How to deal with Anxiety
And so sometime yesterday I sat down with a question, what is it that is causes this anxiety?
One word: Wanting, or is it two words waiting and wanting, for things to turn out a certain way. For me right now it’s waiting and wanting a million subscribers on youtube and before that, it’s waiting and wanting people (read people with money) to whom I’m presenting my project to like it and fund it. But you could be waiting and wanting for your loved one to respond to an SMS. Or just waiting and wanting for your exam result to be declared. The ‘wait and want’ list is endless.
And this is the cause of anxiety because when we wait and want a particular outcome, we fear that it won’t come true, and that drives us up the tree with anxiety. Off course the desired outcome may not be achieved. The big mantra is to keep in mind is that ALL IS WELL and will be, no matter what.
One, tell yourself you’ll be OK no matter what happens to the ‘waiting and wanting’. Very often we tell ourselves that everything depends on the event that we are waiting to happen. Remind yourself constantly that you will be ok even if it doesn’t happen, that way your expectation from the want will decrease.
Two, be true to yourself that you don’t know everything about everything and there are many factors outside your control that will influence the want. We are not in control of everything.
Three, never stop what you are doing to wait and watch. As is said in ancient mythology, do what is your call your ‘karma’ and the fruit of your labour will come to you. For instance, you cannot influence the mind of your lover but you can give her or him unconditional love. Access how you are going about the job instead is there another way of doing what you are doing. Reshape, restructure, think new ways but never just ‘wait and want’.
Four, always keep the worst-case scenario in mind. The girl doesn’t respond, people don’t like the video, the business fails. What is the possibility of that happening? What would you do next? The knowledge that there is a tomorrow and it will be different from today is in itself an anxiety buster.
Last, give thanks, that your action was out of love, you loved what you did and you put your heart and soul into it. It has a great calming effect. And somewhere beyond the waiting and wanting is the peace of knowing that there is a rainbow and a sunny day after the rain, and that is the best way to deal with anxiety.
