How often do beads of sweat roll down our faces when faced with a tough situation? Have to give an impromptu presentation? A surprise class test? Or, placing a small toe outside of out comfort zone. Anxiety is the little voice in our heads which says “What are you doing!? Sit back down!”

In order to get anywhere close to achieving our dreams, we need to be able to tackle this little monster called anxiety.

Photo by jon hill, CC BY 2.0

1. YOU Control Your Mind

Mind games are the most powerful weapon you can wield to conquer this world. Understanding that your mind does not control you and you control your mind, is crucial to this. Assume you have terrible stage fright but have to give an important presentation. Play a small mind game on yourself. It is similar to any other game you’ve played as a child. You have the joystick in your hand, the player is your mind and you need to win the game by destroying the monster which is anxiety. Control your mind, kill the monster and conquer life.

2. Acceptance

A major life hack that few people know about is acceptance. Those who accept things which are out of their control will be the happiest and most joyful. Every large entity is made up of smaller and smaller entities. Every major anxiety attack is made up of small things which we could not accept as it is. It builds up inside us and like a pressure cooker, one fine day, we burst. Accepting the small things in life which we cannot control is key to leading a peaceful life.

3. A Healthy Body Is a Healthy Mind

A car which is designed to run on petrol will malfunction and crash if it is given diesel. Our body is designed to function with full efficiency only if we provide it with proper food, exercise and sleep. Studies have shown that high levels of stress release a hormone known as cortisol. This increases appetite which makes us eat more. Eating more generally involves eating fattier, sugary food. This may give momentary relief from stress but on the long run has a toll on our body. Exercising on a regular basis allows our mind to decompress and alleviates stress. A short exercise every day can do wonders to our body and mind.

4. Talk to Your Mind Voice

Imagine your inner voice to be a person. We have seen a multitude of movies where a character listens to two conflicting opinions in his mind which is depicted as a tiny version of himself sitting on his shoulder. Applying this regularly to our lives will lead to looking at things from an external perspective keeping emotions at bay. Logical thinking will play a major role and when it does most problems can be solved easily. Talk to your inner self and make it understand the situation clearly while keeping stress out of the picture.

5. Prepare for The Worst

Surprises are the major causes of anxiety. If we predict the worst situation that can occur in any circumstance and prepare ourselves for it, anxiety can be eliminated easily. When we go deep into the fundamental reason of why we get anxious and afraid, it leads to not knowing what is going to happen and hence getting afraid. If we get rid of this fundamental reason, anxiety can be dealt with easily.