The Anxious Achiever
Blog & Newsletter Archive
Editors, journalists, and podcasters: connect with Morra here.
The Anxious Achiever wins a Bronze Medal in Leadership at the Axiom Awards
The Axiom Business Book Awards are the largest and most respected critical guidepost for business books in today's new world of publishing. These prestigious and competitive awards are presented in 25 business categories and serve as the premier list to help readers discover new and innovative works. Axiom Award-winning books will help readers understand changing trends and technologies affecting the business world and point out opportunities in our complicated new economy.
What is accent bias and why does it matter to our careers?
We humans are amazing at judging each other, aren’t we? This week I unpack accent bias and its ramifications for our career advancement. Accent bias creates anxiety for English speakers who are negatively judged for the way they talk. My guest Heather Hansen knows accents convey power, and that there’s no such thing as a “neutral” accent.
Liberate Yourself From Anxiety By Embracing Uncertainty
Maggie Jackson knows unease doesn’t equal weakness. To thrive in the world, we need to welcome in the unknown. We need to reframe uncertainty-- not as something to fear, dread, and avoid at all costs, but a chance to lean in to curiosity. We need to embrace the future with “curious eyes.”
Bloomberg: Killing It at Work But Still Worried? You Might Be an ‘Anxious Overachiever.’
Morra interviewed by Bloomberg to discuss how corporate cultures exacerbate employee anxiety to an unhealthy degree and how quitting isn’t always the answer.
SHRM: Meeting Mental Health Needs Across Generations
Morra interviewed by SHRM to discuss Meeting Mental Health Needs Across Generations.
Managing The Remote Work Day When Sitting Still Is Difficult
Are you fidgety? I am. Remote work is a privilege but it’s also challenging for a lot of us who struggle with sitting in the same place all day.
How To Trust Your Gut When Work Feels Toxic
Have you ever worked in a place that’s toxic? Not annoying or challenging or even full of difficult people….but toxic. Unhealthy, unsafe. It can be insidious. Your gut tells you something isn’t right… but you also don’t trust yourself to make the call .. or speak up… and maybe you just swallow the horrible situation until you just can’t anymore. Or even worse, until you get pushed out or layered over.
How To Get Out Of Your Head When Your Brain Is Swirling
Are you addicted to being busy? I definitely am. As I shared with you last week, I had a professional setback recently that turned my already anxious mind into a swirling category 4 tornado. It’s just the kind of basic life disappointment we tell our kids to be gritty through, but let me tell you, it sucks.
Is Your Anxiety a Habit You Need to Break?
Are your bad habits part of the toolkit you rely on to get ahead? How ironic is that? Many anxious leaders rely on bad habits and unhealthy reactions that may seem effective in the short term, but ultimately, make them more stressed, deplete their energy, and undermine their leadership.
Overcome Perfectionism at Work: Glassdoor.com’s Career Advice
In a Q&A, Aarons-Mele explained how perfectionism and anxiety can take a toll on employees, along with strategies for taking care of your mental health.
Why We Can’t Expect People To Fix Themselves At Work
For many high achieving professionals, the post pandemic “workday” has turned into a 18 hour blur. It's not unusual for people to be emailing at 11 p.m. and then again at 5 a.m. Many forces conspire to stress us out, but the erasure of time-delimited boundaries and the reliance on digital media is a big one. It’s difficult to be well when you’re in a constant state of arousal and anticipation.
How A Congressman Discovered The Path To Inherent Self-Worth (And Less Anxiety)
Do you believe you are worthy? Truly? For many years, United States Congressman Adam Smith managed anxiety and depression. And he hid it, and pushed through, until he couldn't anymore. After a lot of work and therapy, here's what Smith knows now: You can still be the same ambitious, obsessive, successful person but without "the self-loathing." Imagine that!
What’s Behind Your Micromanaging Habit-- And How To Stop It
Feeling micromanaged sucks. And if you're like me, you micromanage people in your life and don't even realize it. Ugh. You micromanage because you're anxious, or overwhelmed, or just used to offering advice! EDHEC Business School's Prof. Dr. Julia Milner understands that most micromanagers mean well- and she wants to help us break the habit. It starts with listening and asking open ended questions. It starts with adopting a coaching mindset.
This Week on LinkedIn Live We Say Goodbye to Impostor Feelings with Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin
This week on LinkedIn Live Morra sits down with Lisa Orbé-Austin they discuss about how 2024 is going to be THE year to stop feeling like a fraud all the time.
Idea of the Day: Navigating social media
It’s possible to balance the impact of social media on your life with some personal guidelines, says author Morra Aarons-Mele.
“We’re not lacking, and we’re not failures. We’re just human – and we want to be in community with each other, bringing out each other’s best.”
It’s Time to Talk to Your Team About Mental Health
HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. Morra sits down with HBR on Leadership to discuss how you can help your organization make employee mental health a priority.
Understanding Social Class Is Key to Belonging at Work
As I watched A Christmas Carol with my kids the other night, it struck me that the holidays are a useful time to consider the role of social class in our lives. And then I thought about my own LinkedIn feed, and its consistent class coding, from the alumni groups I belong to to the photos I share.
Morra featured by IMD Business School Magazine
Morra and Alyson sit down and discuss how anxiety often gets a bad rap. Yet for millennia, it has arguably helped keep us alive. It can also be a huge motivating factor that pushes us to excel. For this reason, many high achievers are known to experience anxiety
Anxious Achiever is #3 in Next Big Idea Club’s top 23 leadership books of 2023
The rankings are based on the most popular “Book Bite” audio summaries in the Next Big Idea App. In other words, they are 2023’s best leadership books, according to our tens of thousands of app users.
My Vote For Words of the Year: Loneliness and Belonging
Join LinkedIn News editor-at-large Beth Kutscher and Morra Aarons-Mele, host of The Anxious Achiever podcast, for a live conversation with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on the epidemic of loneliness and what it means for workplaces.