Do you feel like anxiety and self-doubt are stopping you from achieving your goals?
If so, you’re not alone. Most of us lack the courage to go after our dreams.
I was a pro at it.
But ask yourself a follow-up question: What do you desire in your life right now?
Is it going for that promotion at work?
Starting your own business?
Or asking out the barista serving you that perfectly feathered flat-white each morning?
We often know what we want. And yet, can't seem to shake the following destructive sequence:
Self-doubt -> Overthinking -> Inaction.
Ultimately, leaving us wallowing in a sorry state of 'what if' disappointment.
But this is where optimal anxiety can help.
It’s an approach to anxiety management that will help you overcome the obstacles standing in your way.
It’s been a game-changer for me. And has helped me gain some much-needed momentum in my life after a particularly rough patch.
By adding it to your toolkit, you'll equip yourself with the innate ability to put yourself firmly back behind the wheel.
So let this article kickstart a chain reaction of good things heading your way.
This one’s going to be a 5-minute read.
What Is Optimal Anxiety?
Optimal anxiety focuses on reframing your feelings of fear and self-doubt. It's a self-confidence snowball. Helping you unlock a go-to strategy for success. And one that will have you striving for goals that might have otherwise seemed out of your reach.
It’s about recognising that you're capable of going beyond yourself. Your cheat code to squeezing more out of life.
Because it’s when you stretch a little outside of your comfort zone that the magic starts to happen.
Becoming Aware of Self-Doubt
“Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” – Eckhart Tolle
We all doubt ourselves from time to time. It’s a human response to anything new or uncomfortable we face.
Like before you have to give a big presentation at work. Or before a difficult conversation with a partner. It's here we often feel ill-equipped. Ready to do anything and everything in our power to put it off for as long as possible.
But instead of hiding, take stock of these moments.
What are the things you’re trying to get out of?
That knot in your stomach is your body’s way of ‘pushing back’. Attempting to tell us that we’re not good enough or we’re better off spending our time doing something else.
It’s here that we’re desperately looking to retreat to the confines of our comfort zone. And it's here we so often get trapped.
But counterintuitively, this feeling is what we should be leaning into most. Because fear and self-doubt are a prison we'll lock ourselves in without committing so much as a crime.
Is Our Comfort Zone The Enemy?
The short answer is no. I don’t want to completely vilify our comfort zone. It’s actually good to have it available when we need it.
It gives us a safe space to process new things we get subjected to. A place to relax and somewhere we can take a break from the craziness of the real world.
But I implore you to think of your comfort zone as your home base. It's not a place to ruminate. Instead, think of it as somewhere to return to after each exhausting and exhilarating trek through the jungle of life.
Testing the Waters of Growth
This is the important part.
Tackling fears and challenging tasks head-on is a scary prospect. That's why it's important to begin by building up your confidence.
A great place to start is by reflecting on your routines. What are the things you’re doing with your eyes closed? The things you feel comfortable and competent in.
Use these as your foundations for change.
It could be something as simple as introducing a new exercise into your gym routine. Or rustling up a dish in the kitchen you’ve never before attempted.
You haven't got to reinvent the wheel.
You're building up your confidence to push yourself that bit further than before. And here you'll see belief in yourself and your abilities compound.
As James Clear so wonderfully states in his book ‘Atomic Habits’: “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become”.
And whilst there’s no silver bullet to transform your self-belief overnight, the votes build up. As does the evidence of your new identity.
You’re someone who’s starting to challenge yourself. You’re voting for the person staring back at you in the mirror in 10 years’ time saying “I'm glad I took the leap”.
Do the everyday things differently and you’ll start to see that you’ve got what it takes to shake things up.
Momentum is your ally in all this, so use it to your advantage. Stack the mini-moments of optimal anxiety alongside one another.
Then, before long, you might just be solo travelling your way around the world or taking that dance class. Although I’ll admit, I haven't quite got myself dancing just yet!
But whatever it looks like for you, trust me that the wins will stack up. As will your can-do attitude to approaching new things.
My Experience With Optimal Anxiety
Like a lot of people, I’ve always loved the idea of starting a side project.
Spending my time on something I could be proud of. Something with purpose.
And yet, it always seemed like too daunting of a task.
But this year, I vowed to try something different.
The word I wrote in my journal on January 1st was “intention”.
And that’s what has led me to write this article today.
I’d never considered writing to be able to help me achieve my dream of starting my own side project.
But now I see that there’s a space at the creative table for everyone with access to a keyboard.
I see writing as a vehicle to help people. And a skill that I can hone and develop to create something for myself in the future.
I want to thank Twitter for starting me off on this journey.
It’s been my ‘Optimal Anxiety Assistant’.
What do I mean?
Because starting to write in 280 characters or less was the perfect entry point.
I’d have talked myself out of writing an article if it was my first foray into writing online.
Yet, Twitter’s made it accessible.
I sucked at first. But I've learnt to appreciate the beauty in that.
The more we work on the slightly uncomfortable things, the easier they become.
And had I not embraced the discomfort and second-guessing, I’d have quit before I’d even started.
It was by flexing into my optimal anxiety zone that I’ve been able to steadily build my confidence in writing.
Now I've found a creative outlet to help me access a greater degree of purpose in my life.
Final Word
As you can see by now, discomfort doesn’t need to be a burden. Finding your anxiety sweet spot will help you stay motivated for the road ahead. And help you take bigger steps as your confidence increases.
I’m not saying it’s an overnight fix by any means. But once you start to leverage optimal anxiety in your life, you’ll begin to notice the improvements in whatever it is you’re working towards.
I’m enjoying writing and all that comes with it. It feels like a good use of my ‘free time’. And it’s helping me problem-solve and giving me a creative outlet. Unlike any hobby I’ve worked on before.
As the days go by, new and unexpected challenges are becoming easier to approach with a more positive mindset.
I’m pushing my boundaries further and no longer paralysed by my self-doubt or the fear of failure.
So with that, I want to conclude.
I urge you to start taking small and uncomfortable actions in your life. Because you never know where they might lead.
“We miss 100% of the shots we don’t take”–Wayne Gretzky
If you’re reading this as an aspiring creator, I’ll see you on Twitter 😄
Happy growing,
Jack
I like how you began the year with the intention of starting a purposeful project. And here you are, several months later, inspiring others on Substack and Twitter with lessons from your journey. Keep up the good work, my friend.