advertisement

Tired of Anxiety? Adopt a Beginner's Mind

Tired of anxiety acting like an expert, filling you with worries? Adopt a beginner's mind. Here's how to adopt a beginner's mind if you're tired of anxiety.

Do you ever get tired of anxiety, with all of its frustrations and limitations? An anxious mind can be exhausting; adopting a beginner’s mind can be uplifting and freeing. The concept of a beginner’s mind, called shoshin, comes from Zen Buddhism, and it teaches us to approach life as a beginner. This can feel refreshing, given that anxiety constantly tries to rule our lives as an authoritarian expert. If you’re tired of living with anxiety, adopt a beginner’s mind.

You Might Be Tired of Anxiety Because an Anxious Mind Isn’t a Beginner’s Mind

Many who live with anxiety are painfully familiar with what an anxious mind is. The racing thoughts of anxiety zip through the brain day and night, causing people to experience dread, worry, and fear.

This angst can be so intense that it spills out of our head and floods our entire being with various anxiety symptoms. No wonder we are tired of anxiety. Adopting a beginner’s mind can calm an anxious mind.

Tired of Anxiety? A Beginner’s Mind Can Reduce Anxiety

Living with anxiety can mean living with near-constant dread, worry, and fear. Anxiety is based on preconceptions of what might happen based on past experiences. Anxiety acts as if it’s an expert. It takes its own past successes and continues to control us with them by keeping them in our mind.

With shoshin, a beginner’s mind, we take away anxiety’s role of expert. A beginner’s mind is a mind that approaches every situation as new, with no preconceived notions clouding what’s happening. Each moment is brand-new, and we live as a beginner in moment by moment.

Anything that might have gone wrong in the past is over. Anything that might go wrong in the future is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the current moment, and this moment is new. Live the moment openly, for what it is. Live as a beginner, someone new to it and unencumbered by memories, fears, and worries.

If you’re tired of anxiety, adopt a beginner’s mind and enjoy the freedom, peace, and wellbeing that comes with it. I invite you to watch the below video to learn more about the beginner’s mind and anxiety.

You can also connect with Tanya J. Peterson on her website,Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Pinterest.

APA Reference
Peterson, T. (2015, June 25). Tired of Anxiety? Adopt a Beginner's Mind, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, March 29 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/anxiety-schmanxiety/2015/06/tired-of-anxiety-adopt-a-beginners-mind



Author: Tanya J. Peterson, MS, NCC, DAIS

Tanya J. Peterson is the author of numerous anxiety self-help books, including The Morning Magic 5-Minute Journal, The Mindful Path Through Anxiety, 101 Ways to Help Stop Anxiety, The 5-Minute Anxiety Relief Journal, The Mindfulness Journal for Anxiety, The Mindfulness Workbook for Anxiety, and Break Free: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in 3 steps. She has also written five critically acclaimed, award-winning novels about life with mental health challenges. She delivers workshops for all ages and provides online and in-person mental health education for youth. She has shared information about creating a quality life on podcasts, summits, print and online interviews and articles, and at speaking events. Tanya is a Diplomate of the American Institution of Stress helping to educate others about stress and provide useful tools for handling it well in order to live a healthy and vibrant life. Find her on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Leave a reply