Conquering Anxiety: Everything Starts With ONE SMALL STEP

Conquering Anxiety:  Everything Starts With ONE SMALL STEP

Oh Oh Oh, not too long ago, we'll just shrug off our shoulders WHEN we hear ANXIETY.  BUT today, WHO can ignore ANXIETY even as the latest statistics I saw was way back 2019 when 301 million [or 4% of the world population] have various forms of anxiety disorder.  ANXIETY per se is NOT the 'end of the world' but the fact that that number increased by 55% since the 1990s, and that it is linked to other health conditions  such as depression, and even substance use disorders, when conquering ANXIETY, Everything Starts With ONE SMALL STEP📗📙📘

If there's a BIG MISS by most of us, it is the fact that we start to confront ANXIETY only WHEN it's right there staring in our face.  BUT WHERE were we before ANXIETY did hit us? And to piggy-back on those researches, WHAT was going on before ANXIETY did hit us?  Did we feel like being trapped in that vicious cycle before it gets to hit us?  Those constant worries, fears and the endless "WHAT IFs" and 'I CAN'T' escape, reminds me of the movie ' The Matrix💥💥💥

Without reinventing things, experts counsel us to quickly identify TRIGGERS & PATTERNS.  As ANXIETY is deeply rooted in thoughts that are triggered by situations, events OR even experiences that set off painful feelings, for us to pinpoint [OR at least attempt to pinpoint] those TRIGGERS, we should have a head start to figure out even smaller solutions to 'DISARM' those TRIGGERS.  Basic interrogatives could be:  WHAT WAS I LOOKING AT?  WHO WAS I TALKING TO?  WHAT WAS THE TOPIC THEN???

Digging deep to uncover the underlying beliefs and assumptions that somehow secretly fuel our ANXIETIES, it may lead us then to objectively challenge NEGATIVITIES, critical OR even irrational thoughts that may contribute to our distress.  Replacing them with healthy and empowering thoughts that counteract those ANXIETY triggers may enable us to regain that elusive control over our thoughts, life and even emotions.  Experts also encourage us to make explicit declarations to counter ANXIETY, like: "RIGHT NOW, I CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE ANY SICK OR NEGATIVE BELIEFS TO EMPOWER ME AND FUEL MY RESILIENCE TO REGAIN MY PEACE OF MIND'💚💛💜

Our takeaway:  Much as there have been countless success stories WHO did overcome ANXIETY disorders, it is NOT that obvious that there is a bigger number of 'horror stories' in fighting off ANXIETY.  To pick the brains of the experts:

• Design a small blueprint and plan to fight ANXIETY
• Set realistic timelines. You can't overcome it so soon
• Prioritize, to determine the SMALL STEPS you'll take

EVERYTHING STARTS WITH ONE SMALL STEP!!!

Everything Starts With One SMALL Step

Everything Starts With One SMALL Step

More often, we would hear 'THINK BIG, THINK BIG' [and I CAN'T disagree with that wishful thinking].  BUT if you look around you, what's the MORTALITY RATE of those who, all along in the past, have been blurting 'THINK BIG, THINK BIG'?  I can bet my salary for a month that very easily, somewhere 30% [at the very least] are NOWHERE from WHAT and WHERE they thought they will be after embracing the 'THINK BIG' motto.  So, WHAT's wrong?  WHERE's the disconnect here?  Everything Starts With One SMALL Step, that's the short and long answer to that frank prognosis.  So, while I myself I unequivocably embrace the 'THINK BIG' motto all throughout my life journey, I stand four square with my mantra that Everything Starts With One SMALL Step, NOT a big-bang thing, NOT a GIANT first step most of the time📘📙📗

So, for today, WHAT we'd like to harp is the POWER of SMALL ACTIONS.  Taking SMALL STEPS consistently can lead to BIG changes over time.  Frankly, this is all about us ourselves taking responsibility for your own life.  That importance of taking responsibility for our own lives and NOT relying on others to make it happen for us.  In short, we have that POWER to create the life we desire through our very own actions📌📌📌

Experience-wise, I would admit that we will always face resistance from our very own selves and that resistance is compounded by our SELF-DOUBT as it holds us back from taking action. By acknowledging and addressing these internal barriers, it is beyond doubt that we can move and progress forward to take the necessary steps towards our goals.  Experts would counsel us to FOCUS on the PRESENT MOMENT.  By focusing on the PRESENT MOMENT, and taking SMALL ACTIONS, we can even preempt and avoid getting overwhelmed by the 'BIG PICTURE' and increase our chances to succeed💧💧💧

So, HOW do we progress forward?  Break down your BIG goals into smaller and much smaller tasks.  In our project management practice, we call this as the WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE [WBS].  Why should we break things down to smaller tasks:

• TASK DEFINITIONS become clear and precise
• TASKS can be tracked on a per task level
• TASKS can be time-lined independently
• Ease of detecting potential slippages especially it may cause a 'ripple effect'

Our takeaway today:  Get this embedded within yourself.  Grandiose ambitious and gargantuan plans are laudable BUT never lose sight to break it down to the level of a task.  I remember that time when I started to entertain thoughts of exploring my options [to work and reside in Singapore].  First and foremost, I asked myself, WHAT is my budget.  HOW can I come up with my budget.  And WHEN can I produce that budget in hard cash.  Until and unless I really got satisfied with my answers to those three most basic pre-requisite interrogatives, I kept reminding myself that EVERYTHING STARTS WITH ONE SMALL STEP❗❗❗