When we shoot a rubber band, we must be careful not to stretch it too far or too little. If we overstretch it, it will snap and break on us. If we do not stretch it enough, it will go limp and fall. To make the rubber band travel far, we must use the right amount of strength to create sufficient tension for it to have just enough energy to go where we want it to land.
The rubber band here refers to the way we live with our anxiety, a negative side effect generated in our fast-paced lives which can easily disrupt our moods and create immense stress in our daily lives if not managed properly. There will always be unpredictable circumstances in life, and anxiety happens to creep up easily during those situations.
Anxiety itself is not a great danger to our minds, it is how we perceive it. Most of us view anxiety as something frightening, something we should be afraid of and avoid. This type of perception is a negative and self-defeating one and it will just make you even more anxious. When you fear anxiety, you will feel vulnerable and that feeling would gradually take control over you, worsening the negative feelings you harbor.
This tendency to fear anxiety stems from how humans often view change as risky and a threat to the self. It is also partially caused by medical information which frame anxiety as a mental health problem. Surely, overwhelming anxiety must be treated by a medical expert. However, for most of us, anxiety is a form of stored energy which can be turned into something beneficial to us.
Anxiety acts as a message sent from our body telling us to focus. Consciously dealing with anxiety helps us discover hidden motivators in life and behind success in a business. Accepting anxiety as a norm in our lives is a way of understanding and facing it. There are 3 stages of Anxiety:
1. Too little anxiety leads to complacency.
This is where people void change and overestimate the value of the status quo. People in this category live in their safe and comfort zone. It can be developed from parents over-pampering, always avoiding uncertainties and complex tasks since young etc. Regardless, it is not encouraged to view the world as such.
2. Too much anxiety leads to chaos.
Many of us face overly high levels of anxiety occasionally. In our fast-paced and competitive society today, it is hard to not feel this way. Anxiety has even almost become a habit and some of our lives, and this usually occurs to people who are too obsessed with success. They often insist they are right, they love to take control and the powerful feeling they have leads to negative behavior and unhealthy energy surrounding them. Their obsession with success stems from fear of failure, incompetency, being insignificant in life or being made use of. People with overly high levels of anxiety are usually unable to connect with themselves. They cannot control their emotions, they inevitably allow negative feelings like anger, sadness, anxiety and fear to control them. They do not hesitate to vent these negative feelings on others, causing chaos to people around them.
3. The right amount of anxiety leads to success.
This creates sufficient tension that propels us towards success without hesitation or us wanting to give up. Sufficient anxiety creates the best conditions which facilitate learning, allowing us to push beyond our limits and work towards the ideal future we want. It helps us narrow the distance between who we are and who we aim to be.
We should always aim to find a balance between work and play which gives us just the right amount of anxiety needed to motivate us. We need to be self-aware, conscious of surroundings and understand how we are affecting people round us.
Category(s):Adjusting to Change / Life Transitions, Anxiety, Health Psychology, Life Purpose / Meaning / Inner-Guidance, Positive Psychology
Source material from Psychology Today
