The Laser Focused Margaret Munoz at her office in the Inner West of Sydney. A very strong and very effective operator who knows treating anxiety inside out. She has given me some great tips!
Over the past year I have been very lucky to work with some very high powered clients. From Multi-Millionaires, to Top Selling Authors, to Military Suppliers and to Awesome people that specialize in the mind like Margaret Munoz.
I know Margaret through the 4Networking Australian Community and have spent lots of time getting to know her, seeing her fine office and appreciating her focus on helping people with Anxiety.
This is very close to my own heart too, I have been a massive anxiety suffer for years and these days I am quite good – but I remember having panic attacks and everything (like several times a week).
Much of my own problems were left over from multiple experiences of homelessness as a child & adult and being almost mortally wounded when I worked for the government (which led me to developing quite a heavy case of “Shell-Shock” / “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”).
In short, yes – I what it’s like to suffer from anxiety and I can spot someone who is awesome at helping in this area from a mile away. Margaret has written a great contribution to our blog and I trust you shall enjoy it!
“The Art of Living with Insecurity” – Guest Blog with Margaret Munoz:
Being employed or self-employed bring different joys. One of the joys of being employed is that money plops into your bank account on a regular basis. However when you’re self-employed it doesn’t tend to do that and this very fact can be a source of great anxiety. Not only does it not tend to plop in on a regular basis, you often don’t even know what the amount is going to be from week to week or month to month.
Product sales can go up and down, while in service industries you can be swinging along quite nicely but all it takes to upset the apple cart is for a major client to leave.
You find yourself becoming anxious a lot of the time – you’re anxious when things aren’t going well and you need new clients and customers but you’re also anxious when things are going well – in case it all goes pear-shaped again.
However unless fear and anxiety stimulate positive action they are not helpful emotions and usually lead to paralysis, procrastination and lost productivity.
After being in business for 26 years I now believe that one of the most important skills business owners need is the ability to manage the insecurity of an unstable income. To manage the periods of boom and bust – and yes, it’s tricky, but otherwise anxiety and stress will rule your life.
Living well with insecurity requires that we have a useful response to the situation – after all, fear and anxiety don’t bump up your bank balance.
What helps?
1. Having an unshakeable faith in yourself, and the knowledge that come what may you will be OK. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to? And if you don’t have self-confidence then there is work to be done on yourself. My opinion is that being a business owner is the best personal development workshop you could ever go on because truly it can push every button you have.
2. Making it “a must” to succeed no matter the situation or the setbacks. This channels your focus into taking action and finding creative solutions instead of sinking into paralysis.
3. Becoming aware of your beliefs about money and success that stem from your childhood – and changing those that don’t serve you. Beliefs about lack, not deserving, not being good enough, being unimportant, that money is hard to come by, that only ruthless people make money.
4. Stemming the flow of negative “what if” thoughts. I’m not talking about the “what if” questions which are useful in planning, but the anxiety provoking projections into the future – of stuff that hasn’t happened yet. I call it catastrophizing!
5. Opening yourself to receiving. Instead of thinking you have to chase after sales and clients, cultivate an opposite perspective – that of being willing to receive. Many people find it much easier to give than to receive even while wanting to receive, so it’s essential to look at any blocking beliefs and behaviours you have around receiving.
6. Stopping your focus on lack – lack of sales, lack of customers, lack of money in the bank. Or bills that you can’t pay, on looming expenses. Hard as it might be, living in appreciation and gratitude beats living in anxiety hands down. Be grateful for every single dollar that comes in, even if it’s a small amount and won’t pay the mortgage.
7. Learning how to manage your emotions better with techniques such as meridian tapping or doing regular yoga, meditation or other calming activities.
8. Asking yourself – “Is this a useful response to this situation?” and then looking for a more resourceful one.
9. Ensuring that you are adequately resourced both internally and externally. Running a business takes great resilience and demands that you learn how to support yourself and also receive support from others.
Edward’s Post Guest Blog Commentary:
This blog really went into mechanics and anxiety treatment and it was great. I am often guilty of 4. “Negative Emotional Flow” and hearing it from Margaret has got me thinking. Great article and I totally love it! To learn more, Google “margaret munoz” and check out what she does and how she can help you.
Thank you from Edward Zia! Marketing Mentor, Crazy Persian and Man who loves taking on his Anxiety head on!
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