arousal but changes its interpretation. Naming that the stress signals something important (owning it) and actively directing the mobilized energy (using it) converts a threat response toward a challenge response — a physiological profile associated with better performance outcomes.
- Evidence: Backed by randomized trials / meta-analyses.
- Avoid: Performing "use it" without having genuinely done "see it" and "own it" — jumping to the instrumental frame before acknowledging the emotion, which feels like bypassing and does not produce the physiological shift.
Why it works
Suppression of stress arousal — trying to calm down — is often counterproductive: it consumes cognitive resources and signals threat. Reappraisal, by contrast, keeps the physiological arousal but changes its interpretation. Naming that the stress signals something important (owning it) and actively directing the mobilized energy (using it) converts a threat response toward a challenge response — a physiological profile associated with better performance outcomes.
How to do it
- 1See it: at the first sign of stress, name it explicitly. "I am stressed right now."
- 2Own it: identify why — "This matters to me because ___."
- 3Use it: direct the energy. "What would ’using’ this arousal look like right now?"
- 4Repeat this as a three-step inner protocol whenever significant stress arises.
What the evidence says
RCT / meta-analysisThe see-it-own-it-use-it framework is Crum’s synthesized application of her stress mindset research. Arousal reappraisal research (Alison Wood Brooks) shows that reappraising anxiety as excitement improves performance under challenge conditions.
Honest caveat: Brooks’s research specifically tests anxiety-to-excitement reappraisal; Crum’s framework is a practice synthesis from her mindset studies rather than a separately trialed protocol. Reappraisal requires genuine stakes — it does not work as well on stress that is trivial.
- — Brooks (2014), get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
- — Crum (2021), making stress work for you, American Psychological Association
Common mistake
Performing "use it" without having genuinely done "see it" and "own it" — jumping to the instrumental frame before acknowledging the emotion, which feels like bypassing and does not produce the physiological shift.
IX Coach cues the three-step protocol when you log a high-stress moment and asks you to articulate each step aloud — externalizing the process so it becomes a transferable skill rather than a private intention.
Practice this with IX Coach →