Stop Worrying and Love Your Life

by Michael Corthell

Worrying, worry-wart. Are you one of those? Have you been called a nervous Nellie? Do you constantly fear everything and anything from your health to how you're liked at work, to whether or not the end of the world is imminent?

''First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen?
Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.'' 
—Dale Carnegie

Does this sound like you? Then you might be wasting your time and worrying your life away. This extreme worrying doesn't just affect your mental health, it also can ruin your physical health as well.

But, there is good news, you can stop worrying and love life. It only takes three things: The decision to do something out that wearying worry, the burning desire to change and the persistence to follow through on that plan for change.

''I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?''
—Henry Ford

Let's outline a plan to stop worrying and love life.

Make a list of your worries. You need to know exactly what your worries are.

Analyze your list. Look at whether your worry is productive or unproductive. A productive 'worry' is something you can tackle and do something about right now. For example, I am going to California, and I'm worried about making airplane and hotel reservations. This is an actionable worry.

Accept the uncertainties of life. Once you have listed your unproductive worries, it's time to identify what you need to accept in order to get over them. Maybe you need to accept your own limitations or accept the uncertainties of life. For example, you may develop cancer some day. Instead of worrying about it take action to minimize the likelihood by loving yourself and eating right. You can then better accept uncertainty, and you don't have to worry anymore. Acceptance means noticing that uncertainty exists and letting it go. Then you can focus on the things that you can control.

Take the power out of worry. Make worry, fear and anxiety boring. Repeat your worry over and over and it will become boring and will start to go away.

Desensitize yourself to uncomfortableness and worry. Chronic worriers feel that they can't tolerate discomfort. So then face it and practice discomfort. The goal here is for you to do what you don't want to do or things that make you uncomfortable — to get used to them. When you pre-empt worry in this way, you will rely less on worry as a coping strategy.

Slow down. Fight impatience. You may often have a sense of urgency. You think you need the answer right now and if you don't get it then something terrible will happen. Isn't that right?  Look at the pros and cons of demanding such urgency. Focus on being patient. Take a deep breath, distract yourself. Read, or listen to music to slow down your perception of time and control your anxiety.

Realize that, is, things are never as bad as you think it will be. Anxiety or worry is all about anticipation. The big 'what ifs' are always worse than how you feel when something really happens. There is some good news about being a worrier. Worriers are actually very good at handling real problems. Practice, practice and more practice? But at what price. Take Dale Carnegie's advice, ''Ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.''

Talk and share. Talk with friends. ''A problem shared is a problem halved''. Just sharing your worries can help minimize them. The best advice about using this technique is to not over do it, for obvious reasons.

The truth is, what makes you worried and unhappy are your own thoughts. You are in charge of your mind and your life. Drive negative thoughts from your mind by replacing those thoughts with positive ones. Let go of the negative. Learn to think positive about your life and everything in it.

Live a Positive Life!

__________________

Be The Warrior Not The Worrier: Fighting Anxiety & Fear

by Angela Ceberano

''I’m here because the way that I view my anxiety has changed. I now view my fears, my worries and my anxiety as a good thing, and I use it to my advantage.