Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Customs Broker Examination, CH 1, Part 4 : Physical Techniques to Reduce Anxiety


The following is an excerpt of The Customs Broker Examination, by Scott Warren Taylor and Andrew Moxon. This book is a part of the Customs Broker Exam Preparation Course from Boskage Commerce Publications. We'll be posting a large excerpt here, with new posts every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Click here if you want to read the whole book right away.


Chapter 1: PHYSICAL PREPARATION

Part 4: Physical Techniques to Reduce Anxiety - Exercise

The Role of Exercise in Combating Anxiety


Still, there remain the waking hours. We have examined what happens physically when the body begins the anxiety cycle; when the body, by way of a generous imagination, prepares for important action by rehearsing failure. Your mind cries “wolf!” and your body prepares physically for the wolf. When the wolf cannot be found, your imagination invents it. Extra energy is summoned forth, and what happens to this energy? It seems that there is nothing to do, but we are consumed with the notion to do something.

Humans move energy from place to place, trying different circuits for action. We tend to believe that if energy is present in this form, there is a need for it, and the consequent energy generated from the onset of anxiety is no exception. We look fervently for the wolf. Not finding it, we plumb our energy to our imagination, which creates a kind of “wolf” for us. This increases our anxiety, of course, so we create more protective energy, which we dutifully plumb back to our imagination. The dreadful cycle has begun. Our imagination systematically becomes a cruel conjurer, whipping up tales of failure and woe for this excess energy to feed on. But what we must realize is that the greater the wolf, the greater the biological, energetic reaction to it.

One preventive measure for avoiding this cycle is physical exertion, which will employ the excess energy in less destructive ways. If you are typical of ninety-nine percent of the people who take the CBE, you probably spend the majority of your days in a sedentary manner. After all, the Customs brokerage business is not a particularly athletic one.

Your choice of physical activity and the degree of it are yours and will reflect your personal habits and character. Don’t overdo, but you might try pulling a few of the less important muscles.

I can promise that a routine session of physical activity, no matter how slight, will reduce the likelihood of more destructive uses of anxious energy. Additionally, a routine schedule of physical activity has the accompanying benefit of bolstering your confidence through improved self-image and greater discipline of your being.

And finally, while exercising, we become mentally preoccupied by the physical activity. I have been impressed by the mind’s ability to be enormously distracted by such things as breathing, perspiration, leg pain, muscle fatigue, and certain injustices to the feet, and to therefore forget such things as imagining yourself telling your boss that you failed the CBE. But again, the choice of physical activity is an individual one. If you have never exerted yourself physically, don’t try to repent suddenly now - you really could injure yourself. Talk to a doctor first and start slow. Even the simplest form of routine physical action is helpful.

This concludes today's excerpt from The Customs Broker Examination.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

has anyone received appeal results from Customs yet?