Jeff Bezos has simple solution if you feel anxiety at work, just do this one thing

How do tech billionaires deal with stress and anxiety? Jeff Bezos thinks we may be looking and working at stress the wrong way.Bezos says he often feels stressed when he is not doing anything. (Photo: Reuters)Do you get anxious or stressed about work? Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a surprisingly simple way of fixing the hassle. He believes stress often comes not from having too much work, but from thinking about a problem without doing anything about it. His advice? Stop overthinking and contemplating. Instead take the first step and start working towards fixing what is bothering you.For Bezos, the answer to deal with stress has long been less about slowing down and more about taking action and getting things done. He has made this point at different times over the years. During a 2001 interview at the Academy of Achievement Summit, Bezos argued that stress is not necessarily the result of working too hard. Instead, he said it often comes from failing to act on problems that are within our control.“Stress doesn't come from hard work. Stress primarily comes from not taking action over something that you can have some control over. So, stress comes from ignoring things that you shouldn't be ignoring,” he said.Bezos returned to a similar idea in 2017 during a Q&A with students at Seattle’s Museum of Flight. When asked what motivated him when times were rough, he explained that stress, for him, was often a sign that he was not doing anything about the problem. “I find if I'm stressed about something it's usually because I'm not doing anything about it.”Bezos said the first step is to figure out what exactly is causing the stress and then do something about it. That could mean making a phone call, sending an email or simply talking to someone who can help. “Once I figure out what it is and I can identify it and take the first step, then the stress starts to go away.”And that first step does not necessarily mean solving the entire problem on your own. Bezos says talking to people and finding allies can also help. In fact, he believes bringing people together to tackle a difficult problem can change how you feel about it. “I find that if you get a group of people together to solve a problem, something that started out as something that was causing stress can actually turn into something that creates fun,” he said. In short, Bezos’ point is that action is better than endlessly worrying about something you can control. Ignoring a problem can allow stress to build, while taking even a small step towards solving it can make the situation feel more manageable.Meanwhile, in Silicon Valley, Bezos is not the only tech leader who has some advice on managing the pressures of work. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella suggests that the answer is not necessarily to separate work and life completely, but to find a way to make the two work together. In a November 2019 interview with the Australian Financial Review, Nadella said he preferred to think of it as “work-life harmony” rather than work-life balance, adding that he wanted to “harmonise what I care about with my work.”Former Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, meanwhile, says employees, specifically CEOs, should focus more on routines and boundaries to manage the pressures. In an interview with Fortune published in October 2023, Narasimhan said, “I’ve found meditation to be truly powerful,” describing it as a way to become mindful and centred. He also said he was disciplined about protecting time with his family, rarely taking meetings after 6pm unless they were particularly important. Narasimhan also relies on exercise as part of that routine, saying he aims for 150 to 250 minutes of exercise a week.- EndsPublished By: Divya BhatiPublished On: Aug 10, 2026 14:20 IST