Twenty days until spring, snow still in the forecast, and Matt’s counting down relentlessly without apology. After some trivia about the first Mardi Gras in New Orleans (1827) and 16-year-old Tiger Woods teeing off in 1992 (a reminder of how fast time moves), he shares what finally clicked this week. After a brutal anxiety-filled night during the blizzard — the kind that takes you from a 9 out of 10 to barely manageable — he got back into action Monday and dropped to a 2 or 3. Normal operating anxiety.

Then he heard Arthur C. Brooks, a Harvard professor who studies happiness, say something that put it all into words: “Anxiety is fear unfocused.” When you’re not focused on doing something — a plan, a checklist, the next right thing — fear gets to graze in the field and gain power. But when you’re tending the field (or working the stage, to match his business), there’s no room for it. The key isn’t control, it’s focus. Deciding what to focus on, letting the rest go, and creating a pathway for hope through action. Also, he made huge progress on his messaging last night — not alone, but by calling a respected friend who gave him brilliant perspective. So the question: Who can you reach out to today who will keep you focused and out of negative states?

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