When the Weight of the World Gets Too Heavy

The emotion know as anxiety.Im getting fully engrossed in this new lifestyle of working for myself. There are lots of perks so far, but there are also some real negative aspects.

I have faced many emotions during this time and a new type is anxiety. I can honestly say I have never been an anxious person. The major changes occurring on this enduring adventure have brought these emotions into perspective for me.

The oxford dictionary describes Anxiety as:A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. If I had to describe my new anxiety it would be in the following way:A feeling of overwhelming despair that I will never overcome all of the negative things in my lifeWhen these feelings and emotions come on they usually come on in a big way. Its so easy to let all the unknown negatives in my life weigh on my shoulders.

Before you know it, you cant even think straight. This causes the anxiety to feed on itself and soon, all I can do is just sit down and cry.I faced these situations early on my journey and recognized right away I needed to find a way to manage.

Over the past few months Ive found four very effective methods for facing these times of despair and I feel they can work for you too. Distinguish your perspective. The first difference I made in managing my anxiety was recognizing and acknowledging this new emotion.

It may seem obvious, but without doing this you allow the opportunity for your anxiety to take control. Looking back, I realized losing control over my emotions was a big problem. If you dont encourage awareness to come when the feelings of dread and despair do, then you have no power to choose what to do with them.

If your emotions run wild with you, youll end up in a spiral of compounding feelings. When this happens you lose total perspective on what the true nature of your situation is. When you feel negative thoughts building in your mind, let that be a trigger to pay attention.

The act of awareness of your emotions is the most powerful first step to remaining in control. When you are aware of feeling anxious you can let your feelings come to you while maintaining an objective point of view. This kind of perspective allows you to feel, as well as recognize, what is causing the feelings.

If you stop and say to yourself,I am feeling anxious about making enough money to support myselfThen you give your anxiety a focal point. From this focal point you can separate the emotional from the rational parts of your reality. You can gain awareness that money is something youre uncertain about, or dont feel confident in.

It gives you room to breathe and begin the conversation with yourself about the issue. I use this technique all the time to help me manage the tough emotions that come my way. Do a reality check.

Once you gain perspective on the thing that is causing your anxiety, you can take some time to really look it over. Oftentimes our anxieties can seem so overwhelming because they all come at once and we feel powerless to confront them. I have found almost all the time there is no immediate threat from our anxieties.

When our imagination runs wild in creative ways we are happy with the interesting results that come to mind. When our imagination does the same in negative ways, like with our anxieties, it can deeply affect us and make a seemingly manageable situation into a catastrophe.Again the example of not having enough money is a classic for so many people.

We all feel this ever-present specter of money and expenses looming over us. If we let our minds wander into the unknown about our financial situation, it can build into a disastrous anxiety attack almost out of nowhere. But what happens when we stop and actually take a look at our financial situation.

I have found so often that my fears about money are not even relevant, mainly because expenses usually do not come all at once.Now thats not to say that expenses can come on rapidly, but even if they do we have time to pay things off if we strategize and discipline yourself. I dont want to insinuate that being financially irresponsible is ok, because to make it as an entrepreneur, financial intelligence and thriftiness are a must.

In any case though, if we take a step back from our anxiety and give them a good reality check we often see that they dont have much reality to stand on.We are all doing our best to be successful and provide for ourselves, and I bet most of us have our shit together more than we think. When we take an honest look at our situation in the face of feeling anxious, were not in such dire straits as we may feel.

Doing this reality check is a good way to accurately and objectively find areas we are struggling in.If we can use our anxiety to check in on our situation, we may identify aspects of our lives requiring more attention. It gives us another focal point to put our energy toward.

Often having a clear goal in mind is required to motivate us to take action.Make a new choice.The next bit of advice is a tough one because it can get convoluted with some popular motivational ideals.

I have heard so often from motivational gurus saying,Your happiness comes from within you, so choose to be happyTo this I have to say, no thanks. I fully embrace that we must allow negative emotions into our lives when we feel them. This is necessary to ensure we pay attention to our needs as individuals.

It helps us keep in touch with what is truly important. Negative emotions can sometimes be powerful indicators that we have an imbalance in our lives.They may tell us something we cant consciously see or understand.

I say telling people to choose to be happy is about as effective as telling someone who is hungry to chose to be full. Some things cannot be easily overcome with mind power.On the other hand, I think we are fully capable of making a choice when it comes to how we react to our emotions.

By having awareness and perspective on our anxiety we can ask ourselves this more relevant question. Is allowing these negative anxious feeling to stay with me going to help me in the long runThis question invites you to consider your options on how to handle the anxious emotions. Say for instance, youre feeling anxious about not having enough time for work.

If you gain focus enough to ask yourself,Is descending into an anxious spiral going to be an effective use of my time?These types of questions can break a cycle that could easily overwhelm you. I often use this method for bringing an episode of anxious thoughts to a close.

It puts a real clear presence of mind on your anxiety and shows you that losing control of your emotions is not going to help. You need to give yourself space to feel your emotions, and setting aside dedicated time to be with them is important. This is a much healthier alternative than an uncontained emotional spiral.

This time can often lead to meditations on what is bothering you in the first place. Making a conscious choice about how you handle your anxiety is not easy by any means, but when you practice taking control you strengthen your ability to be in control. Find things to be grateful for.

The last piece of advice I have is more of a preventative measure that I have used to great effect. While it may seem cheesy, creating a list of gratitudes is a powerful tool to keep your mind and thoughts in a positive space. When you take the time to honestly ask yourself what great things you have in your life you gain a vast amount of insight.

You create a living document that shows what positive aspects you embody during difficult times. This list can always be expanding too as new things and people come into your life. Youll be surprised what you really appreciate and hold gratitude for.

Realizing these things and the emotions they bring can be a powerful exercise.Your gratitude list can also be a steadfast tool to ground yourself when you feel anxieties building. When you have that deep sinking feeling in your stomach about whatever your mind is focussing on, you can break that thought process by reading your gratitudes list.

Ive done this many times over the last few months and it always proved effective in guiding me back to my positivity. I eventually made this a sort of mantra and routine for me as I would go to bed.I created a short ceremony where I put my mind into a calm space and then recite my gratitude out loud.

Doing this fills me with a sense of happiness and fulfillment with the many things I have in my life. It really does keep your mind in a positive space, and make you more aware and familiar with the good things in life. I highly suggest you try it and see if you dont get a happy boost when your list is complete.

Our emotions are a part of us. Anxiety is something that we must embrace from time to time and I think when we manage it well, it is a healthy part of our emotional horizon. I have come to realize the importance of embracing negative emotions as they help to bring balance, focus, and perspective to our lives in general.

Breaking into entrepreneurship makes you face some real and very harsh anxieties. I have developed these methods to ensure it wont keep me from reaching my dreams.I know these can work for you as well and even trying them is a positive action you should be really proud of.

Our emotions are our own and I know we must face them as individuals on this journey we call life. I hope this advice has given you a few more ways to meet these challenges. You grow stronger every time you show up for yourself and give your emotion the consideration they deserve RELATED QUESTION In the film 'Barry Lyndon', Barry's brother admits tricking him and says, "We loaded your gun with tow.

" What is tow? Tow is a fibre obtained from the processing of flax, hemp, or jute into thread for weaving. During the time in which Barry Lyndon is set, it was commonly used as a material for cleaning firearms in lieu of more expensive woven cloth patches.

Tow could also be used as tinder for fire making with flint and steel, and it was commonly used as stuffing for upholstery. PA4500 Flax "Tow" In the case of the movie, it was used as wadding for a blank round during the duel with the British officer so neither would hurt the other.