To be anxious, then, is to divide the mind.1 Worry takes a meat cleaver to our thoughts, energy, and focus. Anxiety chops up our attention. It sends our awareness in a dozen directions. We worry about the past—what we said or did. We worry about the future—tomorrow’s assignments or the next decade’s developments. Anxiety takes our attention from the right now and directs it “back then” or “out there.” But when you aren’t focused on your problem, you have a sudden availability of brain space. Use it for good.
