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From Reactive to Reflective: Harnessing Fear & Anxiety for Growth · RiseUp - Live Joy Your Way

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Today's episode is produced by my friends at Walk West.
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  SPEAKER_01: If you're looking to grow your brand and generate leads through podcast or video production, head over to walkwest.com.
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  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's start the show.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Rise up, live joy your way.
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  SPEAKER_00: From emotional intelligence through cognitive distortion, certified life and wellness coach Comedy Wood is on a mission to help people see the magnificence of their own unique human spirit.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Through these small bites of self-visualization and self-confidence, you can have healthy relationships, success in business and career, and live the life you want to live.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Rise up, live joy your way.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Hi there.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of Rise Up, Live Joy Your Way.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's morning, afternoon, or evening, I just want to say thank you for taking some time out of your day to spend with me.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: And today's topic is one that I think I've talked about before, but I can't talk about it enough because I think all of us deal with it, which is anxiety and fear.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Fear and anxiety are those emotions that we all experience, but here's the thing: we don't have to let them control us.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so often I think people get stuck on this idea that anxiety is like some big mental issue.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I really want to just say that all of us have a form of anxiety and some of us just deal with it.
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  SPEAKER_01: You know, and I'm not saying that that there isn't, there aren't people who have really, really bad anxiety.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying that at all.
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  SPEAKER_01: But I just want to also normalize fears and anxiety and just give us a little bit of a different way to look through and look at both of those things.
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  SPEAKER_01: So the first thing I want to just talk about is, you know, what is the difference between fear and anxiety?
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  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, fear is our body's built-in alarm system to say that that there's something that could hurt us or uh destroy us.
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  SPEAKER_01: I mean, if we think about, you know, our ancestors, fear was the thing that kept our ancestors alive when there was immediate danger.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if there was, you know, an animal that was about to eat them or a fire threatening a village, you know, it was the thing that kept kept them safe, was that fear?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Anxiety is that alarm, that fear alarm that somewhat starts to malfunction because it goes off even if there's no immediate threat.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: So if it it if we think about fear and anxiety and how they correlate, fear is in overdrive starts to become anxiety.
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  SPEAKER_01: A question to ask yourself is if you've ever ever noticed that you've been uh caught in a cycle of anxious thoughts, you know, where you just go down that rabbit hole.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So while fear and anxiety are normal, it is important to say that they don't have to control you and they don't have to define you.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to walk around saying, I am fearful or I am an anxiety mess, it's those are parts of you and those are emotions that are coming up.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the most powerful tools uh that I can suggest is just self-awareness.
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  SPEAKER_01: You know, when you think about um how you grew up, uh if there was constant worry or constant fear, um, or maybe you had a parent that always expected the worst, or it was a chaotic environment, it's just that self-awareness of that was uh conditioned behavior, that's important to recognize that that's part of your blueprint.
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  SPEAKER_01: So to reflect on what could be part of your anxiety blueprint, you can ask yourself, you know, what stories or what beliefs about safety or control did I absorb growing up?
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  SPEAKER_01: You know, what are the roots of some of that that anxiety that I fear, uh that I feel?
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  SPEAKER_01: You know, and and to recognize that to do that takes a lot of bravery and a lot of courage because self-awareness takes bravery and courage.
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  SPEAKER_01: Because once you become aware of it, you then you can't unsee it.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then there's almost this idea of so what are you gonna do about it?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
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  SPEAKER_01: So think of it as detective work for yourself.
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  SPEAKER_01: You know, grab, you know, do it through journaling, um, do it through just um talking it out with yourself, but it's to notice when your anxiety is is spiking.
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  SPEAKER_01: Like if you notice certain triggers or moments that your anxiety is spiking, it's important to write that down and to just start charting some of that.
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  SPEAKER_01: Or are there relationships when you're with somebody that you're constantly feeling on edge, or what thoughts are constantly on replay in your mind?
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  SPEAKER_01: So the goal isn't to shame yourself by any stretch, it's to just notice what those patterns are so that you can start connecting the dots and start understanding what those patterns are.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it's important to recognize that this is again not a shaming exercise, but it's a way to create that map for yourself.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: When we're thinking about anxiety, one of the things that I often say to people is it's not about getting rid of it, it's go towards it so that you can understand it, go towards it with that curiosity and recognize that it's actually giving you information.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's a messenger telling you that that there's something that it wants you to pay attention to.
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  SPEAKER_01: So ask yourself, what is my anxiety trying to teach me?
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  SPEAKER_01: What is my anxiety trying to communicate to me?
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  SPEAKER_01: If it could talk to me, what would it say?
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  SPEAKER_01: Right.
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  SPEAKER_01: And because when we get curious about it, we also don't, we we move away from there that the idea that there's something wrong with us.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not suggesting that we we're trying to toxic positivity this and say, oh, it's really not that bad and it's really a great thing.
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  SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying that at all.
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  SPEAKER_01: Anxiety doesn't feel good, let's own that, but also let's get curious with it.
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  SPEAKER_01: Because when anxiety feels overwhelming, we get we feel like we're paralyzed.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so when that happens, you know, becoming mindful and just grounding yourself is a really important thing.
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  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I know that I'm an anxious person.
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  SPEAKER_01: I I admit it to people all the time.
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  SPEAKER_01: I do deal with anxiety, and so sometimes when you start feeling it bubble up, it's difficult to get curious with it in that moment.
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  SPEAKER_01: And the first thing we have to do is ground ourselves.
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  SPEAKER_01: So if it means putting your feet on the floor and just really feeling your feet on that floor and dialing into your senses, then you start there because once you're reconnected with yourself, you're reconnected with the present moment, then you can start practicing the curiosity.
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  SPEAKER_01: Then you can start asking, what is this telling me?
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  SPEAKER_01: Then you can start saying, okay, what do I need most?
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  SPEAKER_01: And it's really important to build a connection with other people.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, have that support system, whether it is your family or your friends or having a coach that you can work with, because when you have that support system and you can talk about these things and presence them and you can be witnessed and you can also recognize that there's nothing wrong with you.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: There's just more understanding that's required than you can actually start to work through it.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: On that note, if you have been dealing with anxiety, it is something that I work with my clients on routinely.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, talking through, you know, where the anxiety is showing up and helping break it down, creating that sense of deeper understanding, and then working through action steps to start working through it is something that I do routinely with individuals.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: So if you'd like to talk about that or how coaching can be supportive in that process of working through anxiety, by all means, book a time to speak with me at coachwithcomedy.com.
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  SPEAKER_01: And until next time, stay.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Rise Up, Live Joy Your Way.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more information, book a chat with comedy at www.chatwithcomedy.com.
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  SPEAKER_00: Or visit her website at www.comedywood.com.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can also find comedy on Facebook or Instagram.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Username It's Authentic Me.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.