Overcoming Anxiety: Suzanne Lucas Highlights the Power of ‘Doing It Scared’

In a recent LinkedIn post, Suzanne Lucas explores the common human experience of anxiety and encourages individuals to push forward despite their fears, drawing a parallel to her anxious but determined house cat, Mikey.

Lucas begins by describing Mikey’s personality, noting his fierce appearance belies a high-strung nature. “He’s also extremely nosey. whenever he’s trying out something new he’s nervous about it. So he screams the whole time,” she writes, painting a vivid picture of a cat whose outward reactions signal his inner turmoil.

The Universal Struggle with New Challenges

Lucas uses Mikey’s behavior as a metaphor for human reactions to unfamiliar situations. She points out the irony that while we might expect adults to possess inherent knowledge and confidence, the reality is often quite different. “One of the most shocking things to me was to find out that adults don’t just automatically know how to do things,” Lucas shared in her post. This observation underscores a key theme: the prevalence of fear and uncertainty in navigating life’s challenges.

The author emphasizes that this feeling of being scared is not a sign of weakness or inadequacy, but rather a common, often hidden, aspect of adult experience. “I am still shocked to find out that most people are simply doing things scared,” she reveals, highlighting the widespread nature of this internal struggle.

Embracing Action Despite Fear

Despite his anxieties, Mikey consistently engages with new experiences. Lucas observes this persistent effort, stating, “But the point is, even though he’s scared he does it anyway. He pushes forward and screams his way through the next new thing.” This persistent action, even in the face of vocalized fear, serves as the core lesson of her post.

Lucas directly advises her audience to adopt a similar mindset. “So be like Mikey. Don’t let your nerves hold you back. Just do it scared and scream if you need to,” she concludes. Her message is a powerful call to action, urging readers not to let anxiety paralyze them but to instead embrace the discomfort and move forward.

The underlying message from Lucas is that inaction due to fear is more detrimental than facing challenges with trepidation. By reframing fear not as a barrier but as a natural companion to growth, she empowers individuals to take the necessary steps towards their goals, acknowledging that the process might be imperfect and accompanied by internal ‘screams’ of apprehension.