Use Your Anxiety

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED how hard it is to get rid of your own anxiety. Why? Because anxiety puts your attention on danger, and the more you resist thinking about danger, the more fixated your mind becomes. That's how the brain works. You can't fight anxiety by trying to get rid of it directly. The way to fight it is to shift your attention to accomplishing some purpose, especially a goal related to the source of your anxiety. In other words, find something you want to do about terrorism.

For example, I had been reading and watching news almost compulsively for some time after September 11th, even though I was trying to carry on with my normal life. I couldn't seem to get my thoughts off the upsetting events. But because I had spent the previous ten months researching effective methods for dealing with anxiety and pessimism (writing the manuscripts for two books on those subjects), I knew what to do. I knew the first and most important step I could take was to find a goal in the area of my anxiety.

In my case, CitizenWarrior.com is the result. I realized I had been accumulating a great deal of know-how about anxiety and pessimism, and it is exactly what many people needed. So I stopped working on my books and started working on this web site. I wanted to help people deal with the situation. But the anti-anxiety method I'm advocating is not just to create a clear goal, it is to shift your attention to that goal every time you feel anxious. Every time I have an anxious or pessimistic thought about terrorism, I think about what I want to do on this web site. This makes me feel determined and motivated rather than anxious. It converts the adrenaline from flight to fight.

That is what you can do. Think. And think hard. What specifically are you anxious about? What are you afraid of? Specifically. And what sincere desire do you have about that anxiety-provoking situation?

Keep in mind: For this method to lessen your anxiety, you must sincerely desire your goal. The stronger your desire, the better it works. If you don't know what your goal would be, then that's your goal: Find a purpose you can really get behind.

Decide on a heartfelt purpose in the direction of your anxiety and reaffirm your determination to accomplish that purpose every time you feel a jolt of anxiety. Use your anxiety to strengthen your resolve. Use the jolts of adrenaline to intensify your motivation. That is what you and I can do now. Let's convert our collective anxiety into collective determination to defeat terrorism.