pradip, one symptom of too much fear or anxiety is not being able to think straight (you remember in our story in Tip #1, Nasrudin stumbled into the nearest tomb!). This happens because the emotional part of the brain 'swamps' the thinking part so as to avoid, say, over-analysis getting in the way of running like crazy from a lion. But in most modern situations we want to be able to think clearly. And keeping your 'thinking brain' working actually calms you right down. Today’s tip helps you do that... So, the easiest way to keep the thinking brain active is with numbers. Here’s the trick: You scale your fear from 1 to 10, 10 being the most terrified it's possible to be and 1 being the ultimate relaxed state. If you feel anxious, ask yourself: "What number on the scale am I right now? Am I a 7, or a 5?" Just doing this will lower anxiety because it kick-starts the thinking brain, diluting the emotion and automatically making you calmer. I recall the first time I gave a speech to three hundred people. Just before I was about to start, I was feeling more anxious than I would have liked. So I scaled myself at a 6, 7:11 breathed for a few moments, and waited for myself to go down to a 3 before starting. I took control. Scaling (sometimes known as 'grading') your fear puts a 'fence' around it, making it more manageable, and forces you to think. We’re building your toolbox against anxiety pradip. The next tip will come in 2 days, to give you time to practise what you’ve learned so far. In it, I’ll show you how to get control of that anxiety-creating imagination. To your inner peace,