Overcoming Anxiety the natural way isn’t always easy so today I wanted to share with you one of my most successful techniques which never fails to have a lasting impact on my clients who present with anxiety.
Overcoming Anxiety – How understanding your values can help
Your values are what makes you, you. They’re your inner moral compass and let you know what’s right and what’s wrong. They can be very powerful and when you go against them it can negatively affect both your mental and physical health often resulting in anxiety.
What I find is that most people don’t know what their values are.
So if you’re finding yourself conflicted in your work, life or struggling with stress related illness maybe it’s time you made sure you’re not fighting your inner moral compass on a daily basis and dampening your efforts to overcome your anxiety.
A previous client of mine put it so elequently:
“I reached the top level of my industry by never compromising my values. Regardless of if that meant losing out on additional income or financial growth. For me success without integrity isn’t success at all, it’s sacrifice.” Lisa Holroyd
Any problem reflects a personal challenge. When you’re not right, life isn’t right, work isn’t right and how can you feel right when you don’t know what’s important to you?
How to keep your anxiety in check
If you do know your values many of my previous clients have pinned them up on their notice board at work or on their fridge at home as a constant reminder to follow what’s important to them, they find it makes decision making a lot easier.
It’s also helpful to know them in priority order as this can help you make those really tough decisions. For example if making one decision answered one value but making the opposite choice matched another, eg tell the person the truth or hold on to the respect for a colleague. This can be a tough choice and lead to overthinking and struggling with anxiety but if you knew that truth was higher on your list, you’d feel more confident to make that choice. So a priority values list can really help you in many areas of your life, especially when overcoming anxiety.
I have a really nifty way of finding out the priority order using unconscious strength testing. Here’s a picture of a group doing it at a workshop last year. It’s great because I allows your unconscious to decide what’s more important and of course your unconscious knows the truth. What’s even better is you don’t have to force yourself to decide.
Why does knowing your Values matter?
Your values are fundamental to your happiness and it’s always really interesting when you suddenly realise how people with different values affect your interactions and relationships. I also teach you how to increase your confidence whilst also respecting other people’s values. If you suffer with self-doubt or imposter syndrome, this can be a life changing revelation.
In summary your values are in integral part of who you are, if you feel hurt by someone else’s comments, find it hard to let go of particular conversations or feel at loggerheads with yourself, your values will be to blame.
Find out what your values are
If you’d like to find out what your values are, in a prioritised top ten list and learn how to respect others whilst keeping yours intact apply for the Refreshed Minds Mindset programme.
For now, notice when something hurts, notice what you get on your soapbox about or what you can’t stand in others. All of these are clues as to what really matter to you and therefore to the values which you hold dear. Knowing what’s important to you, what drives you and impacts your frustrations can be an important step in overcoming anxiety.
Until next time
Zoe
