Work Beats Worry and Action Beats Anxiety

One of my favorite quotes by a mentor, Craig Ballantyne, is this …

“Action Beats Anxiety. Motion Beats Meditation. Work Beats Worry.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Being anxious or worrying about a problem accomplishes nothing unless you take some action to move things in a different direction.

We are all under tons of pressures today. Most of us have too much on our plates. It is easy to get overwhelmed and let the negative emotions take control.

When you feel anxious or worried about something, then try this.

What is the one thing you could do for the next hour that would help to get you out of the situation that is causing the anxiety? If you are worried about something that may happen in the future, then what is the one thing that you could do for the next hour that would be most likely to help avoid that bad thing from happening.

Then go do it.

Anxiety and worry often stems from feeling like we are helpless or not in control of an important situation.

But, you usually have a lot more control than you think.

Taking action helps to relieve worry and anxiety because it is showing your mind that you do have control. You can get yourself out of the situation or minimize it’s impact.

Taking action is hard, especially if it is outside of your comfort zone of regular activities you feel confident in. However, if you don’t like the situation you are in, then everything you need to do is outside your comfort zone. Your comfort zone got you to exactly where you are right now. It isn’t going to take you somewhere different or better.

Knowing that you need to get out of your , comfort zone and actually doing it, day after day, is a different story. Sometimes, we need help to determine what the right things are to focus on and how to accomplish them. We need to be able to get some guidance from an expert who has done it all before. Clarity comes from someone with experience and “fresh eyes”.