How to Destroy Chronic Anxiety and Fear
When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in his early twenties, he wrote a sermon called “How a Christian Overcomes Evil.”
He describes two ways you can conquer fear.
The first is the way of Ulysses — the Greek general who resisted the sirens by placing wax in the ears of his sailors and strapping himself to the mast of the ship.
The second is the way of Orpheus, who resisted the sirens by playing his harp so beautifully that it made the siren song unappealing.
Young Martin Luther King preferred the way of Orpheus. “Evil is not driven out, but crowded out.” He wrote.
The default mode when overwhelmed with fear and anxiety is to shut yourself in. Strap yourself to the mast and try really hard not to think about it.
You don’t have to be a psychologist to know that telling yourself not to think about something only makes you think about it more.
Instead, be like Orpheus.
Focus on the things you control.
Focus on building something beautiful.
Focus on your work.
Cultivate patience.
Find confidence in yourself again and you will overcome fear.
As Dr. King concluded his sermon: fear is not mastered by saying: “I will not sin, but through the explosive power of something great.”