Do You Suffer From Anxiety, Fear, Panic.......

Then you are living in the future.  Worrying about the what-ifs and inventing negative outcomes to fulfill your desire to outline all the bad things that could happen!!

Anxiety is an emotion that sends our mind into the future. After all, nobody is anxious about the past, right? As human beings we tend to think in stories that are like mind-movies. Anxious mind-movies usually have a ‘what if?’ scenario.

So what winds us up into anxiety are particular thought patterns and stories. Take a look at the following list and see if any points seem familiar:

1. Self-doubts: Do you doubt your ability? Do you think you haven’t got what it takes, in order to succeed?

2. Wanting Control of the future: Do you want to control what happens in future? The truth is that even if we lay great plans, the unexpected can happen. Be flexible and flow with the change. 

3. High self-expectations: Sometimes we become our own slave-driver. Take time to step back and check out whether your expectations are realistic.

4. Fear of failure: Are you afraid to fail? The truth is that all learning entails failure. The greatest inventors in history failed more than they succeeded!

5. Not being present: This is a key factor of anxiety. When our thoughts dwell on the future, and we stop being truly present, that’s when we can become anxious.

These are all mental habits that can be changed in order to alleviate and transform anxiety into a healthy, positive mindset grounded in the present.

Anxiety is a natural alarm system that keeps us safe and productive. But when it becomes a chronic mindset, it will deaden joy and stifle creativity.  It will also lead to chronic physical illness, some of which can be life threatening.

Anxiety Busting Exercise

• Create two columns on a piece of paper

• Label the left column “fears”

• Create a thick vertical dividing line and label it “REALLY!!!!”

• Label the right column “fear busting thought”

I’ll give you an example:

I don’t think that I will get the promotion, sigh, stomach feels queasy because you're thinking about all the bad things that will happen if you don't get the promotion.

RESET = Shout STOP & take a deep breath (brain cannot think while deep breathing)

I have excellent skills to get the promotion and I will look into how I can improve those skills to ace the promotion.

Next Post:  Living in the Present....Til next time Recognize, Reset, Realize Your Potential