Choosing

I choose to be anxious.

I choose to react in this way.

I choose to be avoidant.

Sounds like a dysfunctional daily affirmation.

In fact it was my affirmation this morning while walking my dog around the lake resort near where I live.

And I haven’t felt this light and optimistic in weeks!

In this time of economic and global uncertainty, I’ve noticed a rise in my own cynicism and hyper-analytic mind. My anxiety has slightly increased, with an upward pointed arrow attached to its trajectory.  As with any small business owner during this time, there is validation for caution and concern.

With the anxiety also comes an underlay of fear and the auto-pilot mind. It is in this nervous state where I tend to make decisions based off fear and scarcity, I question my current ambitions, and I start saying to myself, “Maybe I should go back to what everyone else is doing.”

But all of this I realize is a choice.

Is it useful to suggest that anxiety, timidity, and fear is perhaps a choice for anyone with the mental faculties to do so?

After all, doesn’t this fit within the concept of proactivity?

Even though these suggestions are meant to address those without severe mental illness or cognitive impairments, I get it may still be provocative to say in this climate.

So, what if we looked at it in a way that empowers, rather than criticizes?

As I was walking around the lake this morning, I started to realize that by approaching this uncomfortable feeling of anxiety as a choice that I make of my own volition, rather than an awful feeling that is happening to me, things started to expand. I felt an instant liberation from perceived outside control, and new options began to flood into my mind. Better options.

When presented with a choice between a, b, or c, you are granted with the power to choose. Each may have it’s own separate outcome, but it’s still our choice to decide which letter to go with, right?

If we choose anxiety, what could be the outcome?

If we choose to avoid and do nothing, what is likely to happen?

And if we choose empowered action, what is a new possibility?

Conversely, if we approach this as if we have no choice, such as we have no choice but to be anxious, then what are we granting power to?

We are granting power to outside forces as the determining factor in our ability to thrive. Yet ancient and modern-day wisdom continuously reminds us that our reaction is our responsibility. Our reaction is our choice.

This doesn’t mean that we can’t show compassion for those that are going through tough times. Or disregard the impact of negative emotions or anxieties. We can still honor people for where they are, and how they are experiencing the world.

After all, reactions become less of a choice when we are on auto-pilot.

My only recommendation is to just try this once or twice. When faced with a feeling of stress or overwhelm due to outside forces in which you can’t control, say to yourself, “I choose to feel stressed. I choose to feel overwhelmed. I choose to feel anxious.”

Check in with yourself after you say it. Did it help? Did it open things up? Did it open the door to another possibility?

I’m not expecting rainbow bellies and puppy dogs here. That’s not what this is about. We’re not looking for a quick fix miracle cure to all of your fears and anxieties.

Instead, we’re exploring ways to redesign the process, increase awareness, and hopefully get us all back behind the steering wheel.