How to Stay Calm When Anxiety Wants Control

(bright music) Headspace Studios. (gentle music) Hey friends, it's Rosie here. Welcome to Radio Headspace. What do Depeche Mode and a Buddhist monk have in common? I know. It sounds like the start of a joke, but the other day I was writing, and I found myself deep in this very philosophical inquiry. See, I share an office with my partner, and we have very different tastes in music, especially in the morning. At 7:00 AM, I want something chill, something atmospheric, maybe a little Thievery Corporation, maybe some ambient piano. My nervous system is still booting up. I want my vibe soft, gentle, like a womb. He, on the other hand, wants to blast The Doors at full volume, like Jim Morrison is personally inviting us into chaos. This creates some tension. Eventually, we settle on a compromise, something neutral, something nostalgic, and it got me thinking, isn't it wild how music can completely shift the space? The right song can make a kitchen feel like a dance floor or turn your drive home into a movie scene. I mean, if you've just come home from work and you're trying to wind down, are you really gonna throw on some thrasher metal? I mean, maybe. If that's your thing, do you. But most people, maybe it's something that signals some softness. (gentle music continues) Music regulates mood. It sets the tone. It changes our nervous system. Which brings me to the monk. There's a famous zen story about a monk named Ajahn Chah. He was a beloved Thai teacher who once said, "Peace doesn't mean the end of noise. It means learning to be still in the middle of it." And that always stuck with me, because I used to think peace looked like silence, stillness, perfect conditions, like my partner magically developing the same taste in background music as me. But peace, like compromise, isn't really about control. It's about relationship, relationship with others, relationship with ourselves, it's about learning to stay centered, even when the world is loud, even when your playlist gets hijacked, even when you wanna scream, "Turn that off." But instead, you take a breath and say, "Hey babe, can we find a middle ground here?" (birds chirping) (gentle music) I think so many of us resist compromise because we associate it with losing. Like, if I give up my ambient jazz morning ritual, I'm giving up a part of myself. But what I'm learning is that compromise, true, kind compromise isn't about shrinking. It's about expanding. It's about making space for multiple truths to exist at the same time. Like, yes, I love you. And also, please don't blast classic rock before I've had my matcha. So here's today's invitation. Notice where in your life you're resisting compromise, and ask yourself, what am I really afraid of losing? Is it control? Is it validation? Is it just the comfort of routine? And then try this. Put on a song that you wouldn't normally choose,...