Curb Your Anxiety
Here’s an interesting paradox for you: if you don’t want to be scared anymore, you have to put yourself in situations that’ll shake you to your core.
The only way out is through.
I’m writing this as someone who struggles with bouts of crippling anxiety.
Sometimes, I can laugh it off and think like Wilfred:
Other times, my mind goes into a state of fear and my anxiety acts like this:
or maybe even this:
Anxiety, though, is a cover emotion. Behind that anxiety lives a deeply-rooted fear that you must come to terms with.
Anxiety Makes Sense — Until It Doesn’t
Anxiety is like any other uncomfortable emotion. For example, you can’t fully understand love, hate, or the value of hardship unless you get your heart broken multiple times. You can’t write about conquering your demons or surviving your crucible if you’ve never had to put everything you’ve ever held dear to you on the line, go into battle, and then lose many of those things. You cannot create art that has depth if there aren’t any scratches inflicted upon your soul.
In order to be strong on the outside, you must first learn to be strong on the inside. This means:
- No fear.
- No doubt.
- No pain.
- No being defeated.
Notice that I did not say, no defeat.
Why?
Because you can know defeat without being defeated. You can get hurt without giving up, but you cannot give up and still reach your goal.
Flip the script.
- I am fearless.
- I am doubtless.
- I am painless.
- I am undefeated.
- I am enough.
- I already am.
The next time you’re feeling anxiety, take a few deep breaths and try listening to a calming meditation video, like this one:
Bring yourself back to the present by naming:
- Three things you can see.
- Three things you can feel.
- Three things you can hear.
- Three things you can smell.
The reason why adversity and anxiety feel so uncomfortable is that they often activate a part of you that is latent. Choosing to leave your comfort zone and welcome discomfort not only stops your brain from trying to destroy itself, but it helps further develop it.
If you’re not in it for the chase, you’re going to lose. If you do not fall in love with doing things just for the sake of it, you’re going to quit. If you’re emotional, you’ll be at the mercy of your undisciplined emotions. Remember: What you do matters more than how you feel.
What you do will always matter more than how you feel.
At least, I’ve found this to be true for me and my anxiety. Our greatest weakness can become our greatest ally if we let it.
Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up. — Anne Lamott
