A&B #76

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👋 Hey everyone,

Here are a few popular posts you may have missed:

• 10 practical tips from the bestselling book Chatter

• 25 books that will help you achieve financial freedom

PS: I'll be sending another email tomorrow with an update about my course The Art of Reading. If you want to learn how to be a better reader directly from me, stay tuned...

📚 Book Lessons:

This week's book is The Anxiety Toolkit by Alice Boyes.Do you ever find yourself suffering from anxiety? If so, you're not alone. Over 40 million Americans experience everyday anxiety. Fortunately, there are tools you can use to cope and reduce your anxiety. Here are 3 lessons from the book:1) Think of A Positive Outcome For Every Negative OneWhen thinking about taking an action, an anxious mind will jump straight into thinking about negative outcomes. Example: If you're thinking of moving to a new state, your anxious mind might say, "What if I never make new friends?" or "What if I hate it there?"To combat this, you want to catch yourself when you're making negative predictions and entertain positive alternatives. In other words, for every negative scenario that comes to mind, think of an amazing one.Example: If you're thinking of moving to a new state, combat your anxious mind by saying, "What if I meet some wonderful new friends there?" or "What if I love it there?"2) Take A Deep BreatheOne of the best ways to instantly feel less anxious is to slow your breathing. Slowing your breathing will automatically slow down your heart rate and as a result, you'll feel calmer. Here are 3 tips for slowing your breathing:

1. Drop your shoulders and focus on breathing slowly rather than deeply.

2. If you have tension in an area of your body, imagine breathing fresh air into those areas.

3. Use your smartwatch or smartphone to track your heart rate to view how it's trending down.

3) Don't Take Negative Behaviors PersonallyHumans like to have explanations for why things happen. When we don't have one, we tend to invent one. Sometimes the explanations involve personalizing–when you take something more personally than it was meant in reality.For instance, if a work colleague is rude to you, you might think it's because he's annoyed at you. But the truth might be that he's frustrated with his boss or has problems in his personal life.You need to accept the fact that you're not always going to know why people behave the way they do and to not take every act of negative or rude behavior personally.

✅ Actionable Advice:

1) Think of a positive outcome for every negative one:

• The next time you find yourself thinking about a negative outcome for a possible action, give yourself a balanced view and think of one positive one as well.

2) Slow down your breathing:

• One of the easiest ways to lower your anxiety is to slow down your breathing.

• Drop your shoulders then inhale and exhale slowly.

3) Don't take negative behaviors personally:

• Accept the fact that you're not always going to know why people behave the way they do and don't take every act of rude behavior personally.

🎧 Podcast Update:

No new pod, but here are 20 podcasts that will make you happier, healthier, and wealthier.

📖 Reading Lesson:

⭐️ Weekly Quote:“If you love to read, or learn to love reading, you will have an amazing life. Period.”–Anne Lamott

Thank you for your support everyone, I'll see you next Sunday!Read on,Alex W.