Someone said to me the other day that anxiety was something she lived with, it was part of her that she didn't care to get rid of it, like this was her personality now.  I was floored!

Why would anyone want to hang onto anxiety?!

Then I realised, maybe she din't know what anxiety keeps out of your life! And didn't know how different life could be without it! And that it's fixable. It may me wonder how many others felt the same.

Let me be clear, I'm talking about generalised anxiety, not anxiety before events like public speaking or bumping into your ex. Anxiety begins in the mind and starts with our thoughts. It triggers a cascade of hormones to be released in the body, making our body match our thoughts. Thoughts racing, body racing.

This mind-body reaction drains our body making us tired and less likely to do the stuff we love – creative projects, following our passion, having sex with our partner, playing with kids, being adventurous, socialising, preparing nourishing food and maintaining work-life balance.

Anxiety makes you shrink back from life. When you don't see it, it keeps you stuck in your rut!

The 3 ways anxiety is ruining your life (beyond health), that many don't realise:

1. Busy mind is slowing you down

A busy mind is always replaying a kind of ‘greatest hits' of past or future failures, successes or grievances.  Your body responds to a busy mind with a RUSH of energy (frantic energy) to move you quickly but instead of being efficient, you look like a dog chasing it's tail. You try multi-tasking (i.e. doing nothing properly) and by the end of the day you may have done 3 things from your to-do list but you're exhausted!!

When we have a busy mind we feel stressed, overwhelmed, scared, frozen, we get caught up in trying to figure stuff out or work through them.

Athletes get into the zone and achieve super-human results because they have a clear mind.

George Mumford who coached Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant says:

“There is no room for any negative self-talk and distracting chatter…Instead, you are flooded with consciousness and are fully and wholly concentrated on the here and now. This is the experience every athlete has when he or she is fully in the Zone. Sometimes we call this ‘being on fire.’ All distractions are burned away. This is pure performance at its best.”

2. Disconnect from your Authentic Self

This is that part of you that knows who you are, why you do what you do, connected to your purpose and utilises who you really are. Are you in touch with this authentic self?

It would be sad to think that there is a vibrant, happy and very different you under all the to-do lists, expectations and society's ideas of success.

Your authentic self  isn't defined by your job, your relationship, your family or your bank balance. It's your unique gifts, passions, desires, skills, talents, strengths, interest, insight and wisdom, that a solely yours and need expression.

When we don't live from our authentic selves, it feels like somethings missing, we feel incomplete, like there's a void which we try to fill with busyness, overworking, alcohol, over-investing in kids, partner, family, overeating and so on.

3. We go offline – switch off intuition, guidance & inner wisdom 

There's a part of you that knows what to do, only all the time.

Whatever challenges come your way, your wisdom will find the answer. Work commitments, relationship problems, financial concerns, business success, how do I decide between tiramisu or cheesecake…the lot!

When we're busy, up in our head all the time, under pressure, anxious or stressed, then we don't have connection to this source of intelligence, kind of like the we've gone offline.

You can have a lot on without being busy. Busyness is in the mind, not the work.

Artists, mystics, healers, philosophers, Zen Masters and Oprah agree that the more time you spend away from your wisdom, the more you struggle to ‘make it happen' and consequently veer off course in life. Wisdom guides. You may call it intuition, gut feeling, spirit, divine or the creative potential, and it's our best navigator.

When our mind is quiet, we are more receptive to deeper wisdom, insight and in the moment common sense. It's within the zone that we have access to intuition, creativity, problem solving and insights flow through us.

 “It’s the space of relative clarity and well-being where we have access to both our personal database of knowledge and the deeper wisdom of Mind.” Michael Neill – ‘Inside-out Revolution'

If you want to how anxiety impacts your energy levels, weight, and happy hormones, I've created a training series about it. Watch it now FREE – How To Heal Anxiety & Exhaustion without quitting your job or meditating with monks!

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