Why can anxiety be good for me?

Why can anxiety be good for me? I have just watched this brilliant TED talk by Tim Box about anxiety. He explains that he feels that anxiety is normal, and our problems come from trying to run away from it. Anxiety tells us when there is something important enough to demand our attention. We can’t just get rid of it because it feels uncomfortable.

Anxiety, in small amounts, is important for motivating us to improve our performance. Chronic anxiety, however, can start to dominate our life. If we see a doctor about our symptoms, we may be offered medication, however this may cause side effects or dependency.

Tim feels that anxiety is an emotion, rather than an illness. Our subconscious is responsible for our emotions, and each one is important. Anxiety tells us when something is too important to lose focus. It is designed to steer us away from situations that may cause unhappy experiences. Unfortunately, our emotions are often based on things we learned when we were very young, and so sometimes they are not helpful.

Tim offers three helpful tips for how he managed to get control of his debilitating anxiety.

1 – He refused to believe he was ill. Anxiety is not random, and is triggered by a situation.

2 – He listened to his emotions, including anxiety. Ignoring it just makes it worse. Listening then allows you to make a conscious decision about whether the feeling is helpful or not.

3 – Be kind to yourself. Being self-critical causes low self-esteem. Replacing these thoughts with kindness and positivity empowers us to achieve our potential. When we stop worrying about our anxiety levels, ironically, we start to feel a lot less anxious!

Project 365

I set up this website after deciding that I want to build a more creative life for myself, so I can give up my job and be in control of my own destiny.

I have set myself a goal of publishing an article on my website every day this year, to document my journey from employment to self-employment.

The name I chose was Project 365 because I see this as a year that I have dedicated to learning and self-development, as I countdown to freedom. It started on 1st January 2021, so I have 207 days to go!