In this age of overwhelming anxiety, society sends us the message that we must attack it like we do any life-threatening disease — prevent it, avoid it, and stamp it out at all costs. This is the disease story of anxiety that we tell ourselves. But what if we were all wrong about anxiety? In the book, I argue for the perhaps radical idea that anxiety is not the enemy — it is our ally, because when we tap into our anxiety instead of attack it, we immediately multiply our inner resources, not just for surviving, but for thriving. Although of course anxiety can become debilitating in the context of an anxiety disorder, but we have evolved to be anxious because in a typical range, it is both protective and productive, propelling us into future thinking, where we are smarter, more focused, and more hopeful in the face of challenge. When we learn to embrace our anxiety and teach our families to do the same, we harness the superpowers inherent in the future tense and step off the path towards debilitating anxiety.
