We're Stronger Than We Realize

Very often our anxiety gets to the better of us.

Often this is for valid reason, but there are times that we permit this to happen as we are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be.

Our capacity to cope successfully with life's challenges far outstrips our capacity to feel nervousness. Yet in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to an event that we believe will test our limits, we can become nervous. 

While we may have previously regarded ourselves as equal to the trials that lie ahead, we sometimes reach a point at which they near and our anxiety begins to mount. We then become increasingly worked up, until the moment of truth arrives

We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be. 

Anxiety is not rational in nature, which means that in most cases we cannot work through it using logic as our only tool. Reason can help us recognize the relative futility of unwarranted worry but, more often than not, we find more comfort in patterns of thought and activity that redirect our attention to practical or engaging matters. 

Most of us find it difficult to focus on two distinct thoughts or emotions at once,but we can use this natural human limitation to our advantage when trying to stay centered in the period leading up to a potentially stressful situation. 

When we concentrate on something unrelated to our concern - such as meditation, prayer, deep breathing, visualizations of success, pleasurable pursuits, or exercise - anxiety dissipates naturally. 

Meditation and prayer are also useful coping mechanisms as they provide us with a means to ground ourselves in the moment. This can provide us with a focal point wholly outside of our own sphere.

The intense emotional flare-up we experience just before we are set to embark upon a challenge is often a mixture of both excitement and fear. 

Once we take steps to eliminate the fear, we can work with embracing the excitement with confidence.

We may find it difficult to avoid becoming worked up or anxious about our situation, but our awareness of the forces acting on the supportive side of our feelings will help us to return to our center accept that there are few hurdles we will face which will ever be as high as they at first appear.

With love & light,

Rob