In this episode of Calm Your Caveman, Dr. Twitchell deepens the conversation on finding your purpose as a foundational strategy for mastering anxiety. Building upon the previous discussion, this episode emphasizes the power of a clear 'why' to navigate complex emotional events and conflicting inner valuations. Dr. Twitchell explores how a defined purpose helps in choosing the right emotional regulation strategies and ensuring efficient resource allocation. Real-life examples, including job dissatisfaction and social anxiety, illustrate how identifying long-term values can guide critical life decisions. Additionally, the episode encourages writing exercises to bring subconscious values to the surface, thereby fostering greater emotional autonomy and resilience.

Key Points:
Choosing Strategies Based on Desired Outcomes: We discuss how knowing your desired outcome helps in selecting the appropriate emotional regulation strategies.
Handling Complex Emotions: We talk about the complexity of emotional events and how having a sense of purpose can help resolve inner conflicts by prioritizing long-term values.
Willingness to Feel Anxiety: We Introduce the concept of being willing to experience anxiety in the service of something valued and how this paradoxically reduces anxiety.


[00:00:00] - Introduction and recap of the previous episode on finding your 'why.'
[00:01:00] - How purpose changes your brain’s perception of demands.
[00:03:21] - Creative problem-solving and the grit factor.
[00:03:59] - The importance of writing down your thoughts.
[00:09:20] - Identifying desired outcomes and choosing appropriate strategies.
[00:10:50] - Examples of applying these concepts in real-life situations (stifling job and social anxiety).
[00:19:05] - Handling complex emotions and resolving inner conflicts.
[00:21:04] - Willingness to feel anxiety and its paradoxical effect on reducing anxiety.
[00:26:36] - Purpose-oriented goals and efficient allocation of resources.
[00:27:23] - Summary and closing remarks.


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
Find Your Why Continued: Foundational Anxiety Management Strategies (Part II) (calmyourcaveman.com)