avoiding/escaping	them?
Giving
	
Up	the	Struggle
It’s	tempting	to	live	life	in	a	constant	state	of	longing.	We	long	to	not
experience	upsetting	or	anxious	feelings.	We	long	to	win.	We	long	to	be
better.	We	long	to	be	free	of	pain	and	full	of	pleasure.	And	we	berate
ourselves	when	we	don’t	achieve	what	we	long	for.	This	mind-set	can	make
life	an	endless	race	to	get	something,	and	then	something	else,	and	then
something	else.	Deep	down	we	believe	this	struggle	is	one	day	going	to	lead
to	an	end	to	all	of	our	suffering,	an	end	of	wanting	more,	and	an	end	to	ever
feeling	bad.
This	belief	is	a	fantasy	that	encourages	anxiety	to	flourish.	Anxiety	on
some	level	is	never	going	to	end.	Believing	it	can	somehow	be	controlled	or
erased	becomes	a	barrier	that	prevents	people	from	improving	the	quality	of
their	lives	here	and	now.
Take,	for	example,	planning	a	vacation.	You	can	choose	to	approach	the
planning	with	anxiety,	frustration,	or	aggravation.	You	might	worry	that	you
won’t	be	able	to	do	what	you	want	to	do	on	the	trip,	that	the	flights	will	be