Last week we discussed a couple of tips about how to get a handle on your worry:
1. Write a comprehensive To-Do list and check it daily.
2. Set a timer for X number of minutes of worry. (I decided on five minutes.)
I don’t know about you, but those tips have been working for me.
Today, I want to focus more specifically on what we choose to worry about.
Here’s a quote I love:
“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles,
but most of them never happened.”
The above is often attributed to the author Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain. Whether Clemens actually said the words about himself or about the stories he created doesn’t make a bit of difference as far as I’m concerned.
What’s important is, I just know he meant those words for me. 😉
Maybe for you, too?
My husband always tells me I worry about things that will never happen. He’s right. And I expend a lot of energy and waste a lot of valuable time doing it. If you feel the same, I have a suggestion.
When you do sit down to do your worrying, ask yourself:
Is this something I can control?
Is this something that will matter to me next week? Next month? Next year?
Is this worth sacrificing any of the precious worry minutes I’ve allowed myself for today?
Honestly, I attempted to rank those questions in order of importance and found out that I couldn’t. Each one is critical in its own way, and each may speak differently to different people.
I hope one of those questions will be the spark you need to cut down even more on the time you spend worrying.
And if you have any other suggestions or tips, I hope you’ll share them here, too.
