CALM THE CHAOS WITHIN
Master Anxiety In High-Stakes Leadership
3-Minute Read
You can be winning on paper while unraveling inside. Many leaders do.
Mark Cuban’s biggest opponent wasn’t a competitor; it was his own nervous system.
Before the billions, before Shark Tank, Cuban lay awake, flooded with dread. Not because of failure, but because of success. He couldn’t shut his mind off. Couldn’t delegate. Couldn’t rest. Every small decision carried outsize fear. Even after hitting milestones, the anxiety didn’t stop—it morphed into control, isolation, and reactive leadership. Cuban later admitted that while anxiety drove him to hustle, it also warped his judgment and depleted his joy. It took deliberate practice to turn panic into peace.
He’s not alone.
Entrepreneurs and founders experience anxiety at rates nearly double the general population; up to 50%, making it the most anxious profession today. Why? Because innovation is inherently uncertain. And the same brain that generates vision also gets hijacked when you can’t regulate stress.
Anxiety isn’t just a feeling. It’s a physiological state that warps decision-making, diminishes creativity, and makes long-term thinking almost impossible. Left unchecked, it erodes your business, your relationships, and your body. But with the right tools, your nervous system can become your greatest ally.
Anxiety is multidimensional: Cognitive, Emotional, Physiological, and Behavioral. To do this conversation justice, we’ll tackle different angles one at a time in The Grip. Today we start with the foundation: the physiology of anxiety. If you want impact without burnout and to enjoy fullness of life as you serve, read on.
Let’s dive in!
dealing powerfully with the physiology of anxiety
Anxiety rewires your leadership from the inside out. It suppresses executive and creative thinking, over-activates your response to threat, and floods your system with cortisol. You stop strategizing and start surviving.
Your vision becomes myopic.
Your heart gets taxed.
You become impulsive and reactive.
Research shows anxious entrepreneurs make riskier short-term decisions, ignore downside scenarios, and burn through energy reserves at an unsustainable pace. Anxiety degrades innovation, connection, and health. But your brain isn’t stuck—it can be retrained.
Panic Relief: Cold As First-Aid
When anxiety spikes fast, cold works faster.
Cold exposure, especially in direct contact with your skin, halts the stress response. Simply, it can stop a panic attack. The following neuroscience-backed treatments put the brakes on escalating panic—fast:
Cold/Ice Water Facial Immersion – 15–30 seconds submerged in a bowl of cold water.
Cold/Ice Compress (Neck or Chest) – 1–3 minutes on the back of the neck or upper chest.
Drink Ice Water – Slowly sip, noticing the sensations down your throat.
Cold Air – Step outside, into the freezer, or under an AC vent.
Ice Cube in Hand – Hold tight for 30–60 seconds.
Cold doesn’t deal with anxiety’s root causes, but it reestablishes the physiology of calm in your body when panic strikes. It works in the boardroom, in the car, even on stage. I’ve seen it work consistently for my clients for years.
The Biochemistry Of Peace
You can’t out-hack poor physiology.
Anxiety often begins with a brain undernourished and overstimulated. These building blocks matter for calming your brain, regulating your mood, and buffering your stress response. When they are deficient or out of balance, your nervous system is vulnerable to chronic anxiety.
Keep these nutrients on you radar for cultivating peace and calm in your body:
🟠 Vitamins, Minerals, & Fatty Acids
Magnesium
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12 + Folate
Vitamin D
Zinc
Omega-3s
🟢 Neurotransmitters
GABA
Serotonin
🟣 Hormones
Cortisol
Estrogen
Progesterone
Testosterone
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7 Recalibration Tools
An anxious nervous system needs recalibration. The following are the tools I’ve used on myself and with clients for 20 years with great success. Practiced regularly, they will reset how you physiologically handle life’s stressors.
Mindfulness: The practice of being fully present and aware of your current experience, without overreacting or getting lost in thoughts. Start with Dr. Ron Siegel’s guided meditations.
Grounding 5-4-3-2-1: Identify five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Say them out loud as you identify each one: “I see the red chair,” for example. This process helps break the habit of racing thoughts and trains the mind to tune into the present.
EFT (Tapping): An acupressure methodology for discharging anxiety from the body. Learn from EFT Universe or The Tapping Solution.
Breathwork: Try Box Breathing or 4-7-8 Breathing.
Exercise: Aerobic and resistance exercise reduces tension, regulates stress hormones, and boosts neurochemicals that improve mood and calm the nervous system. Watch Dr. Rhonda Patrick explain how movement upgrades the brain.
Sleep: Chronic sleep loss feeds anxiety. Get intentional with your Sleep Hygiene to build emotional resilience.
Weekly Rest: A weekly 24-hour break from work to recharge will significantly reduce anxiety spikes the rest of the week. Design your own day off with Doing Weekly Rest and Living FROM Rest.
“Your brain isn’t stuck—it can be retrained.”
Anxiety might not be wrecking your business yet, but if you’re struggling with it, it is stealing your edge. It dulls your intuition, fractures your focus, and quietly drives disconnection in your relationships, your team, and your vision. You don’t have to hit the wall to realize the cost.
Regulating your nervous system isn’t a luxury; it’s a leadership imperative.
When you lead from calm instead of chaos, you grow from renewable power and create without collapse. Master this, and the quality of your life and leadership will transform.
Picture one calm conversation, one full night’s sleep, one meeting without the storm inside—what might shift from just that?
Keep creating!
key takeaways
What’s the real cost of chronic anxiety on leadership?
It hijacks strategic thinking, energy, and creativity, making impulsivity and decision fatigue the norm.How can cold exposure interrupt panic in the moment?
Exposing your skin to cold—through facial immersion or an ice pack—switches off survival mode (stress response) fast.Why does nutrition matter for anxious leaders?
A regulated nervous system relies on biochemical support. Proper levels of magnesium, B‑vitamins, omega‑3s, GABA, and serotonin enable calm, resilience, and clear thinking.
May you prosper in every way!
Becky & TPL Team
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