5 Simple Steps To Move Beyond Anxiety And Create A Fulfilling Life
By Doug Bennett aka The Goals Guy® with special guest Greg Pursley
Do you sometimes find yourself overwhelmed by fear and anxiety? You’re not alone. According to Mental Health UK, over 8 million people in the UK are experiencing an anxiety disorder at any one time.
It’s easy to take on the fearful thoughts that surround us, but what if you took the time to fix your belief system?
Recently on the Goals Do Come True podcast, I had an insightful conversation with a man who’s dedicated his life to helping people fix their BS (Belief Systems). Dr Greg Pursley is the brain behind Fix Your BS, a mini-course designed to help people go from a life of frustration and uncertainty, to a more fulfilling one.
After his son was born with dwarfism, Greg spent the next eight years in and out of hospitals, living in a constant state of anxiety. However, he soon realised that this wasn’t the way he wanted to live. So he developed a simple five-step process to overcome his anxiety and move towards a more fulfilling life.
You can hear my full conversation with him by clicking here.
I was curious as to what Greg’s five steps actually were and if the entire process was as simple as it sounded.
As it turns out, it is!
1. Come to terms with reality
The first step to overcoming anxiety and creating a fulfilling life is to give ourselves a reality check. While the hard truth is definitely uncomfortable, Greg is quick to point out that unless we’re completely honest with ourselves, our lives would remain the same.
Greg: “At the end of 2018, when I actually had time to reflect and gain a little clarity, I realised that I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. I had to come to terms with myself first and figure out the beliefs that were keeping me in a position I didn’t want to be in. I eventually realised that creating a fulfilling life is not that hard to do; it’s actually pretty simple. But, the hard part is that you have to kill off the old you and become a whole new person. And you have to do that emotionally before it becomes your physical reality.”
2. Understand and rank your five pillars accordingly
According to Greg, there are five core pillars in life:
- Our relationships (either with our spouses, kids or the people around us)
- Our business/work/career
- Money/finances
- Health
- Faith/belief
It’s important to take a closer look at each of these pillars and examine how well they’re performing versus what you’d actually like them to be.
Greg: “I usually recommend that everyone ranks each of their five pillars from zero to ten. For instance, you could be a three in your relationships or a four in your business. Once you’ve ranked your pillars, you’ll get further clarity about the current state of affairs. You can then begin to ask yourself questions like: what would a ten look like? What are the things you can control?”
3. Identify the things holding you back
Greg: “After ranking each of my pillars, I got a sheet of paper and drew a line down the middle. On one side, I wrote: what are the habits and activities I’m currently doing that could move me closer towards a ten? And on the other side, I wrote down all the things that were moving me away from the vision. I then thought to myself: what can I do differently to erase the things on the other side of the table? Once I identified the things I could control, I began to act upon them. Over time, things like my relationships went from the brink of failure to the best relationships ever and it was simply because I took responsibility for them.”
4. Block out the noise
Often, the sheer amount of chaos in the world can make it difficult to overcome anxiety and focus on the things that truly matter. However, you’ll find it much easier to think clearly and move towards a happier life when you meditate.
One common objection to meditation is that it’s difficult (if not nearly impossible) to clear your mind. As someone who faces the same struggle, I completely agree. But, Greg’s version of meditation simply involves blocking out the noise and focusing on one single thing, rather than trying to clear your head of all thoughts.
Greg: “I’m a big advocate for meditation. Whenever you can, quieten down everything around you and focus on one thing. It could be a question, a problem or an outcome you’re expecting. Just do this a few times a day for about five to ten minutes. You’ll be surprised at the level of insights that could come out of it.”
5. Turning into a butterfly (the RIP method)
Greg shared a really interesting insight into how we can evolve and change our lives into something beautiful (just like how caterpillars evolve into butterflies). He calls it the RIP method (and don’t worry, it doesn’t involve dying!).
Greg: “RIP stands for Retrospection, Introspection and Projection. Retrospection involves looking at your past and saying: is there a different perspective to these events? Is there a different way I could have looked at these things that happened in the past?
Introspection is looking inside you – your own beliefs, thought processes and emotions, and saying: how can I use these to my advantage? It’s essentially studying the habits and patterns of your emotions because that’s going to create your reality.
And finally, projection involves looking into the future, projecting what you want and really meditating on it. And that’s where you can start evolving. You look at where you are, understand what you want to evolve into, and take all the necessary steps to become that person.”
From what Greg has shared, it’s clear that we have all we need to start moving towards a fulfilling life. It’s pretty simple. But invariably, it’s the action that we have to take that makes it harder and more complicated.
How might Greg’s points help you change your reality? Still wondering how to have a fulfilling life?
Perhaps ask yourself:
- Are you prepared to cut out any habits that may be drawing you further away from the life you want?
- Are you willing to confront yourself with the hard truth (no matter how unpleasant it may be)?
If you’re interested in transforming your mindset and gaining further clarity about your vision, join The Wealth Tribe today.
