Rate	how	motivated	you	are	to	work	on	each	of	these	behaviors.	Use	the	same
scale.
Start	with	a	behavior	that’s	not	going	to	be	too	difficult	to	eliminate	but	which
is	causing	enough	trouble	to	motivate	you	to	work	on	it.	So,	using	the	1	to	10
scale,	consider	behaviors	in	the	4	to	6	range	for	difficulty	and	at	or	above	5	on
the	motivation	range.	Once	you	make	progress	on	one	target	behavior,
momentum	will	develop,	and	you	can	work	on	other	items	as	you	wish.
The	Great	Escape
When	we	avoid,	we	work	behind	the	scenes	to	dodge	what	we	dread.	We’re
planning	ahead	to	totally	eliminate	contact	with	the	trigger.	Escape	is
different;	it	manifests	when	we	experience	an	acute	anxiety	surge	in	the
moment	we	contact	the	trigger.	We	then	do	whatever	we	have	to	in	order	to
get	away	from	it.	Imagine	what	you’d	
do
	
if	you	touched	an	appliance	and	got
a	sudden	electric	shock—you’d	jerk	your	hand	away	immediately.	You	didn’t
manage	to	avoid	the	shock	but	you	did	escape	it,	and	minimize	your	contact
with	the	unpleasant	feeling.
For	example,	if	you	have	a	phobia	of	crowded	spaces,	you	may	be
perfectly	fine	most	of	the	time	living	in	a	bubble	that	keeps	you	in	your	open-