Anxiety is fear of oneself. – Wilhelm Stekel
Well, maybe. I think a better way to say what this comptemporary of Freud had in mind is “anxiety is fear related to a mistaken idea.” I’m anxious about my financial situation right now, and the mistaken ideas are that A) something bad might happen; and B) what’s happening to me now is not good. Neither one is necessarily true. Yes, I want a certain outcome, but there’s really no need for me to be anxious about it. I just need to be ambitious and remember that I’m not entitled to the outcome, that I’ll learn from and adapt to whatever happens.