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Avoidance feeds anxiety



Motivational speaker Peter Shankman gives us some advice

Avoidance feeds anxiety


Good morning and welcome back to reality. According to the real world, summer is over, and school and work begin again in earnest. Let me tell you how my morning started today - It's a classic example of ADHD in action.

I woke up at 12:02am, when my daughter appeared at the foot of my bed like the Blair Witch. She'd had a nightmare and was too scared to sleep in her room. OK. Half asleep, I told her to fall asleep in my room with me, figuring she'd go back to bed and that would be the end of it.

It was, until 12:26am, when Waffle the Idiot Dog, surprised to find my daughter not next to him in her bed anymore, wandered into my room and decided it was time for me to wake up. Not wanting my daughter to wake back up, I went into my living room with him and tried to sleep on the couch.

READ MORE: Go out and make some happiness today

No go. Three short hours after I went to bed, I was officially up. Waffle finally fell asleep around 4am, and I quickly followed. Of course, when my alarm went off at 4:50 for my 5am Peloton ride, I didn't want to do it.

But that started a whole new level of anxiety. If I didn't do it, I wouldn't be as full of dopamine. If I wasn't as full of dopamine, I wouldn't be as present at the first "class parent" meeting later today at my daughter's school. If I wasn't as present... And on, and on, and on.

So if avoidance feeds anxiety, what kills it? Action. I got up and did the hour-long ride, banged out 20 sweaty miles, and here I am, 6:57am, with a cup of coffee and a lot less worries.

Will I be tired later? Sure. But will I be on for all my meetings today, and a better, more present dad to my daughter? Absolutely.

Take some action today, and kill some anxiety. Trust me. You'll be glad you did.

-Peter



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