anxiety vs. peace
My brain is wired towards anxiety. It’s my default operating system, which I call AnxietyOS.
There are pros and cons to this kind of brain. Cons: I tend to overthink, I'm easily distracted, I frequently go down deep rabbit holes, and I often fight-or-flight my way through situations that simply don’t require it. Pros: I also excel at juggling multiple complex projects and deadlines, brainstorming solutions, and providing comedic relief to social situations, bringing people together due to a hyperawareness of social cues. Living with an anxious brain can be both a frustrating chore and a welcome gift. It just depends on the situation.
So where does peace come in?
I can’t change the fact that my brain is prone to anxiety, but I can change my lifestyle to avoid situations that are likely to pour gasoline on the embers. There are even some lifestyle changes that can temporarily put out the embers altogether. That's what I call peace.
Peace feels like waking up in the morning and allowing my brain to slowly power-on before diving into all the to-dos for the day. How do I achieve this? I switched to a brick phone in 2025 because I used to wake up and immediately grab my smartphone and run through my texts, Discord notifications, personal emails, work emails, calendar. Facebook, Instagram, and my expense tracker. Within the first 5 minutes of consciousness, I had already poured gallons of gasoline on those embers. Ever since switching up my lifestyle with a brick phone, I’ve had slow, peaceful mornings that set me up well for the rest of the day.
Peace feels like going on an annual modest vacation with my best friends from college and not stressing out about money. How do I achieve this? I use YNAB to intentionally assign every dollar with a specific job. Which is another way to say that I save up for it all year so when the vacation comes, I can simply relax and enjoy it, stress free.
Peace feels like spending an entire Saturday on my hobbies without feeling “guilty” or “behind.” How do I achieve this? By regularly journaling and reminding myself in written form that taking care of myself is productive.
I've found that activities and lifestyle changes like this facilitate a more peaceful, non-anxious life for me. It only took me three decades to figure out I have some degree of control in all this, but I'm glad I'm here now!