There are so many times in my life that worry has taken over, and now that I look back on it, I can see that worrying was a waste of time.

Whether it’s worrying about…

• kids coming home safely
• your kids being liked by others
• being able to pay next month’s mortgage
• how you look to others
• whether you did something right at work
• friends and family that are sick
• getting a new job
• finding a partner in life
• your aging parents

When you are in a moment of worrying, you feel like it will affect your life forever.

“If I don’t get this job, I will never get a job, and I will never have money, and my life will be over!” or

“What if my plane crashes on the way to Hawaii.” or

“If my child doesn’t get off of the bench and get some playtime in this basketball game, he will forever be scarred and never feel worthy again!” or

“If I don’t look as good as everyone else at the party, I will be talked about forever and never get invited to another party again!” or

“What if my elderly parents fall at home?”

Have you ever had thoughts like that run through your head?

The definition of worry is –

Allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles—a state of anxiety over potential problems.

The keys to that definition are the words dwell and potential. When you dwell on something, you can’t let it go.  It takes over your every thought. The word potential means something could happen, but it doesn’t have to. Both are a waste of time.

Instead of living with what we have or being grateful for what is in front of us, we worry.

To stop worrying, you must acknowledge that worry is a wasted emotion and serves no purpose. Worry takes us out of the present moment and either brings us to the past, where we are dwelling on something we already did, or into the future, where we are projecting an outcome that may not happen.

Here are a few more ideas.

How to stop worrying

 

Always do your best, and let that be enough

Study for that test, work your hardest, put in the time, do all you can, and know that whatever happens is the way it should be. If you have done your best, there was nothing else you could have done to change the situation. Worry was not going to change that.

Let go of circumstances you can’t control

When you worry about things like the weather, you have to realize that you cannot control what will happen. Instead of worrying, you need to have Plans A, B, and possibly C.

Put your worries on paper

Write down what you are worrying about and reason with yourself why it is a waste of time. Go to the worst that could happen, and then ask yourself why that matters. It might help you calm down and get some clarity.

 

 

Embrace the fact that sometimes things break or go wrong

We cannot live a perfect life. Things will go wrong, and we need to deal with them when they do.

Picture things working out in your favor

The next time you are worrying about something, shift your mindset. Instead of focusing on the negative, picture the most positive outcome.

Don’t take on other people’s problems

Worrying about what might happen to someone else is even worse than worrying about yourself. You do not have control of other people. All you can do is encourage them, be supportive, communicate, and let them make their own mistakes.

Related Post: 11 Ways to Stop Being a People Pleaser

Trust God

I read a quote somewhere: “Worrying is believing God won’t get it right.”

One of my favorite Bible verses is Philippians 4:6; Don’t worry about anything; pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Whether you believe in God, the Universe, Spirit, or just positive energy, choose faith over worry.

Remember that other people are not thinking about you

Don’t worry about what other people think about you because they probably aren’t thinking about you at all. They are too worried about thinking about what everyone else is thinking too.

Help someone else

Get the focus off yourself and help someone else—volunteer with children or the elderly. You might discover that your worries are frivolous.

Thoughts are not facts

The WebMD article, 9 Steps to End Chronic Worrying, says, “The worrier’s credo is that if you can simply imagine something bad happening, it’s your responsibility to worry about it.”  But your imagination is not facts. The things you make up in your mind are usually way worse than what will actually happen.

Focus on what is right in front of you

Instead of worrying about the future, take a second to assess what is happening right now.  Are you at a fun party? Are your loved ones with you? Do you have backup plans? Are you controlling the things that you can control right now?

I knew I wanted to write about worrying and started this article last week. But since then, I have attended a funeral for a 27-year-old friend. A life cut way too short. It made this all the more necessary to write. We need to get control of our worries and count our blessings. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, so we must live today. Worrying is a waste of our time.

Do you worry too much? What other ways to stop worrying do you have? Comment below!