“The very same mechanisms that produce excitement also produce fear, and any fear can be transformed into excitement by breathing fully into it.” ~Gay Hendricks
There are times when we all feel worried or anxious. In fact, our minds can become preoccupied with worry. These thoughts can be less significant, like someone being late for a date or an upcoming meeting. Maybe the source of our uneasy feelings is more significant, like our health or whether or not we have enough money to pay our bills. No matter the issue, worry happens whether we intend for it or not. This acceleration can become a problem when a worried feeling turns into an overall sense of anxiety.
So, what can we do to stop this escalation? Is it enough to just stop worrying, or can there be something more? Is that even possible? Imagine, instead of feeling worried, we could become excited? We then could leverage our excitement to move forward and achieve more.
Let’s explore some practical approaches to make this happen:
Be Present
Worry has a way of trapping us anywhere but here. Either we’re worried about something in the past, or we’re agonizing about something in the future. Neither is going to get us anywhere. To stop worrying, we need to focus on the present. What’s something that we can focus on right now? An effective technique to bring us back to the here and now is the “5-4-3-2-1” tool.
The first step of this method is to look around and name five things that we can see. Next, discover and name four things that we hear. Then, reach out and touch three things we can feel and name two things we smell. Finally, notice one thing that we can taste. Following these steps will quickly shift our focus to the present.
See the Trap
Worry stops us cold and leads to avoidance and procrastination. Procrastination is commonly caused by worry. Think about how worry leads to wasting time and sapping energy. When we recognize that worry traps us in apathy, we can choose to use our time and energy in more constructive ways, especially when we have more exciting things to do and places to be.
Follow your Curiosity
Worried feelings need our attention to exist. The more attention we pay to our worries, the more likely they will grow into anxiety. When we shift our focus to activities that we enjoy and find engaging, those worries will shrink and soon be forgotten.
Address the Source
When it seems that everything around us is going wrong, try focusing on the anticipated disaster. Think about the likelihood of that invented future coming to pass. Is it likely? What could we do to manage the situation if it did happen? By thinking about and practicing our reactions to these scenarios, we can gain confidence and transform our worry into excitement for the future.
Practice
Many of us worry about our performance at a future event, like a meeting or presentation. Engaging in a mental dress rehearsal will increase confidence, make things smoother, and keep worry at bay. This strategy is another example of how taking action (by practicing) shifts our focus away from worry and towards excitement. When we’re prepared, we can’t help but feel excited.
Explore
Another effective technique is to challenge and confront our worries. Go deep and uncover the roots of these unproductive feelings until we intimately understand our anxiety. Ask where these negative feelings came from. Peel back the layers to the heart of the matter.
Blaze a New Trail
In the end, we can become very attached to our anxiety. We feel a kind of comfort in worrying. So much so that we think it’s a part of our personality. To guard against this trap, we must challenge our old (and comfortable) thinking and shake things up. Experiment with new perspectives and challenge old ways of thinking. By exploring new paths, we demonstrate that our worries rarely become real.
The primary idea in all of these strategies is to enjoy the journey. This shift in perspective is where you find the excitement and enthusiasm, which leads to outstanding achievements. The rest is all momentum and a whole lot of brand-new accomplishments just waiting to happen.
