Have you ever had a thought and heard someone else say or write something similar but way better? Yea me too and it happens very frequently. There is something special about a set of words that becomes a reference. It’s usually a basic insight that you have had but could never articulate. Here you’ll find some of those sets of words that have become mantras in many lives and potential ammo for our hope of living a life free of anxiety.
1. "Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live". – Dorothy Thompson
This is a basic sentence that holds so much insight. We all know it’s true but generally don’t talk to ourselves this way. We tend to get negative and down on ourselves. But when you allow anxiety to weigh you down you literally miss out on life.
2. "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do". – Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor was a very spunky women and she makes great sense here. If you don’t attempt to face your fears than you cannot live free of fear. Anxiety has a way of making us seek shelter and seclusion, but at what expense? Even if you can only bare a little at first take the first steps toward freedom and challenge your fears.
3. "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood". – Marie Curie
Educating ourselves about anxiety disorder and how it works on a biological level is a great way of removing all the mystery from our daily struggle with anxiety. Knowledge and understanding will not remove your anxiety but it will help you manage it because you will understand what it is and what it’s not. You’ll know what it can and cannot do.
4. "Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained". – Arthur Somers Roche
Given enough time anxiety can dominate ones mind and cause you to filter almost every thought through it. This is the basis of the "what if" questions. Simply letting go of our anxious hold can do wonders in this regard.
5."If things go wrong, don’t go with them". – Roger Babson
When things go bad for us because of a panic attack or strange symptom we tend to stay there. We wait with fear for the next time. We need to learn to let things pass us by as it were. When "it" happens it’s not good but once it leaves let’s not go looking for it again.
6. "Panic is a sudden desertion of us, and a going over to the enemy of our imagination". – Christian Nevell Bovee
Although a pounding heart can create great fear isn’t our worry about what it could be that is really causing all the distress?
7. "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight".
– Benjamin Franklin
We all know that the quotes you just read are all true to a large extent. We know all this stuff and it’s not like we haven’t heard it before, even if it was heard using different words. But these quotes still have the power to make us think about ourselves and our anxiety disorder in a way that we might not normally.
So what they are saying to us is to basically be calm, don’t fear your fear, live despite your fear and don’t waste your time worrying. Clearly all things we aspire to do, but struggle to do.
Having goals in life is a great way to stay focused and get things done. An effective way to do this is to find a quote or a couple of quotes that speak to you and your goals with respect to your anxiety disorder.
Pin your quote(s) up in your room, office, car, etc. Put it in a visible place and you’ll notice the small smile it will often bring and the courage you’ll often need. Although the strength to accept and manage our anxiety disorders resides inside of us sometimes we all just need a little push.
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