3 ways to banish anxious thoughts

Anxious thoughts wreak havoc on our lives. They cause health problems, strain relationships, and make us less productive and effective in our work.

Here are three ways to banish anxious thoughts so we can live a fuller, more meaningful, and effective life.

1. Identify, analyze, decide, act

This is a helpful strategy to banish worry I found in Dale Carnegie’s book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. It has the following four steps:

Identify – With pen and paper, write down precisely what you are worrying about

Analyze – List all your different options for what you can do about it

Decide – Decide which one of those options you are going to use

Act – Start carrying out your decision by acting immediately

Once you go through this process and make a careful decision, move forward with decisive action. Do not reconsider; do not doubt yourself; do not look over your shoulder. Trust that you considered all the options and made the right decision.

2. Exercise

Exercise has many benefits, not the least of which is emotional and mental. Health expert Dr. James Rouse explains how we have a pharmacy built into our body and we can access it through physical activity.

Exercise has proven to increase self-esteem, help keep your mind off problems, and give you a sense of control.

“People who are fit have less anxiety, depression, and stress than people who are not active.”  – WebMD

I recently joined the gym and have been enjoying these benefits myself. Just the other afternoon I had a three-hour window to get some work done, however I was feeling particularly scattered and stressed.

I made the decision to go to gym for an hour knowing that two hours of focused, productive work would be far better than three hours of scattered, mediocre work. And it was; I came back stress free and energized and was able to knockout everything I wanted to get done in a short amount of time.

3. Give

Giving and serving others takes our focus off ourselves and gives us a healthy, new perspective. And by giving, I don’t mean just money. We can also give our time, resources, and expertise.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our own life and our own problems. Giving helps us break free from that.

This was a topic I had always heard a lot about, but I never really lived it out in a meaningful way before. I always thought giving only had to do with tithing. While I see tithing as a very important part of giving, I see there is also so much more. I now see giving as a way of life where I live with my heart and hands open to the people around me.

I found when I looked for ways to give, they started popping up in unexpected places.

An example of this happened while I was filling up with gas recently. I noticed two pumps over, a gentleman had locked his keys in his car. He was desperately trying to get it unlocked with a metal clothes hanger, but having no success.

In the past, I probably would have been so focused on my own agenda I wouldn’t have even noticed. And if I did, I certainly wouldn’t have done anything about it.

Instead, this time I went over and offered to use my AAA membership to have someone come out and unlock it for him. Within 20 minutes he was up and running again.

While I know what I did that day both helped and blessed that gentleman, I know it helped and blessed me as well. It helped me break free from my worries and gave me a new perspective on my day. It opened my eyes and filled my heart.

So, next time you are overtaken by anxious thoughts, take action and do one of the three things listed above. Banishing anxious thoughts will open wide the door to a richer, fuller life.

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