“Anxiety isn’t you. It’s something moving through you. It can leave out of the same door it came in.”
So goes a quote by the famous American writer, James Clear. When I came across this quote it made me sit back and think about the merits of anxiety. Well! Is getting anxious really that bad? Let me narrate an experience of mine.
My father had just been promoted to Commissioner of Income tax and he was posted in Delhi from the Chennai region. Everything was new for us as we shifted to the Capital. Concerning me, the school, syllabus, language, friends, neighbours, culture, etc, everything was brand-new. I remember I had joined in the 11th grade there. I was of course, anxious as to a I was going to fit into the new atmosphere. A few days later after I had joined my school and was trying to adjust to my new surroundings, a State-level on the spot English essay writing competition was announced and the details were put up on the notice board. I enthusiastically gave my name for it as I loved to write, but still being anxious as to how things would turn up. I can recollect how nervous I was when we were taken in our school bus to the venue of the competition. The topic was about tourism and its cultural impact. As my father had a transferrable job, I had travelled to several places in India with him. So tackling the competition was not all that difficult. Days passed and I had forgotten all about the results of the competition. One fine day, the principal of our school announced the results of the competition in the assembly hall. I was taken aback when my name was announced as the second-place State prize winner. My joy knew no bounds when I received the award from a great Indian actor who was then an MP.
When I sit back and think about this incident being anxious is not all that bad. It has its own upsides. It makes the mind and body stay alert. According to Hayley Vaughan-Smith, a UK Accredited, Person-centred Counsellor, “It’s normal that people experience anxiety. It’s our body and brain’s way of keeping us alert and it can actually improve performance.”
Let me also quote the Yerkes and Dodson Law, which establishes a relationship between stress, anxiety, and performance. According to the law, an optimal level of anxiety is always required to reach your peak level of performance. Too little or too much levels of stress can cause the performance to deteriorate.
Let us consider the exam scenario. Too little anxiety may cause us to be underprepared for the exams. Naturally, due to less stress and anxiety, we may not take the exams seriously, and this may lead to our failure in the exams. Now let us consider the opposite case of being overstressed. This may also lead to underperformance, as high levels of anxiety may cause us to have a mental breakdown, which may again lead to failure. Thus, an optimal level of anxiety is the key to achieving our goals.
We may experience anxiety in each and every stage of our lives. However, not letting the stress overpower us is the key to optimal results. This is a point to contemplate!
