The 3 Second Rule: Anxiety is a Call to Action

When it comes to anxiety, time can often be our worst enemy.

If I think back to the times when I felt the most anxiety, it’s often in situations where I am waiting around – like at the dentist’s office or before a job interview.

This is because anxiety is often a “call to action.” It’s your body telling you to move or do something. The more time you spend not acting on your anxiety, the more your anxiety will increase and grow.

When meeting new people, one great rule to follow is the “3 Second Rule.”

The basic idea behind this rule is that as soon as you see someone you want to talk to (like a person at a party or a girl at a bar), you have 3 seconds to approach them and start a conversation.

This rule has been very helpful for me personally.

There have been many times when I see someone I want to talk to, but then I wait around for the “perfect opportunity” to approach them.

The problem is this “perfect opportunity” never comes, so I grow increasingly more anxious until I finally psyche myself out of ever approaching the person.

The “3 Second Rule” teaches you not to wait when you want to start a conversation with someone, because waiting will only increase your anxiety.

If you don’t approach someone within that 3 seconds you want to, you might as well not do it at all. Because as more time passes, your chances will only get slimmer and slimmer.

Anxiety is your body telling you to take action. It’s a rush of biochemicals, like adrenaline and cortisol, which motivate you to do something. If you don’t answer this “call to action,” your body will keep pumping those chemicals into your body, so your anxiety will keep increasing and increasing.

If you wait too long, your anxiety will eventually build to a point where you’ll run away from the situation rather than facing it.

This is why the “3 Second Rule” can be so helpful and effective. It touches on the root of what anxiety is and shows us how we can take advantage of it.

From this perspective, anxiety becomes a source of motivation.

For example…

You see a hot person at a bar who you want to approach. You feel that biochemical rush. Then you choose to interpret it as motivation and act on it, rather than something that inhibits you and stops you.

Our perspective is often the key difference between “anxiety” and “motivation.” The biochemical reaction is the same.

So the next time you find yourself wanting to approach someone and start a conversation with them, try to keep this “3 Second Rule” in mind. It can be very helpful!

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