To kick off our anxiety-busting project, let's find out exactly how bad off you are.
You're committed enough to admit, so far, that your life could use some improvement, and having to deal with anxiety makes daily life more difficult.
But, can you really let down your hair, shake off the constraints of being conventional, and try some new and different things? Discover if you're really up for self-reinventing-one of the facets of our anxiety-busting plan - by answering the following questions: 1.
If we ask you to sketch a rough picture of your family, would you try? 2.
Are you willing to examine yourself - good and bad points - and be honest enough to entertain the notion of making changes? 3.
Would you sample new approaches if it meant memorizing a game plan? 4.
Can you imagine yourself becoming a bit different - perhaps happy and satisfied instead of being a nail-biting neurotic? 5.
Can you stop the habit of "donating" positive traits to people you know in order to make them not seem so objectionable? Can you walk away from these negative folks if necessary? 6.
Would you attempt to pinpoint your wacky behaviors, name them, and try to work on shedding them if they're holding you back? 7.
Would you try some suggestions for getting outside of yourself to help people in need? 8.
Will you go through a step-by-step growth plan intended to get rid of panic attacks and bring you more peace? 9.
Can you make more time for enjoying sensory pleasures: smells, tastes, music, and physicality? 10.
Are you willing to shake up things a bit - alter your current habits and venture into some exotic realms and practices? Sound too scary? Answering yes to all of the above may shake you far from your comfort zone.
But, trying new things will take you in a new direction and help you shrug off that old excuse of "I've always been like that.
" Just listen to the grimness of those words! It's as if you're saying that you have always been fairly worthless, or unhappy, or ineffective.
How sad that sounds! And, if you do define yourself in negative terms, why not try a new way of thinking: Look at the heavens, throw your head back, thrust out your arms, and reach for the stars just to see what happens.
You have nothing to lose but time.
On the bright side, the incredible payoff if the plan succeeds is that proverbial pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow.
We don't mean money when we talk about gold - we mean self-satisfaction, peacefulness, and happiness like you've never known before.
(And who knows, maybe money will come with it, too!)