Ever wake up feeling motivated to crush your goals only to be paralyzed by anxiety?
You pump yourself up in the morning with Tony Robbins motivational talks, then in comes anxiety like a wave, totally wiping out all your positive, can-do energy. Instead, you get that heavy feeling in your chest. Or you feel tension and anxiety between shoulder blades and random places like behind your knees. For me, I feel anxiety behind my eyes.
So what gives? How can you prepare for anxiety with no trigger? How can you harness all of that previous warm, fuzzy energy?
A friend once told me, learn to make friends with your fears. Rather than run from the thoughts that make you sick, acknowledge them. Like listening to a friend, try to understand what the root cause of the problem is. The goal is not to rid yourself of anxious thoughts – because let’s be honest – we experience anxiety like we experience other emotions. It’s about living alongside anxiety.
I know you’re thinking, “How in the world do you live alongside it?”
I thought the same too. Anxiety can leave me totally depleted, with no energy to wake up, let alone attempt to solve the root problem. I’ll admit, I’ve used anxiety over the counter meds a time or two just to restore a sense of normalcy. But that’s not my go-to. What I really crave is the discipline and tools to master my thoughts so I can make the most of my day, my week, my month and my year. Because it’s through healthy thoughts that we bring our desires to life. 5 Minute Mindfulness Meditation For Anxiety
So what helps anxiety besides medication? How can we naturally cultivate healthy thoughts? For me, it’s meditation. Followed by a good buzz. No, not of alcohol, though that certainly takes off the edge. I mean caffeine.
First, I take a moment to breathe and connect with the present moment. No matter what is on my mind, I know I’m alive, and I have the power to create my life however I want it. I know that if I listen to my anxiety the way I listen to a friend who needs advice, I can find what the real problem is. And once I find it, I can get to work on solving it. That, my friend, is where the caffeine kicks in.
With an appreciation for life, an understanding of the problem, and with the energy to take it on, I know there’s no way I can fail to a point of no return. As our friend Tony Robbins once said, “I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.” That’s how I choose to look at and walk with the fear of failure brought on by my anxieties. Those moments are not for loss, rather they are building blocks for the life of my dreams. You too will be living above anxiety and enjoying the life of your dreams.