Leading with Empathy

Chapter 3Overcoming Stress and Anxiety

When you are having a bad day, ask yourself, “Was it truly a bad day, or did a few bad minutes hijack my entire day?”

Stress and anxiety have been childhood friends of mine, and we were inseparable for many years. Growing up, I was two years younger than everyone in my class. I remember having to work harder to catch up with children that were more mature than me. We had recently returned to India from the United Kingdom, and I had to go through cultural, educational, and emotional readjustment. The Indian education system has three languages as part of its curriculum—a first language which is the primary mode of teaching, the national language (Hindi), and the regional state language. My first language was English, the second was Hindi, and Kannada, the regional language of Karnataka (the state), was my third language. I was at a disadvantage and did not know Hindi or Kannada, and I vividly remember learning these languages with my mother. We spent many late nights together, with my mother patiently teaching me pronunciation, grammar, and sentence construction.

I failed in Hindi and Kannada in my first test. It was the first time I had failed at anything and the first time I experienced the feeling of disappointment. I was anxious to redeem myself in my parents' and teachers' eyes and put more effort into my studies. I barely passed in Hindi in the next round of tests but flunked Kannada again. It took two more attempts to consistently ...