#Self-Help

Hayley Atwell, widely recognized for her role as Peggy Carter in Marvel’s universe, recently shared how a simple yet effective technique suggested by Tom Cruise significantly alleviated her social anxiety while working on the set of Mission: Impossible. Tom Cruise, known for his multifaceted talents, provided Atwell with a mantra to combat anxiety: confront the source head-on rather than retreating into fear. His advice—“If you’re scared of something, just keep looking at it”—proved to be transformative for Atwell, as it allowed her to dissect and understand her anxieties rather than being overwhelmed by them.

A well-known action star’s simple technique is making waves beyond Hollywood. Tom Cruise reportedly shared a practical mantra with Hayley Atwell to ease social anxiety on the set of Mission: Impossible: when fear arises, face it directly. The idea is to observe the source of the fear rather than retreating from it: “If you’re scared of something, just keep looking at it.” Atwell found that naming and confronting the trigger helped transform vague nerves into concrete, addressable concerns.