At its heart, anxiety is the manifestation of fear or low self-worth. In my case, that includes fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of pain, looking foolish or stupid, being late, underperforming in my chosen profession, and the fear that I have lost control of my future.
The good news for me is as I’ve gotten older my experience, increasing knowledge of myself, and empathy for others have helped me deal effectively with my anxieties. I’m also not prone to depression. In fact, I was once diagnosed with the opposite affliction – very mild bipolar disorder.
That said, one of my most anxious moments was when I realized how much of my professional success until my 50s was due to my fear of failure and anxiety around a future without money, success, or achievement. I was highly motivated to keep those things from happening.
It worked…until it didn’t.
This article is the first in a series that will explore four aspects of anxiety:
1. What triggers anxiety?
2. How anxiety manifests itself to the outside world.
3. The damage anxiety can cause
4. The techniques I use to disarm my anxiety
You’ll find below 10 things that almost always trigger anxiety for me. A year or two after I made myself professionally independent at the age of 53, most of the 10 anxieties became unbearably present in my life. I’ve spent the last 10 years taking seminars, being part of self-help groups, and working with coaches to render these a little less terrible.
1. When I do or say something that results in a client leaving.
2. Realizing I spent a whole week without following up with prospective clients.
3. Any illness that renders me incapable of thinking straight.
4. Stupid people.
5. The feeling our justice system is incapable of dealing with the mess we’re currently in.
6. When my cell phone dies in the middle of an important conversation, and I have no way of recharging it within a few minutes.
7. Going to the dentist.
8. Dealing with a 91-year-old mother who has significant loss of memory and is battling a whole host of her own anxieties.
9. Unpaid bills or short-term cash flow issues.
10. Losing time because of technological mishaps, stalled or missed subways, and bad traffic.
Not everyone shares my anxieties or my fears. But everybody – even the most successful of us – has moments of doubt, uncertainty, and despair without being clinically depressed.
I look forward to reading your comments and experience and you’ll be reading more from me about this topic in the coming weeks.
Please also visit the Executives Over 50 website to see how we can help you handle the anxieties and stress as you get older.
https://lnkd.in/epBHwrwZ
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