June 2023: Worry: What is it Good For, Absolutely Nothing!
“Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere”
– Erma Bombeck
Full disclaimer: I am the master of worry. Ever dwell on the worst possible outcome and then when it doesn’t happen, feel a huge sense of relief? It’s almost like the two go hand in hand. Worry > Relief. Then when you get the relief, you wonder why you just wasted all that time worrying about something that never happened. Maybe we’re hooked on the relief and that’s the payoff? Like couples who are addicted to fighting just so that they can make up. If I could, I’d rather avoid the rollercoaster. The people I admire most are those who seem consistent in their state of being. Steady and confident, like nothing can knock them down and if it does, they get right back up. You can either be defeated or use defeat as motivation to overcome your current adversary, which is usually yourself because you’re the one allowing worry to dominate your mind. Not anymore! Today, we’re going to focus how we can eliminte worry and train ourselves to be in control of our own thoughts. Afterall, we create them. Why shouldn’t we be in charge?
Getting Good Sleep
“Whatever is going to happen will happen, whether we worry or not.”
– Ana Monnar
One of the best ways to combat worry is to be so active that you don’t give yourself time to think. The more active you are, the better you sleep. I’m of the opinion that you should always wake up to alarm clock (during the week). I love and cherish sleep as much as the next person but try to be regimented about it. You have all day to be productive but when the sleep window arrives, its time to shut it down and turn the lights off. The worst is when you’re lying there worrying and you can’t fall asleep. The good news is that when this happens, you should sleep better the following night. Deep breaths, meditation, and prayer are good ways to try and combat your worry. Relax your body and your mind will follow.
The Weight of Your Problems Are Minor in the Grand Scheme
“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.”
– Winston Churchill
Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Volodymyr Zelensky, these men had/have reasons to worry. The scale of your problems likely pales in comparison to most others around the world. When you remind yourself that everything is going to be ok and work out how it should, you free yourself from being hooked on the worst outcome and know that if it doesn’t work out how you want it to this instant, it will eventually. We’ve made it this far. Let’s keep going! Happy 4th of July!