Your Anxiety is a Sign of Devotion

Summary

Joe Hudson reframes anxiety as a possible sign that you care deeply about something. Rather than trying to force anxiety away, he suggests recognizing the devotion beneath it, opening up to that care, and allowing support and appreciation to come back to you. In his view, anxiety can also build when important actions or emotions are left unaddressed.

Key Strategies

• Look for the care beneath the worry. Identify what is making you anxious and ask what you are committed to or deeply care about. Shifting attention from self-doubt to that care may help anxiety settle.
• Stay open to receiving. Devotion can become draining when it only flows outward. Acknowledge your contribution and allow yourself to receive help, appreciation, or gratitude.
  • Hudson describes a team exercise in which employees shared how their work had helped others and received gratitude. He says recognizing their impact helped ease the team’s sense of overload.
• Don’t try to push anxiety away. Treat it with openness rather than rejection. Hudson compares rejecting anxiety while claiming to be open-hearted to telling a loved one, “I love you, but get out.”
• Separate urgent commitments from mental to-do lists. Write down or defer tasks that do not need to happen now, rather than mentally carrying them all at once.
• Address important things you’ve been avoiding. Consider whether you need to have a difficult conversation, express love, apologize, ask forgiveness, or take another meaningful step. Approach it gently and kindly toward yourself.
• Make room for unexpressed emotions. Notice feelings you may be suppressing, such as sadness or anger, and find a healthy, non-aggressive way to experience and express them.

Presenter/source: Joe Hudson, Art of Accomplishment.