Anxiety

Triggering curiosity to take you out of anxiety and into joy

Not everything I wrote for my upcoming book, Beyond Anxiety, could be included in the final manuscript. Some parts had to be cut—that’s just the nature (or culture) of publishing. However, I can still share them with you here!

Fresh from the cutting-room floor, the following is about two distinct kinds of curiosity and how to ignite the one that makes you feel good. Enjoy. 

According to psychologist Jordan Litman, curiosity comes in two flavors. One is “deprivation curiosity,” a worried need to know that stems from lacking enough information to feel safe. The other, which Litman labeled “interest curiosity,” comes [...]

Every Step Can Win the Race

I’ve watched a lot of races recently: Olympic races, political races, and of course, various rat races so many of us run just to survive in this difficult world. 

I’ve spent a lot of my life joining various races, trying to win things like academic degrees, bestseller status, and financial success. I’ve coached many race-winners, including top athletes, business tycoons, and movie stars.

Here’s what I’ve learned: Grabbing the gold medal, the highest rank, the Oscar (or whatever), will give you a burst of pleasure. But within weeks, days, or even a few short hours, you’ll feel pretty much the way [...]

Turning Away from Anxiety

If you’re like most people, you’re feeling a bit anxious. Anxiety is skyrocketing all over the world, and I’ve spent the last couple of years focusing intensely on it. 

Truth be told, I’ve spent most of my life focusing intensely on anxiety, because I’ve always been an anxious person. On most days, I’d wake up panting and shedding like a scared terrier. I still do, sometimes. But now I know how to stop.

I’ve written a whole book about this (Beyond Anxiety, due out in January 2025) but in the process I learned a lot of tricks and hacks. My favorite [...]

Lessons from Hadestown . . .

I recently had the chance to see Hadestown, a Broadway re-telling of an ancient Greek myth. Spoiler alert: I’m going to tell you the ending, but it’s been out of the bag for thousands of years, so I don’t feel too bad about it. 

The story follows a young man named Orpheus, whose girlfriend, Eurydice, gets swept off to hell by Hades, god of the underworld. When Orpheus follows her, Hades makes them a deal: They can leave, but only if Orpheus walks just ahead of Eurydice and never looks back. 

Hades knows that this is a particularly efficient form of [...]

What Can You Do When Things Fall Apart

We live in a time of death and rebirth.

Over a hundred years ago, William Butler Yeats wrote in his poem “The Second Coming” that things were falling apart and that “the best lack all conviction, while the worst/ are full of passionate intensity.”

He was writing about a world ravaged by the effects of World War I and the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918, which had managed to reach just about every corner of the globe.

A century later, things are falling apart at a level Yeats couldn’t have imagined:

How to Turn Away from Fear

“Inspiration” has several meanings. One is simply “drawing breath.” Or it can mean having a new idea. Or it can mean being “in-spirited,” filled with peace and grace from the mystery. All these meanings are related. In fact, the word “inspiration” is a three-step recipe for ending anxiety and living joyfully in a difficult world.
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