Lifestyle
Constantly anxious? Ease your mind by asking yourself this one question
Bestselling author Martha Beck has tried many things over her 62 years of life to quell the anxiety that’s been her constant companion since childhood.
The Harvard-trained sociologist experimented with therapy, medication, self-compassion practices and many, many hours of meditation.
Then, as collective worry spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, Beck dug into scientific research on anxiety as she was teaching an online course on creativity, and it led to a thrilling discovery: anxiety and creativity have an inverse relationship. Turn one on and the other turns off.
“It was really one of those aha moments,” Beck, who is also Oprah Winfrey’s go-to life coach, said in an interview. “And I just walked around my room going, ‘I don’t have to be anxious anymore. I know how to shut it down.’”
Shelf Help is a wellness column where we interview researchers, thinkers and writers about their latest books — all with the aim of learning how to live a more complete life.
Even people who don’t consider themselves creative can tap into this inherent capacity of the human brain to step away from worry and live with more connection and joy, Beck says in her new book, “Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose” (Penguin Random House).
Beck spoke to The Times about how to identify anxiety’s lies, engage the creative side of our brain and why our worries are linked to the structure of our economy.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
How did you come to realize the relationship between creativity and anxiety?
I started using a technique that’s in the book that I call KIST (kind internal self-talk). It’s a form of Tibetan loving-kindness meditation for the self. I started to silently repeat to myself, “May you be happy. May you be well. May you feel safe. May you be protected.” And like a drought condition with a little trickle of water coming in, I focused on that trickle of water where there was no anxiety.
Martha Beck, author of “Beyond Anxiety”
(Photo by Rowan Mangan)
Then I found out that just by using kind self-talk, I could get a client to feel calm in five minutes if they learn to focus their minds on wishing themselves well. Then I added the creativity piece. You start with kindness. Be kind to yourself, as kind as you know how to be to anyone. Come back to kindness and your anxiety will come down to calm. But then, because we live in a world that is basically an externalized structure of the anxiety inside our brains, the moment we’re in touch with the world we get spun into anxiety again, unless we have a really hard anchor into something else. The something else is creativity.
So, kindness gets us to peace, and then instead of saying, “What can I do now?” ask yourself, “What can I make now?” That shift takes you into curiosity and into the part of the brain that connects things together and solves mystery — you’re in creativity. And that opens you up, where anxiety closes you down and crunches you.
“Instead of saying, ‘What can I do now?’ ask yourself, ‘What can I make now?’ That shift takes you into curiosity and into the part of the brain that connects things together and solves mystery — you’re in creativity.”
— Martha Beck, author of “Beyond Anxiety.”
You say that “anxiety always lies.” How can we know it’s anxiety lying?
Fear is a natural response to something threatening in the environment. If you see something scary — someone pulls a gun on you or there’s a bear — you’ll have a jolt of very, very clear, high energy that will say, “Do this.” It’s a very dramatic thing, and we don’t need it very often.
But we’re anxious all the time, because anxiety is not about what’s here. It’s about what we think could be somewhere, someday, maybe. So there’s no limit to it. There’s no rest from it, because it’s not real. Anything that we’re afraid of that isn’t happening now is a self-deception. It’s an innocent lie, but it’s still saying, “You should be afraid.” And if there’s nothing to be afraid of and you’re telling yourself, “I should be afraid,” it’s not the truth of your circumstance. It’s not real. That’s why anxiety always lies.
Your insights in this book were informed by the work of neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, who says the brain’s right hemisphere is home to creativity, compassion and peace, while the analytical, linear left hemisphere is where anxiety lives. The right hemisphere sounds way better, so why wouldn’t we be there all the time?
One of the problems is that the right hemisphere doesn’t track time. We live in a world that requires scheduling and the measurement of time, where people are anxious, where everything is monetary eventually. We’re all engaged in this monetary pursuit, which is the core of our society, and that’s fundamentally anxiety-driven.
Book cover for “Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose,” by Martha Beck
(Penguin Random House)
Is this why you say we need a new economic system to support more right-brained living? What might that look like?
We’re looking at an economy where familiar structures are collapsing. Our model is a rigid pyramid of wealth and power, with the very rich at the top, all the way down to the poor at the bottom. That is culture. Culture is very left brain. An alternative to that is nature. Everything in nature exists in ecosystems. All living things require space; energy, like sunlight; and water, which is the basis of all life on this planet; and ecosystems will emerge. If you doubt it, don’t clean your fridge for a month and then look inside there and see what’s evolved.
People can create economic ecosystems around themselves. The energy is actually desire: you have a natural desire to fulfill your destiny. The water is your creativity: this is what is needed to give shape to your destiny, to take the next step forward, so you start to make things. And then the space is our time. The idea is to give enough time to identify your real desires and to create whatever happens, and I believe it’s like not cleaning your fridge for a few weeks: a system of value begins to emerge in your life and then it starts to spread.
There’s never been a more important time than now to stop anchoring yourself in structures that are collapsing and start investigating your inherent curiosity. If you can give yourself that space and the kindness to be quiet and start to think, “What can I make?” it gets very interesting.
TAKEAWAYS
from “Beyond Anxiety”
What about people who insist they’re not creative?
When NASA tested adults to see how many creative geniuses they could find to hire, they found that 2% of adults rate as creative geniuses. Someone then thought to test 4- and 5-year-olds and found that 98% of them were creative geniuses. So somewhere along the way, our creative genius gets throttled. If you can be creative the way a 4- or 5-year-old is, it’s pure fun. There’s no judgment.
So you have to bring the kindness factor in over and over. I have a friend who puts together jigsaw puzzles and it calms her and soothes her. That’s her way of doing art. If you cook, by taste especially, you’re doing art. If you plant a garden, you’re doing art. If you throw a dinner party, you’re creating something. You make a sandwich, you’re creating. Every one of us human beings is unbelievably constantly creative.
A lot of people don’t feel creative because they’re physically and emotionally exhausted. The recipe for your life should be this: rest until you feel like playing, then play until you feel like resting, and then repeat.
In the book, you write, “choose to focus on what makes life enjoyable and meaningful.” Sounds like a no-brainer, but why is this so hard to do?
Because the anxious brain says you’ll be safer if you’re always afraid. There’s nothing wrong now, but there will be, so you better stay scared. If you stay scared, you’ll be more productive. But every test they do on creative problem-solving shows that when you’re scared, you can’t do it. It’s just the lie of anxiety speaking through the whole society, and we all agree, “Yes, we should be very worried.” In a society where everything has to be monetized and attention is at a premium, scaring someone will get their attention.
So many people are anxious because their lives are full of demands: work, relationships, family. How do we foster a right-brained approach in that atmosphere?
When you’re in a lot of anxiety, it becomes unbearable. That’s how I found my way through all that meditation to the epiphany. And in situations of turmoil and distress and chaos, there’s more motivation to seek that.
The thing I love about kind internal self-talk is that as you start to bring a little kindness into the equation, you then start to become like one of my favorite Persian poets, Hafiz. Part of this poem he wrote goes: “Troubled? Then stay with me for I am not.” Immediately, the kindness that you give yourself begins to go out to other people. And that makes every interpersonal interaction calmer, more mutually affirming. It takes you into the creativity spiral. It doesn’t just make it calm. It makes it creative. It makes it generative. And if there’s a practical problem to be solved, you don’t want to be in a panic. Any practical problem, any interpersonal problem, any personal problem is made better when we abandon our anxiety, find our kindness and move into what we can make. And then we get so involved with living that way that we transcend anxiety altogether, and we don’t have to go back.
Shelf Help is a wellness column where we interview researchers, thinkers and writers about their latest books — all with the aim of learning how to live a more complete life. Want to pitch us? Email alyssa.bereznak@latimes.com.
A recently installed sign at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as photographed on Jan. 10. The center’s name change has not been approved by Congress.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Two senior staffers have departed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. — one of whom was officially on the job for less than two weeks.
Kevin Couch had been announced as the Kennedy Center’s new senior vice president of artistic planning on Jan. 16, at which point he was hailed as a “visionary entertainment leader” with “over two decades of experience in artist management, global booking and high-level brand partnerships,” including booking live events in San Antonio, Tulsa, Little Rock and Springfield, Mo.
Couch, who is a drummer, confirmed to NPR on Wednesday evening that he had resigned from the federally funded center, but declined to share any details.
Meanwhile, the Kennedy Center’s senior director of artistic operations, Sarah Kramer, confirmed to NPR on Wednesday evening that she had been fired after a decade working there.
The Kennedy Center did not respond to NPR’s multiple requests for comment.
Since President Trump became chair of the performing arts complex and later moved to change its name to the Trump Kennedy Center, several prominent artists have canceled their planned performances and presentations of their work. Cancellations announced this month include the composer Philip Glass, opera star Renée Fleming, the banjo player Bela Fleck and the Seattle Children’s Theatre. The Kennedy Center has told NPR in prior statements that the artists cancelling have been doing so under pressure from “leftist activists.”
The center’s name change did not receive the required approval from Congress. Last month, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, filed a lawsuit against President Trump, the center’s president Richard Grenell, and others over the name change.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story.
Lifestyle
‘No lines and big, wide-open runs’: This woodsy ski town is like Mammoth without the crowds
You are a beginning or intermediate skier, allergic to long lift lines, more interested in peace and quiet than après-ski action. Or you have young kids, ripe for introduction to skiing or snowboarding. Or you simply want a rustic mountain getaway, one where you can amble through a woodsy little village with zero Starbucks.
These traits make you a good candidate for June Lake, the eastern Sierra town that lives most of its life in the shadow of bigger, busier Mammoth Lakes.
“It’s way family-friendlier than Mammoth,” said Daniel Jones after a day of June Lake snowboarding with Lorena Alvarado and children Gabriela Gonzales, 7, and Amirah Jones, 2. They had come from Riverside, a first-time visit for the kids.
After a day of snowboarding at June Mountain, Daniel Jones and Lorena Alvarado of Riverside head for the parking lot with children Gabriela Gonzalez, 7, and Amirah Jones, 2.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Like me, they’d arrived in time to savor the sight of the Sierra under all the snow that fell in late December. That storm knocked out power for several days, but led to the opening of all the trails on June Mountain, the town’s ski resort.
The main road to June Lake is the 14-mile June Lake Loop, a.k.a. State Route 158, which branches off from U.S. 395 about 10 miles north of the exit for Mammoth, roughly 320 miles north of Los Angeles.
Once you leave 395, things get rustic quickly. The two-lane loop threads its way among forests and A-frames and cabins, skirting the waters of June Lake and the lake’s village, which is only a few blocks long. Check out the three-foot icicles dripping from the eaves and keep an eye out for the big boulder by the fire station on the right.
After the village, you pass Gull Lake (the tiniest of the four lakes along the loop) and the June Mountain ski area. Then, if you’re driving in summer, the road loops back to 395 by way of Silver Lake and Grant Lake.
The June Lake area in the eastern Sierra includes several bodies of water. Rush Creek, seen here, feeds into Silver Lake a few miles from the village of June Lake.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
But in winter, the northern part of that loop is closed to cars, Maybe this is why the village, mountain and environs so often feel like a snowbound secret.
As for the June Mountain ski area, its 1,500 accessible acres make it much smaller than Mammoth Mountain (with whom it shares a corporate parent). And it has a larger share of beginner and intermediate runs — a drag for hotshots, maybe, but a boon for families.
By management’s estimate, June Mountain’s 41 named trails are 15% beginner level and 40% intermediate. (At Mammoth, 59% of 180 named trails are rated difficult, very difficult or extremely difficult.) Leaning into this difference, June Mountain offers free lift tickets to children 12 and under. (Adult lift tickets are typically $119-$179 per day.)
From the chairlifts at June Mountain ski resort, visitors get broad views.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
The ski area is served by six chairlifts, and just about everyone begins by riding chair J1 up to the June Meadows Chalet (8,695 feet above sea level). That’s where the cafeteria, rental equipment, lockers and shop are found and lessons begin.
That’s also where you begin to notice the view, especially the 10,908-foot Carson Peak.
“Usually, me and my family go to Big Bear every year, but we wanted to try something different. Less people. And a lot of snow,” said Valeriia Ivanchenko, a 20-year-old snowboarder who was taking a breather outside the chalet.
“No lines and lots of big, wide-open runs,” said Brian Roehl, who had come from Sacramento with his wife.
“The lake views are nice, too,” said Roxie Roehl.
June Lake is a 30-minute drive from Mammoth. Because both operations are owned by Denver-based Alterra Mountain Co., Mammoth lift tickets are generally applicable at June. So it’s easy to combine destinations.
Or you could just focus on June Lake, an unincorporated community with about 600 people, one K-8 public school and one gas station (the Shell station where 158 meets 395).
In summer, when it’s busiest, fishers and boaters head for the lakes and you can reach Yosemite National‘s eastern entrance with a 25-mile drive via the seasonal Tioga Road.
The Tiger Bar has anchored June Lake’s downtown since 1932.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
In winter and summer alike, the heart of June Lake‘s village is dominated by the 94-year-old Tiger Bar & Café (which was due to be taken over by new owners in January); Ernie’s Tackle & Ski Shop (which goes back to 1932 and has lower rental prices than those at June Mountain); the June Lake General Store and June Lake Brewing.
At the brewery — JLB to locals — I found Natalie and Chris Garcia of Santa Barbara and their daughter Winnie, 18 months old and eager to chase down a duck on the patio.
“This is her first snow,” Natalie Garcia said, adding that June Lake “just feels more down-home … less of a party scene.”
“We built a snowman,” said Chris Garcia.
Natalie and Chris Garcia of Santa Barbara play with their daughter, Winnie, and a duck at June Lake Brewing.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
It’s fun to imagine that rustic, semi-remote places like this never change, but of course they do, for better and worse. The Carson Peak Inn steakhouse, a longtime landmark, is closed indefinitely. Meanwhile, Pino Pies, which offers New Zealand-style meat pies, opened in the village last spring. (I recommend the $13 potato-top pie.)
Pino Pies, open since 2025 in June Lake, offers New Zealand-style meat pies.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Next time I’m in town I hope to try the June Deli (which took over the former Epic Cafe space in the village last year) and the June Pie Pizza Co. (New York-style thin crusts) or the Balanced Rock Grill & Cantina. And I might make a day trip to Mono Lake (about 15 miles north).
I might also repeat the two hikes I did in the snow.
For one, I put crampons on my boots and headed about 3 miles south on U.S. 395 to the Obsidian Dome Trail, a mostly flat route of just under a mile — great for snowshoes or walking dogs.
For the other hike, I headed to the closed portion of June Lake Loop and parked just short of the barricade. Beyond it, a hiker or snowshoer finds several miles of carless, unplowed path, with mountains rising to your left and half-frozen Rush Creek and Silver Lake to the right.
When part of Highway 158 closes to auto traffic in winter, hikers and snowshoers inherit a broad, mostly flat path with views of Silver Lake.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
“You get up to the lake and you hear the ice cracking. It’s wonderful,” said Mike Webb, 73, whom I met on the trail with his son, Randy, 46, and Randy’s 10-year-old and 12-year-old.
“This is serenity up here,” said Webb. “If you’re looking for a $102 pizza, go to Mammoth.”
Philadelphia (1993)
Library of Congress
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Library of Congress
Two actors received double recognition when the Library of Congress announced its most recent additions to the National Film Registry, a collection of classic films intended to highlight film preservation efforts and the depth and breadth of American film.
Bing Crosby, the popular midcentury crooner, starred in White Christmas (1954) and High Society (1956). And Denzel Washington starred in Glory (1989) and Philadelphia (1993), all now part of the registry’s roundup of the country’s most culturally significant films.
Created in 1988, the National Film Registry adds 25 films every year. New additions are usually announced in December of each calendar year. The Library of Congress did not explain why its 2025 films were announced in 2026.
Half a dozen silent films were added to the registry, more than usual. Many of them were recently discovered or restored. The oldest, The Tramp and the Dog (1896), is an early example of “pants humor,” which comes from the fun of watching people lose theirs. It is likely the first commercial film made in Chicago. The Oath of the Sword (1914) is the earliest known Asian American film, about a Japanese student in California yearning for his beloved back home.
Other newly added silent films include the first student film on record, made in 1916 at Washington University in St Louis, Mo. and Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926), a melodrama with an all-Black cast, one of only two surviving films made by the Colored Player Film Corporation of Philadelphia.
Four documentaries were added to the collection, including Ken Burns’ first major documentary, The Brooklyn Bridge (1981).
Widely familiar additions include one Boomer classic – The Big Chill (1983) – and several Gen X ones: Before Sunrise (1995), Clueless (1995) and The Karate Kid (1984.)
The Karate Kid (1984).
Library of Congress
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Library of Congress
“I’m amazingly proud,” star Ralph Macchio told the Library of Congress in an interview. “The National Film Registry and film preservation are so important because it keeps the integrity of cinema alive for multiple generations.”
Other contemporary movies added to the registry include The Truman Show (1998), Frida (2002), The Incredibles (2004) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), set in an Alpine resort in the 1930s. Director Wes Anderson credited the Library of Congress for inspiring the movie’s distinct visual style.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Library of Congress
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Library of Congress
“When we were first starting to try to figure out, how do we tell this story… the architecture and the landscapes… they don’t exist anymore,” Andserson said in a statement, explaining that he started his research in the Library of Congress “We just went through the entire photocrom collection, which is a lot of images. And …we made our own versions of things, but much of what is in our film comes directly – with our little twist on it – from that collection, from the library, the Library of Congress.”
The entire list of movies added to the National Film Registry for 2025 follows in chronological order.
• The Tramp and the Dog (1896)
• The Oath of the Sword (1914)
• The Maid of McMillan (1916)
• The Lady (1925)
• Sparrows (1926)
• Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926)
• White Christmas (1954)
• High Society (1956)
• Brooklyn Bridge (1981)
• Say Amen, Somebody (1982)
• The Thing (1982)
• The Big Chill (1983)
• The Karate Kid (1984)
• Glory (1989)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Before Sunrise (1995)
• Clueless (1995)
• The Truman Show (1998)
• Frida (2002)
• The Hours (2002)
• The Incredibles (2004)
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