Sometimes life is stressful. And I've always had trouble dealing with the stressful times. I worry. And I worry. Then I worry some more. Of course, worrying never solved anything. It just ties me up in knots. And makes it difficult for me to function. So, have I learned how to deal with life without worry? Not really. I'm better at it. But like everything else I've learned, this has been a process. I'm working on it. When someone is critical of me, I worry that I'm not good enough. When I hear rumors that something might be happening in my life, I worry about that. I worry about my health. I worry about my family. How have I learned to deal with all this worry? There are a couple of ways. The first is living in the moment. I can't change the past. I can't control the future. All I can do is live in the present. The second is being able to "let go". The funny part of being able to truly let go is that I'm freed from the need to worry. I can devote my attention to doing the things that I actually can to control the events that I'm worried about happening in the future. If it is my health, I can take medications and get out and get exercise. If I'm being criticized, I can evaluate the criticism and see whether it makes sense. Then I can change my behavior. When I hear rumors, I can stop and remind myself that until I get confirmation, nothing is happening.
Worry is not productive. It actually prevents me from being productive. And even more importantly, the worry usually escalates until I'm struggling with spiraling anxiety. I've described how anxiety can directly influence my ability to function before. Anxiety is not my friend. It prevents me from living life. I'm too busy dealing with the fear that my anxiety leads to. It's only been in recent years that I've recognized how this "personality quirk" that I called 'worry' has influenced my life. It stops me from recognizing the gifts in today. And the possibility in tomorrow. In short, it keeps me stuck. My worry is usually connected to a bunch of "what ifs". These "what ifs" are connected to the negative way I view life. Remember that glass half empty gal? She spends a great deal of time worrying about where she is going to find the water to fill her half empty glass instead of getting out there and looking for water. It isn't very logical.
How can you relate to this? What are your worries? Can you see why staying in "worry" can keep you from living? Do you look for where the next disaster is going to come from? Do you assume that life will be bad? Are you always looking around the next corner for that big problem? What kinds of changes do you think you will need to make in order to combat this? I've found that I can change this life view. If I work at it. I can live life on life's terms. How? The first step is recognizing what I'm doing to myself by staying stuck in worry. I create a constant stress for myself. And, of course, that is hard on my body. And on my mental health. So, to stay healthy, I need to learn how not to live in worry. And my tools help me to do that. One of my favorites is the Serenity Prayer. Recognizing what I can change and what is beyond my control is one of my favorite ways to combat the worry. It creates peace. What is your favorite tool? Let's talk! In discussion comes healing.......
Worry is not productive. It actually prevents me from being productive. And even more importantly, the worry usually escalates until I'm struggling with spiraling anxiety. I've described how anxiety can directly influence my ability to function before. Anxiety is not my friend. It prevents me from living life. I'm too busy dealing with the fear that my anxiety leads to. It's only been in recent years that I've recognized how this "personality quirk" that I called 'worry' has influenced my life. It stops me from recognizing the gifts in today. And the possibility in tomorrow. In short, it keeps me stuck. My worry is usually connected to a bunch of "what ifs". These "what ifs" are connected to the negative way I view life. Remember that glass half empty gal? She spends a great deal of time worrying about where she is going to find the water to fill her half empty glass instead of getting out there and looking for water. It isn't very logical.
How can you relate to this? What are your worries? Can you see why staying in "worry" can keep you from living? Do you look for where the next disaster is going to come from? Do you assume that life will be bad? Are you always looking around the next corner for that big problem? What kinds of changes do you think you will need to make in order to combat this? I've found that I can change this life view. If I work at it. I can live life on life's terms. How? The first step is recognizing what I'm doing to myself by staying stuck in worry. I create a constant stress for myself. And, of course, that is hard on my body. And on my mental health. So, to stay healthy, I need to learn how not to live in worry. And my tools help me to do that. One of my favorites is the Serenity Prayer. Recognizing what I can change and what is beyond my control is one of my favorite ways to combat the worry. It creates peace. What is your favorite tool? Let's talk! In discussion comes healing.......
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