Accept the idea of thought as a behavior

We all get faced with threatening situations, and we all need to be aware of the dangers they represent.

But not every feeling is a call to action. If our anxiety suddenly starts welling up inside of us, that doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong.

We may be imagining a threat that isn’t there. In fact, our inappropriate anxiety might even be making things worse.

To avoid getting caught in this doom loop, take my therapist friend’s advice:

Accept the idea of thought as a behavior.

This may sound contrary to what you’ve been taught. Since when did thinking count as acting?

But my friend tells me that this framing can an important step in coping with our worries is taking control of our mindset.

Say you recently dropped the ball on a client project at work. You canceled the weekly conference call last minute, but then you forgot to reschedule it, and now the client is upset because they don’t have their usual report to show to their boss.

Anxious people in this situation may start beating themselves up, catastrophically misinterpreting this mistake as the reason the client will churn and the impetus for their termination.

Sounds like me in my twenties.

Calm people, on the other hand, would weigh all the information logically. Try a few threat assessment questions that have been helpful to me.

Is this actually threatening or dangerous to my career? What’s the worst that could happen? And how likely is it that the worst will happen?

Through this evaluation, you can reduce your experience of anxiety. By stepping back to calmly and comprehensively evaluate your stressful situation, you can usually prove to yourself that this feeling is not the call to action you thought it was.

Think about it. That cancelled client meeting is in the past. Which means it’s not a problem that can be solved, it’s a fact that can’t be altered. Which means it’s not appropriate to worry, which means you can move on.

Doesn’t that sound better than freezing yourself into inaction?

Next time your threat level turns red, try to analyze your fear.

It’s probably not rational. But you can be.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What questions could you ask yourself to give your rational mind a chance to vote?