Are you or is someone you know a worry-wart? With the state of our county, our economy, our relationships, and our overall health and safety today, it would be surprising to find anyone who doesn’t worry. However, habitual worrying puts stress on your physical and vibrational bodies, as well as on your relationships.
Worrying robs you of enjoying the present moment because it is about the future. It affects your decision-making ability, makes you reactive and easily triggered/set off.
Worrying is allowing fear to run amok in your mind, and not fear of what is but fear of what may be. You don’t have to allow it or feed into it. You are in control of what thoughts you think. (If not you, then who?)
However, there is healthy, constructive worrying that can be dealt with by:
- brainstorming and creating solutions to current situations that are difficult/challenging
- planning and preparing for known or possible future events; such as making evacuation plans for natural disasters, preparing for meetings, court appearances, and tests.
It’s the dwelling, habitual, chronic worry about things that may never happen, or the about things that will happen but failing to plan or prepare adequately, that are unhealthy and obviously, unproductive.
Our lives are designed for our souls to grow; living with and dwelling in fear prevent growth.
According to the Law of Attraction, which is a secondary law to the Law of Vibration, you will attract that which you fear. This can lead to pain, or you can choose to learn from it or about it, and practice dealing with it until you can overcome it. OR you can eliminate the fears altogether and avoid the pain.
Here are the specific action steps you can take today to start towards total elimination of worrying. The first three steps are about minimizing unnecessary worry through prevention and the last five steps are about interrupting and replacing thoughts of worry.
- Stop Watching the News.
The media makes money through sensationalizing and creating fear. The news is generally filled with stories of other people’s tragedies, horrific crimes and gruesome images, which all reinforce and perpetuate fear and insecurity. Why would you ever leave the house if all that happens out in the world is what the news portrays?
- Get More Structured. Get Organized.
If getting things done is something you worry about, get organized.
-Make lists- to do, to call and to go; long term and short term. Keep paper and pen by your bed so you can write down things you need to do the next day and it won’t keep you up all night worrying about forgetting to do it. (I have a light-up pen.)
-Keep a calendar and/or day planner (old-school paper you can hold and carry with you at all times).
-Make plans, be prepared for upcoming events.
- Avoid Stressful Situations and Activities.
Avoiding stimulating and anxiety-provoking activities is obvious. You should also avoid caffeine and sugar which are stimulants. Instead, try calming activities, such as meditation, T’ai Chi, creative pursuits, and/or listening to music that soothes you.
- Replace Your Worried Thoughts.
This is a very effective technique that “came to me” when I realized that I didn’t like the way my body felt when I was worrying. Replace your thoughts of worry with thoughts of gratitude for the outcome you wish for. Smile when you think it or say it aloud and phrase it in the present tense, both of these will help you feel it.
If you can visualize what you are praying for and feeling, the visualization will also enhance the feeling you will double the impact on the vibrational field.
Gratitude, love, peace, and joy are the highest vibrational feelings and fear is one of the lowest. The feeling is a vibrational magnet that will attract whatever matches it.
Here is an example: When I get in my car, I say the following (I call it a prayer): “Thank You Great Spirit for watching over this car. Thank you for keeping it safe, road-worthy and free of maintenance issues without warning. Thank you for surrounding me with only safe, alert and conscientious drivers. And thank you for keeping me safe, alert and conscientious.”
- Live in the Moment.
Since worry is about the future, the best remedy is to be in the present. Be present in the now by getting out of your head (your thoughts) and into your body by focusing on your breathing.
- Change Your Vocabulary.
Take the words “But what if” or just “what if” out of your vocabulary. Every time you catch yourself saying or thinking theses words, stop and breathe or replace with gratitude for the outcome you desire.
If you can recognize that you catastrophize, (If you use the following types of words often, then you do: worst, horrible, terrible, tragic, tragedy, disaster, catastrophe, crisis, and devastating.) remove these words from your vocabulary and replace them with ?not good?or ?not great.?
- Carry Reminders.
Habits aren’t easily broken and generally won’t be if they are not replaced with new constructive and healthy alternatives.
Carry a worry stone, a worry doll or any object in your pocket to be used as a distraction from worrying by bringing your attention to the now and reminding you to breathe, or as reminder to interrupt worried thoughts and replace them.
- Trust in a Higher Power.
Gandhi said “There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.” Put your faith in that higher power.
Faith is fear reversed. Faith is belief in a positive outcome and fear is belief in a negative outcome. Which one sounds better to you?
Thoughts of concern will still occur, but now you know the difference between healthy and unhealthy worrying and you know how to send the unhealthy ones away by interrupting them and replacing them they will occur less and less.
Most people are trying to achieve peace of mind, and eliminating worry is one of the most effective ways to accomplish this. What could be more worthy of your effort?
Michele is a Spiritual-Interfaith Minister and Life Counsellor who works with individuals, children and families, Her blog is her push to spread her unique message of healing and perception through psychology and spirituality to a wider audience.
www.unlimitedchoice.org
