The best way to get a specific outcome is to focus on what you can control now and leave the rest. Anxiety refuses to accept this, though. It demands a certain outcome.

Instead of measuring success based on the outcome (which is anxiety’s measuring stick), try measuring it a different way by asking:

• Did I act in a way consistent with my values?
• No matter the outcome, how do I want to look back on this time and be proud of how I handled it?

We don’t need anxiety’s acceptance or approval. In fact, the only way to get it is by sacrificing our values.