A new take on anxiety for high achievers
It is known that anxiety, in many cases, is triggered by fear of the future. We make up scenarios in our mind that are not real that stress us out to no ends and send us down insane rabbit holes…that also have not even happened yet.
Well yesterday I gained a whole new perspective on this.
Over the past 4 years I can confidently say I’ve overcome my fear of the future and unknown —I actually thrive in and love change. And most entrepreneurs I know would say the same.
But yesterday I found myself extremely anxious and caught up in the future but not because of fear, it was impatience.
And unfortunately this impatience ultimately turned more into crippling self-sabotage.
The Difference
I used to call this being “paralyzed by fear”. I used to be too scared to make any moves so I just stayed stuck and played it safe. This sucked.
But this time I found myself “paralyzed by impatience". I was so caught up in wanting to be a few years ahead of where I am now because I know all the hard work I am doing currently is going to pay off but this also left me feeling so far away from my goals. It had me feeling extremely defeated and overwhelmed by the daily tasks at hand. I found myself contradicting everything I was doing, allowing the perfectionist in me to rip apart every little detail and ultimately defaulting to the narrative of “you should be further ahead” (see how quickly this went to self-sabotage).
It is wild what living in our minds can do because after a full day of being stressed the f*ck out, I shared with my partner my frustrations and he immediately talked me off the ledge I was standing on (he has become really good at this).
Moving Forward
Verbalizing it helped me calm down, then I brought it to my journal to process while also prioritizing what to do when impatience tries to paralyze me again:
Simplify and prioritize - This has become a mantra of mine. It has helped me cut through the clutter and focus on the tasks that move the needles the most, while also protecting my time, energy and space. Rather than being overwhelmed about all the things that need to be done to accomplish the big goals I have, this is what keeps me focused and putting in consistent yet smart effort. I need to continue to come back to this.
Give myself some f*cking credit - less than five years ago I completely started over and have hit some hug milestones in between now and then. Rather than always thinking about where I am going I need to give myself some kudos for where I’ve been.
Only compare your journey to yours - We are trapped in a society where comparison can easily become second nature if we allow it. Using a role model's journey as a tool for your own success is crucial, but the comparison game quickly becomes lethal. Staying focused on my dreams, goals and systems to get there is where my energy needs to be exerted.
I share all this because I know I am not the only one who has struggled with this.
As a high achiever it is natural to get caught up in the destination and sometimes exhausted by the journey but I believe, if you are truly on the right path, that exhaustion does just come from impatience. And being aware of it and mitigating to stay the path is key.
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