CH
	
APTER	FOUR
Putting	the	Tools	to	Work
Your	intention	is	set.	Anxiety	will	no	longer	rule	your	life.	Now	you
know	it’s	within	your	reach	to	experience	a	peaceful	emotional	life
and	to	feel	physically	at	ease.	The	techniques	you’re	learning	in
this	book	can	reduce	anxiety	on	the	spot,	in	the	moment	that	it
arises.	Repeated	use	of	the	strategies	will	give	you	consistent,
sustainable	symptom	reduction.	Here’s	how	to	start	taking	the
techniques	to	the	next	level	through	building	longer-term	habits	and
goals.
From
	
Strategies	to	Habits
The	great	pioneering	neuropsychologist	Donald	Hebb	observed,	“neurons	that
fire	together	wire	together.”	Whether	it	be	learning	a	new	language	or
responding	to	an	abusive	parent,	repeated	experiences	over	time	trigger	the
same	patterns	of	neuronal	activity.	At	some	point,	only	a	tiny	cue	will	trigger
that	pattern	of	activity,	and	you	can	expect	the	same	events	to	occur	that	have
always	occurred	in	the	past.	For	example,	when	you	see	a	red	circle	in	the
distance,	your	brain	automatically	registers	“stop	sign	ahead.”	You	realize	as
you	approach	that	it’s	actually	an	advertisement	on	a	red	circle,	but	your
initial	perception	told	you	it	would	be	a	stop	sign,	so	you	had	already	started