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How to Stop Anxiety From Wasting Your Inspiration

My anxious brain scream-vomits all over any moments of motivation. 2 thoughts help me stay dry.

You and I have wasted many, many sparks.

We could be productive. Or try new things. You could maybe even be the first astronaut bull-rider, if it wasn’t for that dumb voice that keeps interrupting with, “Buuut what about-?”

Anxiety slathers nonsense over your thoughts.

It makes all your genuine moments of inspiration fizzle out before you even notice them.

I’ve found 2 things that makes those sparks easier to hang on to.

It’s how I stopped anxiety’s win-streak against me.

It’s the fuse getting lit on every worthwhile thing you ever do.

You feel a spike of dopamine — that very real bump of energy trying to get you up to do something about it. It only comes up for the things that are truly interesting or important to you.

Consume valuable art.

“I need to go watch a documentary about this.”

Learn something new.

“I’m gonna go learn how to do that.”

Get up and move.

“I want to go for a walk today.”

Your brain’s too anxious to stop getting in its own way.

Maybe you’ll feel that spark and jump up like the Manchurian Candidate and do whatever just came to mind. But what usually happens?

“Maybe I won’t like it.” “But I’ll have to get up.” “What about this other (dumb) thing?”

1) The spark will get lost in the usual barrage of anxious thoughts. That’ll make it seem unimportant, which is why we don’t do anything with it.

Anxiety’s a tidal wave.

The spark is a quiet, kind of annoying request to use up some time and energy. It’s so easy to drown it out.

You can’t blame your thinking though. If the value of thoughts was measured by their volume, you’d think self-doubt and BS were gold.

The solution’s time-sensitive.

I have to force my thoughts back to it, just enough to describe to myself what I felt. What did I want to get up and do? I separate that thought out from the white water of constant worrying.

Sometimes I write it down, and I’ll explain later why.

The other problem is in our expectations.

2) Your brain doesn’t value your sparks because it’s expecting something bigger. That life will be like a movie, where a motivation tornado sweeps you up and you sprint off into the night.

You’re lucky if inspiration flicks your forehead.

In fighting off anxiety, depression, and procrastination, this is the most important thing I’ve realized: all you get is a spark.

There is no fireball of emotion that takes you over.

You’re wasting time waiting for it.

I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking “If it matters, I’ll really feel something.” I don’t think you ever do. There are just tiny sparks that get you moving.

Everything else comes after.

The AUDACITY of your brain.

It beats you down with anxiety, then it tries to gaslight you.

“Well, you’re not feeling that spark right now, so it probably wasn’t that important, right? False alarm.”

Brain, you make the sparks.

You could just…do it again.

It won’t though. Anxious brains ration dopamine like it’s the Great Depression. But there’s no reason to wait for the spark to pop back up.

In any moment of boredom, or whenever you feel the anxiety of being unproductive, you have an exact list of what’ll make you better.

That list has anything you’ve felt a spark for.

The spark never happens by accident. The only reason your brain pumps out dopamine is because whatever you thought of is valuable to you. That means it’s also something you’ll feel great about doing.

And you haven’t changed any from 3 days ago when you first felt the spark.

You didn’t waste your inspiration by not acting on it instantly. It’ll be just as powerful and anxiety-wilting as it was before.

It’ll only be a waste if you never act.

You do have to make the effort.

Even if anxiety doesn’t win, circumstances might. You could be in the middle of something urgent when a spark comes — the universe has perfect timing like that.

When you finally find some time, you won’t have that spark’s instant boost.

But you don’t need it — you just need enough drive to get yourself started.

Slip on a wet suit. Find that documentary. Open an article. Load a harpoon. Get into the workout gear.

Start with the completely correct belief that when you finally act on a spark, momentum will take care of the motivation from there.

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