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Some of the greatest insights I have learned over many years of studying personal development have often been counter-intuitive, like why embracing the anxiety of problem-solving can possibly be a good thing. Sounds crazy, I know, but just bear with me for a minute.

You might be thinking, “why would I EVER want to embrace anxiety? I mean anxiety causes stress and stress will cause health problems, right?” Yes, this is basically true; however,  a little positive stress (in this case) can have a hormetic effect and actually cause you to develop new skills, grow, change, and get even stronger. And ultimately, become a much better problem solver.

Think about this for a minute:

Have you ever sat down to write an article on a new topic that made you a little uncomfortable, read a complicated instructional manual to assemble a new piece of furniture or attempted to learn a new piece of software that was way outside of your technical capacity? Sure, you have. 

Do you recall the sensations of frustration and anxiety that swept over you especially in the earliest phases of the task? I’m getting sweaty palms just thinking about how many times this has happened to me over the years.

How did you respond to the uncomfortable feelings associated with that subtle anxiety?

If you’re like most people, you quickly sought relief by checking Instagram, watching Netflix (guilty face emoji), checking and rechecking email, sending a text or re-reading old texts, turning on the telly, eating a snack or doing any other “comfort” activity that helped you escape the realism of the horrible feelings you had been experiencing. 

What you probably did NOT realize at the time, was that this phase of “problem solving” anxiety is the most natural response in the world. As your brain is feverishly working to solve the problem and perform the work in front of you, this anxious feeling is simply a by-product of the growth experience. 

Instead of running away from the anxiety and the unpleasant feelings of overwhelm that comes along with it, I am going to suggest you EMBRACE it instead. I know, counter-intuitive, right?

Why You Should Embrace This Anxiety

All anxiety is not created equal. The reason for embracing this particular type of anxiety is because it’s simply one of the best ways to experience growth and change. If you want a better life, you have to embrace a little positive anxiety from time to time. These moments of temporary anxiety create opportunities to learn valuable lessons and/or skillsets or maybe just meet some new interesting people.

You Have Two Very Different Choices for Dealing with this Anxiety

When faced with these “opportunities for growth” aka the anxiety of problem solving, you can either completely run away from the new experience, circumstance, event or lesson or you can run toward it and push through the pain. Each option has a very different outcome. When you chose the escapism route, you don’t get the prize. And oddly enough, the anxiety can actually linger and even grow. When you push through to the other side, not only does the anxiety melt away but you might actually gain some powerful new skills that can enhance your life. In other words, you do get a prize!

How to Reframe Your Anxiety To Solve the Problem

Learning how to mentally reframe your anxiety is a strategy that can keep you in the game. Instead of ruminating over the problem, try to reframe it in such a way that causes you to take action. Even if it’s just a little action initially. Instead of seeing it as a problem, see it as an opportunity and celebrate the fact that you have given yourself a tough problem and your incredible brain is busy working away to figure it out. Just like the bodybuilder learns to actually enjoy the physical pain of a difficult weight lifting set, you simply change your perception of this process from a negative experience to something positive and exciting.

And here’s the best part, when you learn this technique you can begin to experience the state of being known as “flow”. When you’re fully immersed in a task, flow is that state of mind that you’ve achieved. You temporarily forget about time and space and the outside world. It’s just you and the task at hand. I’m in a flow state right now as I’m writing this article.

Here’s a practical example of “flow” that you might be able to relate to. Do you recall a time in the past that you faced a deadline and you were FORCED to work through the anxiety because you had no choice?

What most likely happened was after a certain period of time had elapsed, you moved from a frustrating state to a flow state and the work started pouring out of you. You went from anxiousness to excitement. All because you were patient and persistent enough to allow your brain to work through the problem and give you the answers you needed for your unique situation.

So… the next time you sit down to build, write or create that next “whatever’, keep this lesson in mind and REFUSE to allow yourself to indulge in temporary relief. You are only prolonging the pain and allowing the feelings of anxiety to linger and make you miserable. Put away your smartphone and stick with your problem until you get in that glorious zone.

Then you can simply let go and let your best ideas “flow” out of you.

Learn how to practice these techniques to activate your brain and overcome the anxiety of problem solving and you will be better, stronger, more capable and more confident. Not only will you become a better person, but so will many other people because of your ferocious tenacity!

Be well + prosper,

Elaine