How to reduce anxiety and fear of the future
ANXIETY AND PLANNING
You do planning all the time, and research suggests that your levels of anxiety and your planning processes are linked.
Anxiety is probably an ancient protection mechanism against future uncertainty or danger. It seems logical that, as humans, we made plans to deal with these uncertainties or dangers; hence, planning has become a method for dealing with worry and anxiety.
I’ve long believed in the power of planning to reduce anxiety and fear of the future. It is one of the reasons I recommend that clients develop a plan for their lives and money. Other reasons for developing a plan include:
- Minimising regrets for the past by planning for the future using lessons from past mistakes.
- Turning core, long-lasting values into achievable goals.
- Building resilience against life’s setbacks through buffers and contingency plans.
- Dealing with money and assessing the financial impact of needs and wants.
In other words, a lack of planning is a key obstacle to achieving your goal, whether it be a lifestyle of Purposeful Prosperity or anything else.
However, poor planning is as bad as no planning.
Paul Sharp, a psychologist, suggest two reasons why poor planning can lead to more anxiety.
Planning is biased because of inaccuracies in the planning process. In my experience, clients who base plans on inaccurate or incomplete information often need to rethink their plans later.
Sharp also identifies excessive planning as a cause of undue worry. Excessive planning occurs when an event is too far in the future to be a concern. It also happens when immediate action to rectify a situation is required, not a long-term plan for achieving goals.
Poor planning prevents goal achievement.
Unfortunately, you might live in ongoing disorganisation, in which planning for the future is the main reason for not achieving a lifestyle of Purposeful Prosperity. Indeed, one of the key reasons you might decide to visit a financial coach or planner in the first place is to plan your future.
When asked, “Why are you here?” clients often respond with answers such as:
- ‘We are not fully in control of our finances.’
- ‘We feel we are on the cusp of making a serious wrong decision.’
- ‘I don’t understand money; all I feel around money is fear and anxiety.’
- ‘We don’t know where we are now or where we will be in the future’
Achieving clarity by planning your life and money provides relief from anxiety, even if the picture does not look good. At least you know where you stand and can plan appropriate action.
A lack of planning is a significant obstacle to achieving the lifestyle and ambitions you crave and turning your values into goals. However, planning requires a process, and I’ll examine why having no process is the third significant obstacle stopping you.
Your Next Steps
Reflection time
- How does my current approach to planning influence my anxiety levels—does it alleviate or amplify my worries?
- How well do my financial and life plans align with my core values, long-term goals, and desired lifestyle?
- Am I making decisions based on accurate, complete information, or do I need to reassess and refine my planning process?
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Taking it further
Help yourself to more posts, templates, factsheets and exercises
Self-help
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A selection of information notes, exercises and templates
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Attributions and references
Photo attribution
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Audio link
https://audio.com/jeremy_deedes/audio/anxiety/
Other attributions and references
Sharp, Paul B. Anxiety Involves Altered Planning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 1 Nov. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2024.11.001. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
Mathews, Andrew. Why Worry? The Cognitive Function of Anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, vol. 28, no. 6, 1990, pp. 455–468, https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(90)90132-3. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.
ABOUT
I work with ambitious, family-oriented professionals transitioning to independent consultants to create a 3 to 5-year holistic plan so that they grow wealthy, make a difference and find meaning.
My clients are aged 35-50. They are in a long-term relationship with family and parents who are supportive but ageing. They wrestle with personal and financial responsibilities and dream of more control, wealth, time and purpose.
If this excites you, you are coachable, willing to change, and want to stop going around in circles, then find out more at jeremydeedes.com
Then, take your next step and explore your way forward with a Mapmaker, a one-off online coaching gig to help you decide your options, assess our compatibility, and determine whether we are the right fit. Mapmaker is excellent value, held in confidence and without further commitment.
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