The premise of the film offers a powerful lesson that I’d like to share for today’s BlessUP. We may not be teenagers anymore, but Anxiety has been a constant companion for many of us. It is the voice that feeds us doubts, triggering a constant state of “what if.”  In the book Linchpin, we know it as our Lizard Brain, and David Goggins calls it the Governor in Can’t Hurt Me.

At first glance, anxiety might seem like a safety net, protecting us from potential pitfalls just as the character suggests in the clip. However, it can quickly become the actual pitfall if we let it dictate our every move. When we constantly allow it to feed worst-case scenarios in our heads, we end up scared of taking chances or trying new things, and as a result, fail to reach our full potential.

We must learn to manage the paranoia and not let it fully control us. It’s not about eliminating the worries entirely – after all, a healthy dose of caution is still beneficial.  The key is finding the balance and more importantly, using anxiety as no more than a signal to prepare for potential challenges. We need to muster up our courage to take action, and instead of focusing on negative possibilities, we reframe our perspective and lean more toward positive outcomes:

What if we fail?
What if we learn something valuable?

What if we get rejected?
What if it opens a better opportunity?

What if we are not good enough?
What if we can grow and improve?


By focusing on good possibilities, we can transform our paranoia into a driver of right action.  It can help us prepare for challenges, develop contingency plans, and identify potential roadblocks. Our anxieties can become a powerful tool for success when faced head-on and managed effectively.

Remember, while anxieties may linger, they don’t have to control the wheel. Life throws us curveballs, and sometimes we can get hurt or embarrassed but we’ll live another day. So let’s all face our fears and not be pessimists. Let’s always hope for the best. If we win, we’ll celebrate our successes. If we fail, we’ll learn from the setbacks and come back wiser.

As the late Jim Rohn teaches us in the video below, a glass that’s half-empty is also half-full.