As a high achiever, you are probably used to conquering challenges, pushing boundaries, and emerging victorious, right? But what if your biggest opponent isn’t a competitor, meeting deadlines, or even a market crash?
What if it’s anxiety, the silent, inside monster that lurks in your mind? Anxiety is an unwelcome companion of many high achievers. But here’s the thing: You’ve probably been telling yourself it’s no big deal, right? Just a part of the package deal for success. So, you push through it, ignore it, and power on. That’s what winners do.
Well, this doesn’t seem right. The no big deal attitude towards anxiety can be your biggest mistake. Here, we’ll explain why treating anxiety as a “no big deal” could be one of your greatest mistakes.
It Undermines Performance
As a high achiever, you often thrive on your ability to stay focused and deliver results. Right? But all this can be disrupted when you ignore your anxiety. An ignored anxiety can disrupt concentration, impair decision-making, and lead to burnout. Over time, this can reduce your ability to perform at the level best.
It Stifles Growth and Innovation
As a high achiever, you probably value personal growth and innovation. But did you know that if you ignore your anxiety, you cannot achieve this? Well, unmanaged anxiety can stifle creativity and risk-taking. All this will prevent you from being a creative person.
What’s more, anxiety can cloud your judgement. It can lead you to make impulsive decisions or have an analysis paralysis. How many opportunities have you missed, or how many poor choices have you made due to anxiety influencing your thoughts?
It Can Impact Your Physical Health
Chronic anxiety comes with a host of physical problems. These problems can include insomnia issues, digestive problems, and cardiovascular issues.
All these issues occur because your body is sending you signals, and you’re ignoring them. So, if you experience chronic anxiety, make sure you seek the services of the best anxiety therapist. Your therapist will help you address any underlying issues you have ignored for a long time. Your therapist will help you come up with ways to handle or overcome chronic anxiety in a safe and judgement free space and help you understand your triggers and guide you in finding ways to manage anxiety.
It Affects your Relationships
When you’re constantly on the edge, being present for your loved ones is hard. Also, it can be challenging for you to forge meaningful connections with colleagues. Well, ignored anxiety can lead to isolation.
This isolation can further worsen your anxiety. So, untreated anxiety can have devastating impacts on both your personal and professional life.
It Leads to an Increased Risk of Burnout
Constantly ignoring anxiety can lead to chronic stress. This stress is a significant contributor to burnout. So, as a high achiever, you may already be pushing your limits, which can take a physical and emotional toll on you. But when unmanaged anxiety to all this, you risk suffering from burnout and decreased productivity.
The Surprising Benefits of Addressing Anxiety
As you can see from above, ignoring anxiety comes with a whole set of problems for a high achiever. But what if you overcome it? Here are the surprising benefits of addressing anxiety:
Enhanced Self-Awareness
When you focus on treating your anxiety, you can become more self-aware. This self-awareness is incredibly vital for your emotional intelligence. As a high achiever, emotional intelligence is a critical skill. It will help you to make more informed decisions and achieve more success.
So, when you manage your anxiety, you can approach decisions with a clear head. You will be able to differentiate between legitimate concerns and irrational fears.
Increased Creativity
In most cases, anxiety comes from looking at a situation in a fixed way. So, managing it can help you break away from rigid thinking patterns. In fact, it can help foster innovation and creative problem-solving, which are necessary for high-achievers.
Sustainable Performance
As stated above, anxiety can lead to burnout. To overcome this, you must address your anxiety. When you address your anxiety, you set yourself up for long-term success. Thus, you can maintain a high-performance level instead of burning out.
Better Relationships
When you deal with your anxiety, you can become better at handling your own emotions. This will ensure you are more empathetic and understanding of others. What’s more, it can lead to stronger, more authentic connections at work and in your personal life.
In Conclusion
Acknowledging your anxiety isn’t about showing weakness or admitting defeat. It’s about being honest with yourself and recognizing that true strength comes from addressing all aspects of your well-being. This includes your mental health. So, when you take steps to address your anxiety, you are improving your quality of life. Also, you unlock a whole new level of success and fulfilment.