Anxiety - Enemy or Guide?

Jake Luehrs
September 06, 2025

ONE QUESTION

How many ‘versions’ of yourself do you have?

ONE THING TO PONDER

Your personal growth hinges on your perspective of ‘difficult’.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

We curse the obstacle rather than thanking it.

It was 3:17 AM. Heart racing. My mind was spiraling. Anxiety gripping my chest like a vice.

I'd been here before. Too many times.

But this time, something shifted.

Instead of fighting it, I asked: "What are you trying to tell me?"

It’s gone from being a hindrance to a guide.

Let me explain:

Rather than looking at anxiety as if something were wrong, what if we were to look at it through the lens of what it is trying to tell us?

- Maybe we’re saying yes to far too many things.
- Maybe we use it as a badge, suggesting that we’re simply very responsible. That we use worry to prove that we care about something or someone. I’ve done it…
- We spiral about what may happen in the future. I get it…

The lesson? My anxiety wasn't trying to destroy me. I believe it was striving to protect me.

The perspective, the meaning we give circumstances and emotions matter.

Obstacles can be terrible, and we can complain about them and get sympathy.

Obstacles can also be blessings. They can also create upsides we never would have experienced.

Things changed when my perspective changed:

My anxiety became information, not torture.

Obstacles became redirections, not rejections.

People became humans, not projects to fix.

I got my life back.

The Antidote?

Everything always works out.

Every situation.

Every challenge.

Every failure.

They have all been a redirect to get us on OUR path. Yet it’s our resistance to accepting it that causes us to suffer…stop doing that shit.

That career disaster? It redirected you.

That relationship that ended? It opened new doors.

That failure you're still bitter about? It's teaching you something you need to know.

If we resist that belief, we spend all of our time and energy on trying to control things that simply aren’t ours to control.

Ever try to control or manipulate someone else for your own self interests?

Ever disagree with how something is vs how you want it to be?

If you’re in sales, ever tried to sell something to someone that you know didn’t need what you were selling?

The second we need something to be different than it is, we stop being who we are.

Authenticity goes out the window the moment we need something or someone to be a certain way.

Everything will work out. The joy and purpose you experience along the way is up to you.

Onward and upward!

PS - Share this with anyone you can think of that has done great things but may be struggling!

LEAD & LEARN : WEEKLY PICK

PODCAST

Why Who You Become Matters More Than What You Do, Feat. Dr Josh Axe

THE ED MYLETT SHOW

I’m a big fan of this episode. Society has us all focused on accolades, on titles, on accomplishments. Yet an undeniable truth is that very few of those things will matter on our deathbeds. It’s amazing what happens when we choose to become the type of person we desire to be. We actually accomplish far more things, and far more meaningfully impactful outcomes! If you’re chasing success, pause for a second and make sure you’re climbing the right mountain!