I give you permission to not be anxious (unless it's clinical, then that requires a therapist).

Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom. ~ Søren Kierkegaard- - - - - #1. Healthy anxiety is a prompt for [View online]( [Coach Tony]( Coach Tony [@tonystubblebine]( Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom. ~ Søren Kierkegaard - - - - - #1. Healthy anxiety is a prompt for action. This is a good time to remind readers that my work is very surface level: strategies, mindfulness, habits, and productivity tips. So there’s a difference between everyday anxiety and clinical anxiety. I talk about the first, you should talk to your therapist about the last. I’ve observed in many people, myself included, that they aren’t very connected to the evolutionary point of anxiety. Anxiety evolved to spur action. This is somewhat in the category of learning to feel your feelings. But most often it seems to be tied up in permission and healthy self-entitlement. Do you feel like in order to solve your own anxiety, somebody else in your life has to pay? That’s a thought worth examining and probably even revising. Give yourself permission to act on your anxiety. - - - - - #2. Immediate Return Environment vs. Delayed Return Environment. James Clear lays [out an interesting comparison](. In an environment with immediate results, anxiety is a practical feeling. You have anxiety, you act, and you solve the thing that prompted your anxiety. That’s an Immediate Return Environment. But in our modern world, we have a lot of unknown outcomes. You go to college, but will you get a job when you graduate? You buy a house, will it appreciate? These create anxieties that stick with you for years. James suggests several strategies, but one I often suggest is journaling. Your anxieties should be known to you and when they are, they often lose most of their power. - - - - - #3. The micro-anxieties that prompt procrastination. The most important concept for reducing procrastination is knowing that the triggers are tiny, ridiculous anxieties. [Tim Pychyl](, who is my go-to procrastination researcher, explains that procrastination is short-term mood repair. The reason we don’t overcome these anxieties is that they are often too small to notice. You worry that the upcoming task will be boring or that you don’t know how to do it. David Allen and his next action concept talk about how a to-do item like “get tires changed” can be an overwhelming task because it’s not immediately obvious how. That’s a micro-anxiety in action. Simply changing how you write the item shows how easy it is to overcome that level of anxiety: “Google tire shops.” So next time you notice yourself procrastinating, ask what anxiety is behind it. - - - - - Tips or feedback? [Send me a response on Twitter.]( Don’t miss out on the other issues by Coach Tony [Become a member for $5 per month]( Did you enjoy this issue? [Yes]( [No]( [Coach Tony]( Coach Tony [@tonystubblebine]( Tips, inspirations, and knowledge on productivity, happiness, health, and making an impact on our world. Official email of the Better Humans publication on Medium. (@bttrhumans) You can manage your subscription [here](. In order to unsubscribe, click [here](. If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe [here](. Created with [Revue by Twitter](.