From Emotion to Action

The Inevitable Connection Between Feeling and Acting

Our feelings are not passive, but directly influence our every action and behavior in life.

The way we feel in a given situation defines how we will act or behave in it.

When we experience intense emotions like anxiety, we cannot prevent them from being reflected in our outward behavior.

It is a direct and powerful link that often operates automatically if we are not aware of it.

The Three Primitive Responses to Fear

When anxiety, which is an extreme form of fear, takes over, our body reacts in three primitive ways.

The first response is flight, which is the impulse to run or escape from the situation that generates fear.

The second is fight, a defensive reaction where we confront the perceived threat, sometimes in a aggressive.

The third and most common response in modern anxiety is freezing, a paralysis that prevents us from taking any action.

These responses are survival mechanisms that are activated to protect us, but in anxiety, the threat is not real.

Inaction as Self-Sabotage

In the context of our daily challenges, acting under the influence of anxiety often leads directly to inaction.

Fear of the future freezes us in the present, preventing us from moving forward toward the goals we want to achieve in life.

This paralysis by fear is a very subtle but destructive form of self-sabotage, as it prevents us from even trying.

By not acting, we are guaranteeing that we will not achieve the result we wanted, thus fulfilling the fear's prediction.

Summary

Our feelings are not passive; they directly influence our actions. The way we feel determines how we act. Anxiety, a form of fear, drives us to behave in specific ways. It's a direct, powerful, and often automatic link.

When anxiety takes over, the body reacts in three primitive ways: flight, fight, or freeze. Although these mechanisms are for survival, in anxiety the threat isn't real. Inaction, or freezing, is the most common response in modern anxiety.

This paralysis by fear is a form of self-sabotage. It prevents us from taking action and moving toward our goals, guaranteeing that we won't get the desired outcome. Fear of the future freezes us in the present, preventing us from even trying, and thus its prediction comes true.