The Anxious Achiever

Blog & Newsletter Archive

Editors, journalists, and podcasters: connect with Morra here.

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Negotiating With Chris Voss

What if you thought about a negotiation not as a win but as a success--one that makes both the other party and you feel good? My podcast guest, legendary negotiation coach and former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss says: understand your counterpart’s motivations and be curious. And use your empathy.

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What is Your Body Trying to Tell You?

How are you putting anxiety into your body? How often do you rely on a drink, drug, muscle relaxant, or over-the-counter pain relief over the week? So many of us react to stress and anxiety with our whole bodies. This means that to take action to alleviate stress and anxiety we need to listen to our whole bodies.

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A love letter to perfectionists

Being compassionate with yourself is hard. When you’re an achiever-- or more, a perfectionist, it's near impossible. But I want to pose this to you: Who said you had to be perfect? If you’re constantly diminishing the quality of your work, your ability to manage things, or even your worthiness, ask yourself: Why do I have to be perfect?

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A Mini Audio Meditation for When You Need It

Right now is very difficult. Renowned meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg offers a short meditation you can do any time of day when anxiety hits. If you're feeling anxious about being anxious, this short exercise is for you. Hang in there.

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The Shared Humanity of Anxiety

Nothing establishes trust more effectively than the emotional connection fostered through empathy and shared humanity. This is why being open about your own anxiety can be so powerful. It builds trust when you can ask teammates, “How are you?” and they don’t feel as if they have to lie or put on a happy face.

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Does your anxious ambition make you difficult to work with-- even if your intentions are good?

So many of us act out our anxiety in ways that frustrate our colleagues. We micromanage, or we overwork, or, as my guest today points out, we’re inconsistent in our attitude and feedback, which can send our teams into a rollercoaster of uncertainty. Micromanaging, inconsistent feedback, overwork: All of these are traits no one wants in their manager!

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How to check in with your mental health

Here’s the thing: staying mentally healthy is a commitment. If you’re someone who has struggled with a mental health disorder, the fear of a recurrence is always present and so you build infrastructure to stay well: this could be therapy, medication, exercise, spiritual or religious practice, trusted peers.

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Welcome to The Anxious Achiever: Your Anxiety Toolkit for the Work Day

I believe anxiety can be a gift. I believe it’s a leadership superpower. Now I don’t want to sugarcoat anything. Living with anxiety is hard; I know. If you learn to understand and manage your anxiety you’ll decipher what it’s trying to tell you, manage how you respond to anxious feelings, and channel anxiety’s creative energy and drive.

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