I dread doing things like job interviews. Whenever I think of doing it, I get anxious. Then I run away from that state, but I keep getting back to it, because I know that I have to do it. I’m just postponing the inevitable. I usually wait until a deadline, so that I have no choice, but to do it. It’s a pretty stressing way of doing things.

But I’ve got a better way now, after practicing meditation with Waking Up app. The gist was described by Mingyur Rinpoche as (paraphrasing) “I welcome panic now. I’m watching what it does to my body, how my heartbeat increases and breathing changes.”. Some daily meditations on the app reinforce that idea. So, I’m not running away from anxiety anymore, I just watch what it does to me.

There’s more to it than just anxiety though. Any negative state can potentially be alleviated. This way of doing things means I can still feel decent, even if I’m stressed.