CSN Bite-Size Book Club: Beyond Anxiety by Martha Beck

Join Shelly Vils Havel and Rich Gassen from CSN as we explore some topics from the book Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose by Martha Beck. We will not provide a book, but will share all materials needed for this conversation ahead of time.

All over the world, anxiety is skyrocketing, topping every other form of discontent as the most frequently diagnosed psychological affliction. In Beyond Anxiety, Dr. Martha Beck explains why this is happening around you, and why it is likely to be happening within you. She tells you how to not only reduce your anxiety, but use it to propel you into a life filled with peace, meaning, and joy.

We will touch on Beck’s topics like the “anxiety spiral,” a feedback system that can increase anxiety indefinitely. To keep from sliding back into anxiety, we must engage different parts of our nervous system—the parts involved in creativity. Beck describes a “creativity spiral” that, like the potential for anxiety, is built into our brains. Martha says creativity can applied in everything we do: dancing, painting, and writing, yes, but also parenting, leading, dressing, cooking, conversing, solving problems, moving through the world, and everything in between.

We’ll also look for “Squirrel Passions” – topics that fascinate us so much, the more we learn about it, the more we want to keep learning—like a dog relentlessly chasing a squirrel. These are the things in our lives that, when engaging in them, put us in a state of flow where we forget time and our worries, only focusing on the squirrel.

This 75-minute session will be interactive; there will be some short pre-session reading, and we’ll work on some exercises during our time together. Please register if you can set aside other commitments and truly engage with us for the meeting.

Date: May 29, 2025
Time: 11:30 am-12:45 pm
Location: Online via Zoom (link and pre-readings will be shared after registration)

Register: https://go.wisc.edu/5xms21

CSN events offer

LEARNING with a side of NETWORKING!

The “main course” of CSN events is the content;
the “side” of CSN events: the meaningful connections you make.

“I do want to share how much I have enjoyed reading the book and also participating in the discussion. The entire experience made me feel supported and part of something much bigger.” ~Laura

“I really enjoy book clubs and the opportunity to do one with other campus supervisors outside my division was enticing since we do a lot within our division but it’s nice to hear from others.” – anonymous survey response

Many attendees have shared that they have learned as much from their peers about how the campus functions as what they took away from the main content of our sessions. This is something to consider when thinking of joining in on a session or not; take into account that the interactions with other supervisors and leaders at UW are as valuable and satisfying as the topics we are covering.

“As an employee of the Division of Extension, I really enjoyed the opportunity of meeting people working on campus. While our individual work may be different, we are all striving to be the best supervisor we can be.” – survey response

That is just one of the added values a UW-Madison community of practice like CSN brings to the table: your hunger for learning is complemented by your thirst for growth and support of others in similar situations.

In reflection:

Atomic Habits at Work Presentation

Held April 12, 2023 at the Administrative Professionals Conference at Union South

Presented by Rich Gassen, print production manager, Digital Publishing & Printing Services; and Jennifer Erickson, capacity building lead, Office of Strategic Consulting. This event was co-hosted by the Campus Supervisors Network.

This discussion-based session focused on building better habits in your work life, using the #1 New York Times bestseller, “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear as a guide. Clear writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. His book has sold over 8 million copies worldwide and translated into over 50 languages.

“Atomic Habits” describes several proven techniques for building new habits (or ending bad ones), which will be covered in the session. Topics of this session included identity-based habits, changing the cues to direct you to better decisions, habit stacking (building upon habits you already have), and environmental design improvements. The presenters shared some stories, as well as additional resources for you to explore the topic further on your own.

Thank you for a great session! Atomic Habits was absolutely one of my favorite sessions. And it is definitely the one that I think will have the most impact on my day-to-day life, both at work and at home.  – K. A.

A recording of a past similar presentation can be accessed directly at https://mediaspace.wisc.edu/media/Ignite+SeriesA+Atomic+Habits+at+Work/1_3n5po65d.

Find the slide deck and additional resources from James Clear at https://uwmadison.box.com/s/31snpz3sq7b5uxw4i6fgwenqwku5obq5.

Visit jamesclear.com for even more content and his weekly newsletter.

Here’s a short video from James Clear describing some of his concepts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_nzqnXWvSo.