Fear or anxiety? The never ending battle for millions of people daily. Anxiety is the meteor shower of the what ifs. In this post, I will be offering my top tips to handle anxiety while finding balance in business and life.
I don’t know a better definition of anxiety. It is a continuous firing of what if’s happening in your brain. Unfortunately, you are not alone in this.
Even when there is nothing to be anxious about, my mind will seek out things to worry about. Things so far-fetched that the likelihood of them happening is pretty non-existent, and yet my mind seeks just anything to keep me unsettled.
Anybody relate?
Fear Versus Anxiety
Fear sees a threat, and yet anxiety imagines one. While fear screams get out, anxiety screams what if this happens? Or that happens? Fear was wired into you as a survival mechanism, and anxiety is just an emotion that you and I have allowed to have way too much control.
When you look at the word anxious. You see “angst”, which means a sense of unease. “Xious” means out of breath. A lot of times it is like you are breathless from being so uneasy for so long.
Anxiety takes your breath right out of you. It takes your peace, your rest, and it takes your energy and your well being. Decision making can become almost impossible.
An interesting fact that I recently read is when people from other countries, who suffer with less anxiety, immigrate into the US, they become as anxious as the other Americans.
How does that happen? Their nervous systems should be properly regulated because of the lack of anxiety for so long, and yet they adapt very quickly. In my opinion, it is the hustle culture that they immigrate into The “More Culture” that Americans thrive on. The do versus the be culture. It leads to a great source of anxiety because you feel like rest is an illusion and a sign of weakness.
Overextended and exhaustion are praised in the business world. You have been programmed ALWAYS to be doing. No time to rest. No time to slow down. It’s all about the competition and the quest for MORE… not the quest to BE MORE. There’s a big difference between the two.
Perceived Threats
You are continually being programmed to fear. They show you the threats and the mind takes the threats and runs with all the what ifs that possibly could happen and even the what ifs that have absolutely no chance of happening. Look at how people responded to the pandemic. The threat of a virus was clear and people allowed their mind to run rampant with the what ifs to the point of almost self destruction. Your mental health is suffering, our economy is suffering, almost every area of life is suffering because of the what ifs.
Everyone has instant access to perceived threats. It is fed to you daily through social media, friends, family, and the media.
The perceived threats keep your minds in constant chaos. It keeps your central nervous system in high alert and the cortisol is continually being released because you are in a state of continuous fight, flight, or freeze mode. And you wonder why you have gained weight during the pandemic?
Phillipians 4: 4-8
One of my absolute favorite scriptures that I clung to during my dad’s sickness and death is Phillipians 4:4-8. “Rejoice in the Lord Always. Again, I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses ALL understanding will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy MEDITATE on these things. “
Paul tells us to let go of the worry and think on the good things. Why do you need to think about all of the praiseworthy things? It is because your thoughts are the building blocks of your life. All behaviors begin with a thought. Your thoughts → Your Emotions→ Your Actions→ Your results.
You are commanded to leave your concern with God. This much I know to be true, it is NOT God’s will for you to live a life dominated by anxiety. It is not His will that everyday you wake with dread and angst. He created you to thrive— to be joyful.
Resting in the Promises of God
God whispers to you daily….
Everything is secure and you, my child, can rest now. You can find rest in the promises of God. It’s in the times of strife, when your anxiety can run out of control, you need to live with such gratitude. In all seasons of struggle, there are lessons to be learned. Rejoicing in God’s goodness is the perfect state to dealing with those anxious thoughts.
Rejoicing and happiness is a choice you get to make daily. Does it mean that life is going perfectly? NO!!! Rejoicing in the Lord is merely having a confidence that God exists, He is in control, and He is a good, good Heavenly Father.
As much as I knew my daddy loved me, I had confidence he would always protect me, there were struggles that were unavoidable. The same goes for your heavenly father.
Holding onto these beliefs will strengthen you when the world is crumbling. It will keep your faith steady. Not because you are strong, but because you are connected to the source of strength that makes you strong.
Daily Plan of Action
A more concrete way to handle anxiety is designing a daily plan of action for your life and business and taking inspired action. An idle mind is a devil’s playground. For me the greatest cause of anxiety is the lack of action leading to me feeling completely out of control. Control may be an illusion just like perfectionism, and yet just striving for it, controls the what ifs of life.
Managing both business and life requires a balance that can make you feel like you are being pulled in multiple directions, so discovering a daily game plan is very beneficial for perceived control. Grab my list of non-negotiables for life and business here.
Rejoicing in His Mercy
Unresolved shame creates anxiety in a person. You will always find yourself trying to hide and not be found out. Shame will suck the life out of you, and yet grace will restore it.
Discovering how to rejoice in the mercy of God daily will help you handle the anxiety. Remember back to being a kid and breaking the rules, say curfew. You do everything you can to avoid your parents because you feel ashamed. This guilt created such anxiety in you. Once you confessed your shortcomings or your parents found out, you finally felt relief from the anxiety.
The same goes with bigger shame you may feel in life and business. Until you get to the core issue of the shame, and release it, you will struggle with anxiety.
It is in releasing the shame that you are fully able to release the anxiety. You can release the shame through rejoicing in the mercies of God daily. You can confess your shortcomings to God and leave them at the foot of the cross.
This can be easier said than done. When you have spent your life hiding and running from shame, it can be challenging to say today I am going to completely own it and release it.
Many have no idea that they are even dealing with shame and wonder why they are bound by anxiety. I was one of those people. Honestly, even through the processing of redemption and healing, I never fully understood what was keeping me stuck in the same cycle of anxiety daily.
R3 Method
Through a process that I stumbled across and revised through trial and error to birth The R3 Method. It has become a necessity in my daily growth. While self development can take a bad rap in the Christian world, I have found techniques that I combine with Biblical principles to feel peace for the first time in my life. If you would like to discover more about the technique I use daily to keep me on track financially and personally, click here.
As I close out this blog post, I encourage you if you suffer with fear or anxiety to begin to explore the root cause of the anxiety. To rest in knowing that you can live a life of peace, joy and balance when you discover how to rest in the promises of God.
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