worry worm

Sharing an article I saw on how much we worry. 

"I had a good laugh when I saw this post because it reminded me of my mother. 

“I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” – Mark Twain 

What a fabulous quote by Mark Twain! And SO TRUE! Worrying is a crazy thing if you think about it. It has no redeeming value as the act of worrying does absolutely nothing to impact the outcomes. All it does is causes you stress and make your life miserable. So why do we do it??… 

I grew up with a mother who is a constant worrier. Amazing mother, but constant worrier. The woman worries about absolutely everything, and I truly mean everything. She has read every urban legend ever published anywhere on the internet and she worries about every single one of them. And then she forwards them on to me and all of my siblings as a warning of “what might happen if we are not careful.” She has emailed us to warn us of toxic spores that might occupy our pillow when we sleep at night to slowly kill us. She has emailed us the warnings of everything from underwire bras causing cancer to laptops that when placed too close to a males private parts will destroy their ability to father a child. I kid you not. The woman worries about absolutely everything. Her life is filled with worry. 

As I became a young adult myself I found that I too began worrying about everything, allowing myself to stress about the “what could happen” or “what might happen”. I spent years worrying about things which did absolutely nothing other than to make me an anxious person and it caused anxiety for the people in my life. Then one day when I was spending time with my mom it hit me…oh my goodness…I am becoming a worrier just like her. And I realized I had to change it.

 I am a person who believes in being very proactive about changing the things in our life that we are unhappy with and so I read book after book on worrying and positive thinking and I even spent time talking to a counselor on how to overcome worry through cognitive therapy where you are taught to control your thoughts in order to help change your emotions. One of the little exercises I learned in regards to controlling worry was the art of postponing your worry. That probably sounds a little silly but there really is merit to trying it and it genuinely helps you to overcome your own worries. Here is an article that explains a little bit about that process: 

“Learning to postpone worrying: 

1. Create a “worry period.” Choose a set time and place for worrying. It should be the same every day (e.g. In the living room from 6:00 to 6:20 p.m.) and early enough that it won’t make you anxious right before bedtime. During your worry period, you’re allowed to worry about whatever’s on your mind. The rest of the day, however, is a worry-free zone.  

2. Postpone your worry. If an anxious thought or worry comes into your head during the day, make a brief note of it on paper and postpone it to your worry period. Remind yourself that you’ll have time to think about it later, so there’s no need to worry about it right now. Save it for later and continue to go about your day.  

3. Go over your “worry list” during the worry period. Reflect on the worries you wrote down during the day. If the thoughts are still bothering you, allow yourself to worry about them, but only for the amount of time you’ve specified for your worry period. If the worries don’t seem important any more, cut your worry period short and enjoy the rest of your day. 

Postponing worrying is effective because it breaks the habit of dwelling on worries in the present moment. Yet there’s no struggle to suppress the thought or judge it. You simply save it for later. As you develop the ability to postpone your anxious thoughts, you’ll start to realize that you have more control over your worrying than you think. 

“ In addition to trying those things I also read book after to book to help me. I absolutely love inspirational books! I found a fabulous book that I absolutely loved that also taught me about the value of letting go and doing your best and trusting that things would be as they should be. It was written by an Indian Author named Deepak Chopra. The book is called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and it is a seriously fabulous book and I would highly recommend it to everyone as a great read. It changed my life. 

All of these things I did really helped me to change my own thinking patterns and to let go of the worry because there was no value that would result from being worried. All of these things helped me to realize that God was in charge and I had to just learn to let go and trust that life would turn out as it should so there was truly no need to be worried.

 Yes bad things might happen, but they will happen whether you worry or not. And nine times out of ten the things you worried about will never ever come to pass and you will have spent all of your energy worrying for absolutely nothing! What a waste of a beautiful life.

 So today’s challenge is DON’T WORRY about things. Have faith and trust that things are as they should be and they are all in place to help make your life absolutely amazing!! "~Amy Anderson

Con amor,

Vero