When life feels chaotic and unmanageable, it often feels easier to just procrastinate or ignore snowballing problems. But one of the wealthiest and most successful people in the world says that\u2019s not the real cure for anxiety and stress.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find if I\u2019m stressed about something it\u2019s usually because I\u2019m not doing anything about it,\u201d Amazon<\/a> founder Jeff Bezos said<\/a> in 2017 during a visit to the Museum of Flight in Seattle. \u201cI\u2019m listening to my body as a signal that something is wrong, and I find that the stress goes away the second I take the first step.\u201d<\/p>\n Bezos, who has a net worth<\/a> of $234 billion and is the world\u2019s fourth-richest man<\/a>, undoubtedly experienced stress while building what is now the No. 1 Fortune 500 company<\/a>. After all, he started Amazon in a rented garage<\/a> and had to take 60 meetings<\/a> to raise the first $1 million in seed capital for his nascent company in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n But instead of letting the stress get to him, he chooses to turn his anxiety into motivation.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m stressed about something, I\u2019m trying to figure out why [I am] stressed,\u201d Bezos said. \u201cI\u2019m listening to my body as a signal.\u201d<\/p>\n To handle stressful situations, Bezos recommends talking to others and finding allies to problem-solve with. He said this can transform an anxiety-inducing situation into one that\u2019s actually \u201cfun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can find friends who are interested in similar things or want to help you solve a problem, problem-solving is inspiring for me all by itself,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more fun than getting in a room with a group of inventors and saying: \u2018Look, here\u2019s the problem. Let\u2019s invent a solution to it.\u2019 And as soon as you start doing that, I find that it turns from something that might create stress into something that creates fun.\u201d<\/p>\n And in terms of problem-solving, Amazon\u2019s most prominent leaders always have Bezos\u2019 16 leadership principles to turn to<\/a> for guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe leadership principles are something you have to constantly work at,\u201d Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in the company\u2019s Leadership Principles Explained video series. \u201cWhen they\u2019re applied well, they\u2019re powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n How other CEOs handle stress<\/p>\n While Bezos says his key to handling stress is just pushing through, other CEOs take on a variety of different approaches to combat anxiety.<\/p>\n Former Starbucks<\/a> CEO Laxman Narasimhan, for example, told<\/a> Fortune in a 2023 interview he relies on three nonnegotiables to beat burnout: daily meditation, regular exercise, and protected family time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very disciplined about balance,\u201d said Narasimhan, who now serves on the boards of the Brookings Institution and Verizon.<\/p>\n And Red Lobster\u2019s CEO practices emotional control<\/a> to make sure his team doesn\u2019t see him stressed, he told Business Insider.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPracticing emotional control means taking a moment to pause, assess the situation, and respond thoughtfully, rather than reacting impulsively,\u201d Damola Adamolekun, the 37-year-old CEO, said. \u201cWhen you model emotional control, you create a stable environment where your team feels supported and motivated, even in the face of adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n