💰The Cost of Anxiety

Is crippling debt / 5 min read

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We've all been there—I know I have.

Where there’s something important that needs to be addressed: a difficult conversation, a financial decision, even something as simple as booking a holiday. But instead of confronting it, we delay. We rationalize. We tell ourselves we'll deal with it later.

At the core of this hesitation is anxiety—the discomfort of facing uncertainty or potential conflict. And rather than confronting the discomfort head-on, we defer action, as if postponement will somehow make the task easier.

But here's the paradox: avoidance doesn't eliminate anxiety; it compounds it.

Anxiety Debt

Think of anxiety like financial debt. The moment we delay addressing a difficult situation, we take on an emotional loan. That initial discomfort might seem manageable, but with every passing day, the interest accrues. The problem looms larger in our minds. The stakes feel higher. The potential outcomes seem more catastrophic.

By the time we finally confront the situation, it's no longer just about the original issue—it's about the weight of all the extra anxiety we've accumulated.

We don't just feel anxious about the problem itself;

We feel anxious about how long we've avoided it.

We feel anxious about the potential consequences of our delay.

We feel anxious about the fact that we're anxious.

It's an expensive cycle, and the only way to stop it is to pay off the debt before it spirals further.

The Solution: Act Before Interest Builds

The key realization here is that right now is the least anxious you will ever be about the situation. Any delay only adds to the debt. The longer you wait, the harder it gets.

So the best strategy? Act now. Do the thing—anxious and all. The discomfort of action in the present is always preferable to the compounded weight of prolonged avoidance.

Because anxiety debt, like any other debt, is best paid off sooner rather than later.

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