How not to worry is a struggle I've had for my whole life. But recently I've made some observations and come to some conclusions that helped me to grow stronger in this area - that have really guided me down the path of finding the solution of how not to worry about everything under the sun.
My reputation as a worrier precedes me. I have been known to worry about the most minute things. My making a mountain out of a molehill philosophy may have come from my mom who also is known as a worrier. I am not sure you can inherit these traits. Anyway, I am a chronic worrier and I am now learning that worry has never, ever done me any good.
First of all, all the worrying in the world is not going to change the outcome of something. I used to worry about my kids being safe on their way to school. Of course, I set up rules and provisions to try to keep them safe; I told them not to talk to any strangers, and made sure they didn't walk alone. I was a proactive parent, and I did what was considered advisable to keep them safe.
But when all is said and done, they could leave the house, turn the corner and get hit by a car, fall and hit their head, lose their way and the list goes on. There was nothing I could do to stop it and my worrying couldn't stop it either.
Fortunately, so far, none of those things have happened. In fact, nothing at all has happened while my kids have walked to school. And I have 5 of them, with the oldest being a sophomore in high school. That's a lot of uneventful walking to school episodes. This leads me to my second point.
I tend to worry about things that never will happen anyway. So I am looking at things differently. Meaning I decide what are the odds that this could really happen and if it is high then I give it some credence and do still worry. Once when one of my boys had a chance to get an airplane ride for memorizing bible verses in Sunday school, I got to try this theory. The teacher of Sunday School was also the pilot and he knew how to fly that plane. Yes it was dangerous but I determined that the odds of crashing were very low, so I only worried a little bit. (I did mention that I am a recovering worrier, right?)
Lastly, I have found worrying can really bring problems. I have been a business owner for the last 20 years. Being self-employed is a lesson in worrying over money. I have always said that I live and die by the mailman - who brings my checks. I can spend hours stewing over the books, calculating then recalculating the bills and all that happens here is I lose time where I could be doing billable work! Then all my worrying would make things worse. That would be bad!
Instead of just stop worrying, I was able to come up with an answer to worrying about the income by having my less-worrying wife take over the bill paying. Now, she doesn't sleep (no just kidding!), I can focus on making the money needed to stay afloat.
So there are the 3 ways to have freedom from worry. And remember to practice the much needed to hear Bible verse "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. - 15784
My reputation as a worrier precedes me. I have been known to worry about the most minute things. My making a mountain out of a molehill philosophy may have come from my mom who also is known as a worrier. I am not sure you can inherit these traits. Anyway, I am a chronic worrier and I am now learning that worry has never, ever done me any good.
First of all, all the worrying in the world is not going to change the outcome of something. I used to worry about my kids being safe on their way to school. Of course, I set up rules and provisions to try to keep them safe; I told them not to talk to any strangers, and made sure they didn't walk alone. I was a proactive parent, and I did what was considered advisable to keep them safe.
But when all is said and done, they could leave the house, turn the corner and get hit by a car, fall and hit their head, lose their way and the list goes on. There was nothing I could do to stop it and my worrying couldn't stop it either.
Fortunately, so far, none of those things have happened. In fact, nothing at all has happened while my kids have walked to school. And I have 5 of them, with the oldest being a sophomore in high school. That's a lot of uneventful walking to school episodes. This leads me to my second point.
I tend to worry about things that never will happen anyway. So I am looking at things differently. Meaning I decide what are the odds that this could really happen and if it is high then I give it some credence and do still worry. Once when one of my boys had a chance to get an airplane ride for memorizing bible verses in Sunday school, I got to try this theory. The teacher of Sunday School was also the pilot and he knew how to fly that plane. Yes it was dangerous but I determined that the odds of crashing were very low, so I only worried a little bit. (I did mention that I am a recovering worrier, right?)
Lastly, I have found worrying can really bring problems. I have been a business owner for the last 20 years. Being self-employed is a lesson in worrying over money. I have always said that I live and die by the mailman - who brings my checks. I can spend hours stewing over the books, calculating then recalculating the bills and all that happens here is I lose time where I could be doing billable work! Then all my worrying would make things worse. That would be bad!
Instead of just stop worrying, I was able to come up with an answer to worrying about the income by having my less-worrying wife take over the bill paying. Now, she doesn't sleep (no just kidding!), I can focus on making the money needed to stay afloat.
So there are the 3 ways to have freedom from worry. And remember to practice the much needed to hear Bible verse "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. - 15784
About the Author:
Keep your stress to a minimum - learn how to control anxiety today, whether it's panic attacks, job-related stress, or just constant underlying anxiety. Do it now - it's not worth living life this way!