Passion Struck with John R. Miles
Humble the Poet on How to Stop Anxiety and Find Inner Peace | EP 595
Tue, 8 Apr 2025
In Episode 595 of the Passion Struck podcast, host John R. Miles sits down with bestselling author and spoken-word artist Humble the Poet to explore the emotional terrain of anxiety, self-worth, and resilience in a world that never slows down. They discuss themes from Humble’s new book Unanxious: 50 Simple Truths to Help Overthinkers Feel Less Stress and More Calm, including how modern society fuels anxiety, the trap of overachievement, and how to reclaim inner peace through vulnerability and self-compassion. This episode is a powerful reminder that anxiety isn’t something to fix—it’s something to feel, manage, and grow through.Full Shownotes here: https://passionstruck.com/humble-the-poet-on-stop-anxiety-find-inner-peace/In this conversation, we explore tools and micro-practices to regulate emotion and build resilience. We dig into:Why anxiety isn’t a flaw—it’s feedbackThe connection between overachievement and chronic stressHow shame sabotages personal growthWhy we mistake success for self-worthHow to shift from self-criticism to self-compassionThe dangers of “fast food” emotional connectionsHow to build authentic community in a disconnected worldConnect with Humble the Poet: https://www.humblethepoet.com/Factor Meals: http://factormeals.com/factormeals50off and use code “FACTOR MEALS 50 OFF”Rosetta Stone: Unlock 25 languages for life at “ROSETTASTONE.com/passionstruck.”Prolon: Reset your health with 15% off at “ProlonLife.com/passionstruck.”Mint Mobile: Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at “MINT MOBILE dot com slash PASSION.”Hims: Start your journey to regrowing hair with Hims. Visit hims.com/PASSIONSTRUCK for your free online visit.Quince: Discover luxury at affordable prices with Quince. Enjoy free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/PASSIONNext on Passion Struck:In the next episode of Passion Struck, John sits down with Anne Marie Anderson, an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, sports journalist, and leadership expert. Anne Marie has spent years breaking barriers in sports media, navigating high-stakes environments, and coaching top athletes and executives on leadership, resilience, and communication. In our conversation, we'll dive into the mental frameworks of high performers, the art of storytelling, and how to build confidence in any field.For more information on advertisers and promo codes, visit Passion Struck Deals.Join the Passion Struck Community!Sign up for the Live Intentionally newsletter, where I share exclusive content, actionable advice, and insights to help you ignite your purpose and live your most intentional life. Get access to practical exercises, inspiring stories, and tools designed to help you grow. Learn more and sign up here.Speaking Engagements & WorkshopsAre you looking to inspire your team, organization, or audience to take intentional action in their lives and careers? I’m available for keynote speaking, workshops, and leadership training on topics such as intentional living, resilience, leadership, and personal growth. Let’s work together to create transformational change. Learn more at johnrmiles.com/speaking.Episode Starter PacksWith over 500 episodes, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. We’ve curated Episode Starter Packs based on key themes like leadership, mental health, and personal growth, making it easier for you to dive into the topics you care about. Check them out at passionstruck.com/starterpacks.Catch More of Passion Struck:My solo episode on The Success Edge: How to Be an Effective Anxiety OptimizerCan't miss my episode with Dr. Jud Brewer on Breaking Anxiety Shackles and Rewiring HabitsMy episode with Dr. John Delony on the 6 Wise Choices to Build a Non-anxious LifeCatch my interview with Homaira Kabir on How You Overcome the Tyranny of PerfectionIf you liked the show, please leave us a review—it only takes a moment and helps us reach more people! Don’t forget to include your Twitter or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally.How to Connect with John:Connect with John on Twitter at @John_RMilesFollow him on Instagram at @John_R_MilesSubscribe to our main YouTube Channel and to our YouTube Clips ChannelFor more insights and resources, visit John’s websiteWant to explore where you stand on the path to becoming Passion Struck? Take our 20-question quiz on Passionstruck.com and find out today!
Chapter 1: How does direction help reduce anxiety?
coming up next on passion struck all we need in our lives is a direction and orientation no matter how specific no matter how vague if we know where we're going that in itself reduces our anxiety if you put someone in the middle of the desert and they have no idea where to go their anxiety is going to go up just say hey head north that will reduce their anxiety we need a little bit of clarity we need a little bit of direction
something that we can orient ourselves towards. And then we just enjoy the journey, understanding that that journey is going to have its highs and its lows, its easy days, its very difficult days. And who we become through going through that is the only thing that matters.
Welcome to Passion Struck. Hi, I'm your host, John R. Miles. And on the show, we decipher the secrets, tips, and guidance of the world's most inspiring people and turn their wisdom into practical advice for you and those around you. Our mission is to help you unlock the power of intentionality so that you can become the best version of yourself.
If you're new to the show, I offer advice and answer listener questions on Fridays. We have long form interviews the rest of the week with guests ranging from astronauts to authors, CEOs, creators, innovators, scientists, military leaders, visionaries, and athletes. Now let's go out there and become passion struck. Hey, PassionStruck fam, welcome to episode 595.
Whether you've been with us for a while or you're tuning in for the first time, I am absolutely thrilled you're here. You're now part of a global movement dedicated to unlocking your potential, forging resilience, and making what truly matters matter most. Let me ask you, what if your anxiety isn't a flaw to fix, but a signal to understand?
What if managing stress wasn't about numbing it, but learning how to live through it intentionally and without shame? Today, I'm joined by someone who's redefining how we think about anxiety, Humble the Poet. He's a former elementary school teacher turned international bestselling author, spoken word artist, and creative force.
In his latest book, Unanxious, 50 Simple Truths to Help Overthinkers Feel Less Stress and More Calm, Humble invites us into a deeply personal journey, offering fresh, actionable truths for navigating modern life with more grace, resilience, and self-compassion.
In our conversation, we explore how modern society fuels our anxiety, why connection is a non-negotiable for emotional well-being, and how to trade shame for self-trust. We also dive into the high achievers anxiety trap and why so many of us mistake productivity for self-growth.
But before we dive in, don't miss last week's conversations with organizational psychologist Dr. Tasha York on building unshakable resilience, Stanford's Gregory Walton on the hidden power of social belonging, and Christy Smith on how to live with deep authenticity and truth.
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Chapter 2: What are the themes of Humble the Poet's book 'Unanxious'?
What's something you had to unlearn about anxiety while you were writing this book?
Oh, I think the first thing I had to unlearn. Is that anxiety is not my enemy. Anytime that I have anxious feelings, I'm not under attack. And I think also recognizing that anxiety to say my anxiety, I have anxiety. I think that wording is not helpful. So I think recognizing things through the lens of, is this helping me or is this not helping me? So I stopped judging things as good and bad.
So instead of saying my anxiety or I have anxiety, now my base sentence has to be, I feel anxious because. And this requires me then to go inwards to figure out what's happening. I feel anxious because I'm about to miss a deadline. I feel anxious because Someone didn't reply to my text message. I feel anxious because Team Canada might be losing this hockey game, whatever it may be.
But I think giving understanding anxiety is the most misunderstood emotion that we have. And one of the most intense, giving that I feel anxious and not labeling myself as I am anxious allows me to separate myself from my emotions, understand that they're not permanent, understand they're not tattoos on my forehead, labeling my identity. And that goes for the positive and the negative emotions.
I feel happy. I feel scared. And for me, that was probably the first step in going through all of this and then recognizing some of the signs of anxiety and trying to make sense of them without getting too scientific. We have the polyvagal theory, which is our safety, fight or flight, freeze, and sometimes fawn.
And understanding this idea too was like, hey, I can logically understand that I shouldn't be in danger now, but my body is responding in a totally different way. And for me, a lot of that learning came from doing jujitsu. In the book, I talk about doing jujitsu. And the reason I think jujitsu was a great teacher for me, it's because you roll with people.
You're rolling, and jujitsu was grappling, or as I like to call it, professional cuddling. And you're rolling with somebody that you know holds no malice towards you, but the moment they grab you and get an arm around your neck, your body starts to panic. And it shows you a big separation within you between how your body responds to something and how your logical mind can.
And very often when we are flooded with emotions, it's not our logical mind. It's not the prefrontal cortex that's responding. It's our survival brain. It's our amygdala. And what we're really trying to do to improve how we feel is to close that gap of reacting to something and converting that to a response and the inconvenient truth of that. And I've been learning this a lot.
is that you can't talk yourself out of anxiety but you have to you can't think your way out of it you have to act your way and a lot of that comes through voluntarily putting yourself in situations that make you feel anxious when you're in a great place and so for me that's required understanding this concept of triggers and realizing that triggers aren't my enemy again another cultural concept that we have is don't trigger me that's triggering this is a trigger warning and it's like
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