Now, that’s great! Because you can have lots of control over this, and as you realize this, you won’t need to protect yourself (too strong a phrase) from what your audience may or mayn’t be doing. And I bet having any meaningful barrier between you and your audience would diminish the performance you want to provide for them.
So, here are a few more things you can play with:
- Include your enjoyment in your pre-playing intention. I’m sure you set an intention prior to playing. And if you don’t yet, it’s a helpful practice to begin. “What do I want from this experience I’m about to enter? How will I know if I’ve accomplished that experience? How will I be as person when I have that experience?”
- The Self Love fields to counteract your old habits of pressuring and criticizing yourself.
- When you do notice yourself criticizing yourself (it happens), hear that criticism in a silly voice. (It’s hard for me to take seriously anything that Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck says. Maybe that’s Homer Simpson for you?)
(See? I wasn’t kidding about all the options you can use on this situation. 
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