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# Pick your path: stress, guilt, fear
- URL: https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/pick-your-path-stress-guilt-fear/
- Published: 2023-03-29T21:09:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-09-28T22:51:44.000Z
- Description: Help for three of your most pressing problems: managing stress, banishing guilt and overcoming fear. Enjoy.
- Author: Alicia McKay
- Tags: Identity, #wednesday-wisdom

What [problems](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/wednesday-wisdom/make-peace-with-problems/) are you battling with right now? If it's one of these three things, I have some useful stuff that might help.

1. [Managing stress](#managing-stress)
2. [Battling guilt](#battling-guilt)
3. [Overcoming fear](#overcoming-fear)

But if it's setting boundaries, making hard decisions, or channelling focus, check out [last week's post.](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/wednesday-wisdom/boundaries-burnout-business-and-bigrantenergy/))

## Managing stress

Stress is the modern condition. My right eye keeps twitching.

- [This kick-ass article](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/8-ways-to-kill-stress-for-good/) throws all your band-aid solutions to the curb and gets real on eight ways to manage stress sustainably. Read it.
- Charlie Katz interviewed me about [leading through turbulent times](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/author-alicia-mckay-five-things-you-need-to-be-a-highly-effective-leader-during-turbulent-time/). It's a long read but it's not bad.
- [Shane Hatton and I](https://shanemhatton.podbean.com/e/an-raw-and-unexpected-conversation-on-mental-health-with-alicia-mckay/?ref=aliciamckay.co.nz) talked about totally losing our shit - have a listen.
- This 7-minute [What's On Your Mind? episode](https://youtu.be/OFWpojhStWA?ref=aliciamckay.co.nz) from the archives is a good chat about coping strategies and how we sabotage ourselves when we're under pressure - and [this one about stress](https://youtu.be/R0WbS18Ka0s?ref=aliciamckay.co.nz) is pretty good too.

## Battling guilt

Guilt is such an unhelpful feeling, isn't it? It's like: you did your best, but that's still a problem, so you're a bad person anyway. Ugh.

Here's a couple of relevant articles:

- [It's OK to upset people](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/wednesday-wisdom/its-ok-to-upset-people/)
- [5 ways to banish the guilt monster](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ways-banish-guilt-monster-alicia-mckay/?trk=pulse-article%5Fmore-articles%5Frelated-content-card&ref=aliciamckay.co.nz)

Or skip the reading and go straight to this kick-ass [workbook](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/get-your-shit-together-a-value-packed-workbook-for-frustrated-high-achievers/) \- it's a killer resource for smashing guilt, stress, distraction, and all kinds of other annoying feelings.

[![MacBook Air on the wooden desk_GYST workbook v2.0-01](https://8729452.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8729452/Imported_Blog_Media/MacBook%20Air%20on%20the%20wooden%20desk_GYST%20workbook%20v2_0-01-2.png)](https://engage.aliciamckay.co.nz/gyst-workbook?ref=aliciamckay.co.nz)

## Overcoming fear

Being a person is scary and hard. Fear is a nightmare because it's not even *real.* It's just an imaginary worry that you can't even fight in the real world.

Here are a few articles you might find useful:

- [Upgrade your worries](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/wednesday-wisdom/upgrade-your-worries-reduce-anxiety-about-your-life-choices-2/) \- because if you're going to have some, you may as well have good ones.
- [How to handle uncertainty - because it's scary](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/how-to-handle-uncertainty-2)
- [Angry people - on the relationship between anger, fear and uncertainty](https://www.aliciamckay.co.nz/angry-people/)

Actually, I just got halfway through writing this Wednesday Wisdom, and then decided we needed a whole article on this topic itself.

Here you are. Try this.

[![Orange Travel Blog YouTube Thumbnail (1)](https://8729452.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8729452/Imported_Blog_Media/Orange%20Travel%20Blog%20YouTube%20Thumbnail%20(1)-1.png)](https://blog.aliciamckay.co.nz/how-to-do-scary-things?ref=aliciamckay.co.nz)

I hope that helps with your problems this week!

Til next week,

A