Stop Worrying Too Much

Recently I saw a survey that says:

• 40 percent of the things we worry about never happen,
• 30 percent are in the past and can't be helped,
• 12 percent concern the affairs of others
• 10 percent are about sickness--either real or imagined
• 8 percent are worth worrying about.

I would submit that even the 8 percent aren't really worth the energy of worry.

Did you know that the English word worry is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word that means to strangle or to choke? That's easy to believe. People do literally worry themselves to death leading to heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, nervous disorders and all sorts of other diseases. Is it worth it?

We just need to find a way to keep it from ruling our lives.

Try this:

• Analyze the situation honestly and figure out what is the worst possible thing that could happen.
• Prepare yourself mentally to accept the worst, if necessary.
• Then calmly try to improve upon the worst, which you have already agreed mentally to accept.
• You know what you have to do; it's just a matter of doing it. Without worrying.

The point is, you can't saw sawdust. A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work. People get so busy worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, they forget about today. And today is what you have to work with.