Three Steps To Overcome Worry

One of the feelings that can easily consume us is worry.  We worry about what’s going to happen and the unknown outcome of an event. We struggle not being in control of the result we desire to happen.

Worry happens when we start to get inside our head about the worst possible scenario.  We dream up this huge story about what’s going to happen.

As we play different outcomes over and over again in our mind, the worry and anxiety builds.  We start losing sleep, eating very little, and not properly taking care of ourselves due to the deep pit of fear in our stomach.

This can occur before a big event where we work ourselves up into a ball of nerves.  We start stressing out about our appearance, what will we say, what will other people think of us, and all the what if’s we can think of.

Worry also happens after we’ve done something that we regret.  We think, what if I would have done this or that and we beat ourselves up over the bad decision we made.  Only wishing that we could go back in time and do things differently.  Unfortunately, that’s not reality.  We must live with our choices and choose to move forward.

The hardest part is drawing a line in the sand, saying what’s in the past is done, we can only move on from here.

Life is full of lessons. We can use these worrisome moments to help us learn and grow.  In the future, when we are faced with similar situations, we can have confidence that we know how to respond and what appropriate action to take.

The first step to overcoming worry is that we must take responsibility for our actions.  That means not blaming others for a poor decision and coming up with excuses about why something didn’t go as planned.  It’s taking ownership for the choices we make, even if they aren’t always the best.

Instead of replaying the event over and over in our mind, accept the result and move on.  Acknowledge what was done right and what can be improved for next time.

The second step is to know that the worst case scenario we’ve been envisioning rarely actually happens. Everything may not go perfectly, but it’s hardly ever the worst case we’ve been worrying about.

It is said, no one ever wished they would have worried more.  Worrying more only adds more anxiety.  Instead, choose to look for the positive.  Even if it’s the lesson we needed to learn instead of the outcome we truly desired.

The third step is to realize that we are in control of how we react to a situation.  We can blow it out of proportion and be consumed by worry and anxiety or we can let it go.  Focus on what we can control.

The truth is, we can’t control the future with absolute certainty.  But, we do have power in that the choices and actions we take help to determine our future.

A life consumed by worry will only hold us back.  Do not look back on life with regret of what we could have been all because we never took action due to worry.  Take responsibility, stop dwelling on worry, and look for the positive.  Worry is normal, but we cannot let it hold us back from living life to the fullest.