Worry. That constant feeling of foreboding. The sick feeling that hits you in the pit of your stomach when you awaken. The distressing thoughts that that lurk on the edges of your mind, ready to stampede into the center of your life, distracting your focus, and interfering with your day. And with all this time and attention spent on this emotion, what good does it do? No good. That’s why it’s called worry.
There is a difference between worry and concern. Concern is a matter of interest or importance. To have concern is to acknowledge that there is a solution to a problem within our control. To be concerned about something will lead to action to remedy or fix the problem.
Worrying is really about the fear of the unknown. We worry because we are afraid of certain outcomes to difficult situations. Worry is a negative emotion that leads to nothing but increased fear and anxiety. And that is because worry is designed to attach itself to something that we have absolutely no control over. In addition to living with a feeling of dread, we also feel helpless. Because we have no control over the situation we can’t fix it, and because we can’t fix it, we worry some more. And the more we obsess, the harder our imagination works to vision terrible outcomes. What we put our attention on becomes our intention. And before you know it, one of our awful outcomes manifest. How many times have you exclaimed “I knew that was going to happen!”
Rather than spend our time worrying, a more positive approach is to acknowledge and accept that we don’t have any control over some things. This is a good time to let go and let Spirit guide us toward the next best step to take. Take a few minutes per day to spend some time quietly with yourself. Listen to what your soul is telling you and then act accordingly. Sometimes we need to get out of our own way.
Worry can only hurt, never help, a situation. Shifting our behaviors from worry to being present and honoring our inner voice will relieve any fear or anxiety and lead us to make choices for our highest good.
