How do I deal with anxiety and stress?

I think having proper motivation and honesty are the keys to overcoming those kinds of fear and anxiety. So, if I am anxious before giving a talk, I’ll remind myself that the main reason, the aim of giving the lecture, is to be of at least some benefit to the people, not for showing off my knowledge. So, those points which I know, I’ll explain. Those points which I do not understand properly then it doesn’t matter; I just say, “For me, this is difficult.” There’s no reason to hide or to pretend. From that standpoint, with that motivation, I don’t have to worry about appearing foolish or care about what others think of me. So, I’ve found that sincere motivation acts as an antidote to reduce fear and anxiety. 

(…)

In such cases, sometimes anxiety, of course, develops. Here, once again, we return to the importance of motivation. Then, I try to remind myself as far as my own motivation is concerned, I am sincere, and I tried my best. With a sincere motivation, one of compassion, even if I made a mistake or failed, there is no cause for regret. For my part I did my best. Then, you see, if I failed, it was because the situation was beyond my best efforts. So that sincere motivation removes fear and gives you self-confidence. On the other hand, if your underlying motivation is to cheat someone, then if you fail, you really become nervous. But if you cultivate a compassionate motivation, if you fail then there’s no regret.

(…)

The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have because there’s no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others. So, I think that the more honest you are, the more self-confident you will be . . .

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