Releasing Anticipatory Anxiety

Daily Boost — Motivation and Coaching

Scott Smith

Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Business

3.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Someone on a coaching call this week heard the words "anticipatory anxiety" and froze. They thought it meant something was wrong with them. It's actually one of the most useful tools you've got. Used right, it doesn't trap you — it frees you up to move. Today, I'm walking through why turning face-first into what scares you is the fastest way to make it shrink. I'll tell you about my friend running across Death Valley, my morning in the sauna, and the three-step process that's quietly run my whole life. Press play. Featured Story I was at the gym this morning and pushed it hard. Heavy weights with a friend, then 30 minutes on the rotating stair machine. Then I walked into the sauna and sat there for 35 minutes too long. The body started shutting down. Stars at the edges. Couldn't quite stand. The kind of nervous system collapse where staying conscious is the only thing that matters. My friend Billy hung around to make sure I was okay. The guys working the gym ran in with ice and their own personal Snapple — not from the cooler, theirs. I was fine. But it taught me something about what happens when you don't anticipate what could go wrong. Important Points About 90% of what you worry about never actually happens. It's anxiety rehearsing a movie that won't ever air. Pre-process every angle of what could go wrong, then keep moving. The worry tends to shrink the moment you face it. Anticipatory anxiety can free you instead of trapping you. Turn into what scares you and watch its grip on you dissolve. Memorable Quotes Turn face first into the thing scaring you, look at it clearly, and deal with it — you mitigate it. The anxiety drops. Anticipatory anxiety can be used for good, not just for evil. It doesn't have to scare you — it can actually free you. More is on the other side of less. The things dragging you down need to go — and you already know that, deep down. Scott's Three-Step Approach First, face whatever's been dogging you — the bad job, the stale marriage, the dream you keep pushing further back. Then build the new life. Cut the friction that's dragging you down — more is always on the other side of less. Finally, live it daily. Fill the space you cleared with what you actually want, or you'll drift back to the old life. Chapters 0:07 - Where 'anticipatory anxiety' came from this week 2:10 - The 35-minute sauna mistake that almost dropped me 4:12 - My friend Croy and 142 miles across Death Valley 4:25 - The guy on the call who called it depressing 6:54 - Why pilots study crashes — and why you should too 8:24 - Face it, build it, live it — the whole thing Connect With Me Search for the Daily Boost on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify If you enjoy the Daily Boost, you might like Notes From Scott. A few mornings each week, I send a short note with something I've been thinking about or noticing lately. Sometimes those ideas turn into podcast episodes later. You can sign up at https://notesfromscott.com. Email: support@motivationtomove.com Main Website: https://motivationtomove.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/dailyboostpodcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/heyscottsmith Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/motivationtomove Facebook Group: https://dailyboostpodcast.com/facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	How are you? Well, happy Wednesday. Come on in here. Nice to have you here today. There's a term that
0:07.7	popped out on a coaching call today called anticipatory anxiety. People freaked out by it.
0:14.5	We're going to talk about that way. It's actually good. And a whole lot more.
0:17.5	I need a boost. I need a daily boost. I need a boost. I need a daily boost. I need a daily boost. I need a daily boost. It is the daily boost. It's me, Scott Smith. Good to have you. Thanks for stopping by today from Motivation to Move.com. All the stuff I have is over there. Just go to Motivation to Move.com. That's where you'll find it. If it's your first time, thanks for stopping by, you might be thinking, what am I going to get? Well, about a coffee mug worth there's some practical, some tactical, some inspirational, some motivational thoughts. I'm not going to say advice, but you can take it that way if you want to. Real stuff in a real world that always looks at the world in a very positive way.
0:55.8	A coffee mug.
0:56.8	I have a logo for a coffee mug.
0:58.6	I rarely talk about this, but why?
1:00.8	Because about 20 years ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop.
1:03.1	My late wife was there, Cheryl.
1:05.4	She was alive then.
1:07.5	And I said to her, I said, I just want to have a coffee shop so I can talk to people and maybe to solve the world's problems. And the wisdom of the wife popped up. She goes, you don't want a coffee shop, man. You don't like to get up that early. You just want to talk to people. And about six months later, the podcasting thing was invented well before iTunes had it. I saw it when it first came out. I said, that's a good idea. Let's do the daily boost.
1:28.5	And so the coffee mug went on the logo at very the beginning.
1:30.9	That's what happened.
1:31.7	Anyway, good to have you here today.
1:41.3	Thanks for stopping by. I'm lucky to be alive today. I really truly am. And, okay, that's a little bit maybe a little drama there. but I thought I was going to die for just a moment.
1:42.3	Actually, I never thought I was going to die.
1:45.3	But even worse, I thought I was going to pass out.
2:00.7	I was at the gym today, and I worked out a really hard weight workout with a friend. And then, uh, did some cardio, got on the stair machine where the steps rotate and stayed on there for about 30 minutes and just really pushed it hard. And then I went in the sauna for like 35 minutes, toughen my body up a little bit.
2:02.0	And suddenly you have that moment in a sauna where you're like,
2:02.5	I need to get out of here.
2:04.4	That moment where you're, they got to get up the cool weather fast, the cool temperatures fast. And I was sitting there, man, I'm going to pass out here. Unfortunately, my friend Billy was hanging around. He made sure I was okay. I was even sitting stars. I mean, I was right on the edge of going out.
2:19.0	And then the guys that worked at the gym brought me some ice and they brought me their own personal snapple. They didn't take one out of the thing. They brought me their own. I owe them one now. I'm okay. It's okay. It's such a neat experience to push yourself to the point. And then part of the conversation today was preparing for the unexpected.
	...

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