Dr. Wendy Suzuki
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
And so the flip for that. is to take the to-do list. And first, I want you to notice that all of these things are things that you care about doing well. They're usually about your job or your relationship or money, money things. All good to be concerned about them. The trick is to take that list what-if list and turn it into a to-do list. And so for me, I don't do it in the middle of the night.
And so the flip for that. is to take the to-do list. And first, I want you to notice that all of these things are things that you care about doing well. They're usually about your job or your relationship or money, money things. All good to be concerned about them. The trick is to take that list what-if list and turn it into a to-do list. And so for me, I don't do it in the middle of the night.
I wait till the next morning. But I've trained myself that I'm going to take care of each one of those worries and do something active. If there is an issue at work, I'm going to talk to three people about it and try and get input for that. There's something active that you can do for every single one of your worries.
I wait till the next morning. But I've trained myself that I'm going to take care of each one of those worries and do something active. If there is an issue at work, I'm going to talk to three people about it and try and get input for that. There's something active that you can do for every single one of your worries.
And the more people you talk to about it, you realize that very productive people are already doing this. So take advantage of that trick.
And the more people you talk to about it, you realize that very productive people are already doing this. So take advantage of that trick.
Right. I love that because you've just created a new superpower of anxiety, which is the love of learning. So can you turn your anxieties into the next learning project that you have and then get better at small talk or whatever you're anxious about? I love that.
Right. I love that because you've just created a new superpower of anxiety, which is the love of learning. So can you turn your anxieties into the next learning project that you have and then get better at small talk or whatever you're anxious about? I love that.
Absolutely. I mean, those anxieties are really... Telling you what you hold dear in your life. You think, wow, that sounds good. I want to know what I hold dear in my life. Because the flip side of your anxiety and the flip side of grief is deep love.
Absolutely. I mean, those anxieties are really... Telling you what you hold dear in your life. You think, wow, that sounds good. I want to know what I hold dear in my life. Because the flip side of your anxiety and the flip side of grief is deep love.
And so I think that all of these more difficult emotions, when seen in that light, can be embraced in a new way instead of trying to kick them out the door and never experience them again. That is not a full life if you don't have... because it suggests you didn't have that deep love that turns into grief when something goes away.
And so I think that all of these more difficult emotions, when seen in that light, can be embraced in a new way instead of trying to kick them out the door and never experience them again. That is not a full life if you don't have... because it suggests you didn't have that deep love that turns into grief when something goes away.
Not that I'm wishing people grief, but that helped me so much in my periods of grief to realize that that grief would never be so deep that I could never even imagine it before it happened unless the love for those people were so deep in the first place. And it's like, wow, I... I loved them more than I even realized, which was a gift to realize that and pulled me out of my grief.
Not that I'm wishing people grief, but that helped me so much in my periods of grief to realize that that grief would never be so deep that I could never even imagine it before it happened unless the love for those people were so deep in the first place. And it's like, wow, I... I loved them more than I even realized, which was a gift to realize that and pulled me out of my grief.
So that realization really, really defined the way I wrote this book, Good Anxiety, because I started the book before these events. And it was going to be a neuroscience-based book on anxiety. And I was going to explain the science of it so everybody could understand. And it was going forward in an He had dementia and he had a sudden heart attack. And it was just so, so sad.
So that realization really, really defined the way I wrote this book, Good Anxiety, because I started the book before these events. And it was going to be a neuroscience-based book on anxiety. And I was going to explain the science of it so everybody could understand. And it was going forward in an He had dementia and he had a sudden heart attack. And it was just so, so sad.
And I remember being so grateful that my brother did the eulogy because that has been my biggest fear in life to have to do a eulogy and have to stand up and talk about somebody who's just passed without crying uncontrollably. He did such a beautiful job. But the next tragedy was that three months later, my brother, who's two years younger, also passed away of a heart attack.
And I remember being so grateful that my brother did the eulogy because that has been my biggest fear in life to have to do a eulogy and have to stand up and talk about somebody who's just passed without crying uncontrollably. He did such a beautiful job. But the next tragedy was that three months later, my brother, who's two years younger, also passed away of a heart attack.
He was the most fit person that you would ever know. And that was... devastating to lose both of them of the same thing within three months. And I was trying to go through it and I stopped writing the book because I couldn't because I was grieving. Then I realized I had to do his eulogy because there was nobody else left. It was only me. And so a lot of soul searching. What am I going to say?
He was the most fit person that you would ever know. And that was... devastating to lose both of them of the same thing within three months. And I was trying to go through it and I stopped writing the book because I couldn't because I was grieving. Then I realized I had to do his eulogy because there was nobody else left. It was only me. And so a lot of soul searching. What am I going to say?