We asked our community on Instagram a question: "Tell us: What moment do YOU want to learn to anchor through?"

And one woman responded with this:

"The biggest moments for me are when the anxiety hits before a meeting or hard task at work. How do I anchor through that?"

This question deserved more than a caption. It deserved a full stop.

Because work anxiety isn't about competence. It's not about preparation or capability or even confidence.

It's about your nervous system perceiving visibility as danger.

And when your body decides a conference room is a threat, when your thinking brain goes offline and fight flight freeze fawn takes over, no amount of "just be professional" or "fake it till you make it" will touch it.

This is where the ANCHOR™ Method meets you.

Not to erase the anxiety. Not to bypass what's real.

To give you a way home to yourself when your nervous system sounds the alarm.

What Work Anxiety Actually Is

Let's name what's true: Work anxiety isn't imposter syndrome, though they often travel together. It's not a sign you're unprepared, though your mind will tell you that story. It's not weakness, though shame will whisper otherwise.

Work anxiety is your nervous system responding to perceived threat.

Here's what happens in your body: When you're about to be visible, to speak up in a meeting, deliver a presentation, have a hard conversation, show your work, your brain scans for danger.

And if visibility has ever been unsafe (criticism, judgment, dismissal, humiliation), your nervous system remembers.

It doesn't matter that this meeting is new. It doesn't matter that these people are different. It doesn't even matter that you're more capable now.

Your body can't tell the difference between remembering danger and being in danger.

So it activates:

• Heart rate increases
• Breath shallows
• Blood leaves your prefrontal cortex (where clear thinking lives) and floods your limbs (for fight or flight)
• Your mind goes blank
• Your voice shakes
• You forget everything you wanted to say

This isn't failure. This is physiology.

Your nervous system is trying to keep you safe. It just hasn't updated its threat assessment.

And this is where anchoring becomes your return path.

What Is the ANCHOR™ Method?

If you are new to us ( hello! ) The ANCHOR™ Method is our six-pillar soul framework for regulated, embodied transformation.

It's not a mindset tool. It's a nervous system return.

It works because it integrates all six dimensions of transformation at once:

• Cognitive (Awareness)
• Physiological (Nervous System)
• Behavioral (Choice)
• Relational (Honor)
• Energetic (Ownership)
• Spiritual (Remembrance)

Most healing modalities work in only one dimension. Therapy teaches understanding. Meditation teaches observation. Self-help teaches behavior change. Somatic work teaches feeling.

All valuable. But here's what they miss: Understanding without regulation keeps you spinning in insight that never lands. Observation without choice keeps you witnessing your life instead of living it. Behavior change without nervous system safety never sticks. Somatic awareness without ownership keeps you stuck in victimhood.

The ANCHOR Method works because it integrates all of these at once.

And when all six pillars stand together, you don't just survive the storm. You become unshakable in it.

The Six Pillars Applied to Work Anxiety

Let's walk you through each pillar, not as theory to memorize, but as a lived sequence you can practice until it becomes second nature.

The order matters. Each pillar builds on the one before it.

If you try to honor yourself without regulation, you collapse into resentment. If you seek ownership without awareness, you confuse control with clarity. If you reach for choice while your nervous system screams danger, you'll default to old patterns.

The order is the medicine.

A — AWARENESS: The Ignition Point

This is where the light turns on.

Where you finally see what's been steering you from the shadows, the patterns, the stories you've been telling yourself without realizing they're fiction.

Awareness doesn't judge. It observes. It names what's true so what's hidden can no longer run the show.

Without awareness, you're living on autopilot. With it, you reclaim authorship.

How to Practice Awareness with Work Anxiety:

When the anxiety hits before the meeting, pause.

Don't try to fix it yet. Don't push through it. Don't shame yourself for feeling it.

Just name it.

"My chest is tight." "My breath is shallow." "I'm in threat response."

That one sentence changes everything.

It tells your brain: This isn't danger, it's memory.

Awareness doesn't silence your reaction, it gives it context. It helps you see the difference between what's happening and what it's touching.

The Awareness Questions:

• Where is tension living? (In your body?)
• What story is running? ("I'll forget everything" / "They'll see I'm a fraud" / "I don't belong here")
• Am I holding my breath?

You don't need to believe a different story yet. You don't need to talk yourself out of the fear.

You just need to see the one that's running.

Because you can't shift what you won't name.

The Practice:

The night before or the morning of, write it down:

"What I'm actually afraid of:"

• Being judged
• Making a mistake
• Looking stupid
• Being seen as not enough

Then write:

"What my body is trying to protect me from:"

• Past criticism
• A time I was dismissed
• The belief that visibility equals vulnerability

This externalizes the pattern so you can see it clearly.

Awareness is the moment you stop operating on autopilot and say: "I see what's here."

That's not bypass. That's truth.

And from truth, regulation becomes possible.

Awareness asks: What's actually happening here?

N — NERVOUS SYSTEM: The Stabilizer

This is where your body learns safety.

Where the alarm stops ringing and the prefrontal cortex ( thinking brain ) can stay online. Where breath deepens, shoulders drop, and clarity returns.

You can't think your way into calm. You have to regulate your way there.

The Nervous System is the bridge between what you know and what you can actually do when life gets loud.

Without regulation, awareness overwhelms you. With it, truth can finally land.

Why This Pillar Matters Most for Work Anxiety:

Your body goes first. Always.

Before insight, before processing, before any choice can be made consciously, your nervous system needs to feel safe.

When you're activated, blood literally leaves your prefrontal cortex (where executive function, clear thinking, and articulate speech live) and floods your limbs for survival.

You cannot access your capability when your nervous system is offline.

So we don't start with positive self-talk or visualization or "just be confident."

We start with the body.

The "10 Minutes Before" Protocol:

1. Ground through your feet
   • Sit or stand. Press your feet firmly into the floor.
   • Feel the weight, the pressure, the contact.
   • This signals to your nervous system: "I'm here. I'm solid. I'm not falling."
2. Touch your anchor
   • Your Worthy Wand (if you have one)
   • Your chest (hand over heart)
   • Your thigh (palm pressed down)
   • Create a physical touchstone that says: "This is my return point."
3. Regulate your breath
   • Inhale for 4 counts
   • Hold for 4 counts
   • Exhale for 6-8 counts (This is key, the long exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system, the "rest and digest" response)
   • Repeat 3-5 times
4. Discharge the activation
   • Shake your hands vigorously for 10 seconds
   • Roll your shoulders back 3 times
   • Wiggle your jaw side to side
   • This moves the energy through your body instead of letting it build

The "60-Second In-the-Room Reset:"

You're already in the meeting. The anxiety spikes mid-conversation. You feel your mind going blank.

You can still anchor.

• Feet on floor (press down discreetly)
• Hand on heart or anchor (or simply press your palm to your thigh)
• Three slow exhales (longer out than in, no one needs to notice)
• Whisper internally: "I'm safe. This is not life or death. I'm allowed to take up space."

This is not about making the feeling go away. It's about bringing your thinking brain back online so you can access what you know.

The Science:

When your nervous system is dysregulated, you cannot think clearly. Period.

But when you ground, breathe, and discharge, you're literally signaling safety to your vagus nerve, which tells your amygdala (the alarm system): "We're okay. Stand down."

Within 60-90 seconds, blood returns to your prefrontal cortex. Clarity returns. Your voice steadies. You remember what you wanted to say.

This isn't magic. It's neurobiology.

The Nervous System asks: Am I safe enough to stay present?

C — CHOICE: The Pivot

This is where change becomes real.

Where you stop reacting from old code and start choosing from new possibilities.

Every conscious choice rewires your brain, one decision at a time.

Choice isn't about getting it perfect. It's about practicing power.

It's the moment you realize the spiral doesn't have to keep spinning, you can step out of it.

Without choice, you're a passenger in your own life. With it, you become the driver.

How to Practice Choice with Work Anxiety:

Once you've named what's true (Awareness) and regulated your body (Nervous System), you have access to choice.

Not before. If you try to choose while dysregulated, you'll choose from fear.

But now, now you can ask: "What do I want to do with this moment?"

The Choice Menu:

When anxiety hits before or during work, here are your options:

Option 1: Speak first

• "I'm going to speak before I talk myself out of it."
• Sometimes the best antidote to anxiety is action. Jump in before your mind builds the story bigger.

Option 2: Ask for what you need

• "Can I have a minute to gather my thoughts?"
• "Can you repeat the question?"
• "I'd like to take a beat before I respond."
• Asking for space isn't weakness. It's self-leadership.

Option 3: Let it be messy

• "I'm going to let my first sentence be imperfect and keep going."
• Your opening line doesn't have to be polished. Just start. The rest will follow.

Option 4: Anchor to one person

• "I'm going to look at the person who feels safest and speak to them."
• Find one friendly face, one nodding head, and let that be your tether.

Option 5: Name it out loud

• "I'm a little nervous, and I'm going to share anyway."
• Naming your anxiety often disarms it, and humanizes you to others.

The Question That Clarifies Everything:

"If I trusted myself completely right now, what would I do?"

Then do that. Even if your hands shake while you do it.

Choice is not about eliminating fear. It's about moving with it.

You're not waiting to feel confident before you act. You're acting toward confidence.

That's the pivot. That's the power.

Choice asks: What do I want to do with this moment?

H — HONOR: The Boundary

This is where integrity lives.

Where you stop abandoning yourself to be chosen and start protecting what matters.

Honor is the sacred no and the wholehearted yes. It's the line you hold, not to punish others, but to stay true to yourself.

Boundaries aren't walls. They're agreements. They're how your nervous system knows it's safe to stay open without collapsing.

Without honor, everything you've built leaks. With it, you anchor deeper into self-trust.

How to Practice Honor with Work Anxiety:

Honor in the context of work anxiety looks like this:

You don't have to perform composure.

You don't have to pretend you're calm when you're not. You don't have to hide your humanity to be taken seriously. You don't have to have all the answers to deserve to speak.

Honor means: You're allowed to be nervous and still be worthy of being heard.

What Honor Looks Like in Action:

Honoring your pace:

• Taking a pause mid-sentence to breathe
• Asking for clarification instead of nodding along confused
• Saying "Let me think about that and get back to you" instead of scrambling for an answer

Honoring your truth:

• Sharing your perspective even when it differs from the room
• Saying "I see it differently" instead of silent compliance
• Admitting "I don't know" instead of bluffing

Honoring your needs:

• Taking a bathroom break before a big meeting to regulate
• Bringing water so you have a physical action when you need a beat
• Leaving early if your nervous system is maxed out

Honoring your boundaries:

• Not overcommitting in the moment because you're anxious to please
• Not saying yes when you mean no
• Not shrinking your ideas to make others comfortable

The Truth Honor Reveals:

The people who respect you most aren't looking for perfection.

They're looking for presence.

And presence doesn't mean calm. It means here.

It means you show up as you are, nervous hands, shaky voice, imperfect words, and you honor that version of yourself enough to let her speak anyway.

That's integrity. That's self-trust. That's honor.

Honor asks: Does this align with who I'm becoming?

O — OWNERSHIP: The Embodiment

This is where you stop waiting for someone else to make it right and start claiming your part.

Ownership isn't blame. It's power.

It's the moment you realize you're not a victim of your story, you're the author of what comes next.

Every time you take ownership, your nervous system learns: I am safe in my power.

That's when healing moves from theory to embodiment.

Without ownership, you stay stuck. With it, you become unstoppable.

How to Practice Ownership with Work Anxiety:

Ownership in work anxiety means asking:

"Where am I giving my power away?"

Let's get specific:

Are you giving your power to:

• The idea that you need to be the smartest person in the room?
• The fear of being judged?
• The belief that anxiety means you're not ready?
• The assumption that everyone else feels confident and you're the only one struggling?
• The story that one awkward moment defines your worth?

Take it back.

The Ownership Statements:

Before the meeting, write these down and read them out loud:

"I am allowed to speak, even while nervous." "My worth is not determined by this meeting." "I have something valuable to offer, even if I stumble." "My voice matters, even if it shakes." "I am learning, and learning is not the same as failing."

The Ownership Practice: What's Mine vs. What's Not Mine

What's mine to own:

• My preparation
• My response to feedback
• My choice to show up
• My willingness to be visible
• My commitment to growth

What's NOT mine to own:

• Others' opinions of me
• How I'm perceived
• Whether they like my idea
• The outcome of the meeting
• Other people's reactions

This distinction is everything.

You are responsible for yourself. You are not responsible for how others receive you.

When you try to control the uncontrollable (their judgment, their approval), you abandon what is controllable (your integrity, your voice, your grounding).

Ownership is the moment you stop trying to regulate the room and start regulating yourself.

And here's what happens when you do that:

Your nervous system relaxes because it's no longer trying to manage an impossible task. Your voice steadies because you're no longer performing. Your presence expands because you're no longer shrinking.

That's sovereignty. That's leadership. That's ownership.

Ownership asks: What's mine to claim here?

R — REMEMBRANCE: The Homecoming

This is where the journey completes.

Where you stop searching for worth outside yourself and remember it was never lost, never unworthy, only unanchored.

Remembrance isn't about becoming someone new. It's about returning to who you've always been beneath the conditioning.

When you anchor in remembrance, the storm may still rise, but it no longer pulls you under.

You remember: I am the anchor. I always have been.

Without remembrance, healing stays intellectual. With it, transformation becomes your lived truth.

How to Practice Remembrance with Work Anxiety:

When your chest tightens before the meeting, when your mind spirals, when the old story tries to take over ...

This is when Remembrance calls you home.

Not to a place of perfection. To a place of truth.

The Remembrance Questions:

Beneath the anxiety, who are you?

You are not your racing heart. You are not your shaking hands. You are not the voice in your head that says you don't belong.

You are the woman who shows up anyway. The woman who prepared. The woman who has something worth saying. The woman who chose visibility over safety.

That woman? She's been here all along.

The Remembrance Anchor:

Touch your Worthy Wand (or place your hand on your heart) and say this, out loud if you can, silently if you must:

"I am here. I am enough. I am allowed to take up space."

Not because you believe it perfectly in this moment.

Because you're practicing returning to it.

What Remembrance Reveals:

Your worth was never tied to:

• How smooth your delivery was
• Whether they agreed with you
• If you stumbled over a word
• How confident you appeared

Your worth is inherent. It existed before this meeting. It will exist after.

The anxiety isn't proof you're not ready. The anxiety is proof you care.

And caring, showing up for something that matters, is the opposite of unworthiness.

The Sacred Truth:

You were never learning how to be worthy.

You were always learning how to remember you already are.

And every time you anchor through work anxiety, every meeting you don't run from, every time you speak even when your voice shakes, every moment you stay present instead of abandoning yourself—

You are teaching your nervous system something new:

"I am safe when I'm visible." "I am worthy of being heard." "I belong in this room."

And that, love, is the revolution.

Remembrance asks: Who was I before the world told me who to be?

Bringing It All Together: The Full Sequence

When work anxiety hits, here's how you move through all six pillars in real time:

10 Minutes Before the Meeting:

1. AWARENESS: Write down what you're actually afraid of. Name the story running.
2. NERVOUS SYSTEM: Ground (feet on floor), touch your anchor, breathe (4-4-6), discharge (shake it out).
3. CHOICE: Ask "If I trusted myself, what would I choose?" Pick one empowered move.
4. HONOR: Remind yourself: "I'm allowed to be nervous and still speak."
5. OWNERSHIP: Read your "What's mine/not mine" list. Release what you can't control.
6. REMEMBRANCE: Touch your anchor and say: "I am here. I am enough. I am allowed to take up space."

During the Meeting:

If anxiety spikes mid-conversation:

• Feet on floor (ground)
• Hand on anchor (safety signal)
• Three slow exhales (regulate)
• One empowered choice (speak, pause, ask for clarity)
• Keep going (you don't have to feel calm to be effective)

After the Meeting:

Don't skip this - this is where you rewire the pattern.

1. Name one thing you did well (even if it's just "I showed up")
2. Acknowledge the courage ("I felt afraid and I stayed present anyway")
3. Thank your body ("You kept me safe. We made it through. We're okay.")

This teaches your nervous system: "We survived. We can do this again."

Over time, the activation decreases.

Not because you convinced yourself to be calm. Because you taught your body it was safe.

The Frequency That Holds You

Different moments call for different frequencies.

For work anxiety, for the woman learning to take up space, to speak her truth, to show up even when her nervous system says run, these frequencies anchor you:

UNLEASHED - For boundaries, bravery, and taking up space unapologetically Anchored in Honor + Choice

SOVEREIGN - For self-leadership and non-negotiable worth
Anchored in Ownership + Honor

LIGHT - For nervous system regulation and returning to ease Anchored in Nervous System + Choice

Explore the frequencies and find yours: Find Your Frequency

The Final Truth

There is nothing wrong with you because you get anxious before meetings.

You're not weak because your body responds to visibility as threat.

You're not behind because you haven't "figured this out" yet.

You're human.

And humans with beating hearts and working nervous systems sometimes get scared when they have something important to say.

The work isn't to stop feeling.

The work is to anchor through it.

To show up anyway. To speak anyway. To take up space anyway.

That's what courage actually is.

Not the absence of fear. The presence of choice.

This is how you anchor through work anxiety.

Not by erasing it. Not by bypassing it. Not by waiting until you feel confident.

By meeting yourself exactly where you are, and remembering you were never unworthy. You were only unanchored.

If this met you where you are, we would be honored to hear your story.

What meeting are you anchoring through this week?

Share your moment with us on Instagram at @worthywands.

Your courage might be the permission someone else is waiting for.

With so much love,

Team Worthy Wands