Friday, June 8, 2018

The Right Stuff

“Stop worrying about what can go wrong and get excited about what can go right.” (Anonymous)

Someone has said that people live their lives “crucified between two thieves: the regrets of yesterday and the anxieties of tomorrow.” The word worry means ‘to be torn in two.’ And that is exactly what anxiety does. Our bodies might obediently go in one direction, but our minds are somewhere else.

The result is that we live with tension; we cannot sleep and we cannot enjoy the present moment. Worry causes us to work against ourselves and hinders our fellowship with God. Don’t you wish that you could worry say, from 8:00 pm to about 8:30 pm, then turn it off and get a good night’s rest? But we can’t seem to prevent worry from returning to our minds. We have no control or so we think. Your Heavenly Father is trustworthy. He loves you and will do right by you.
 By entrusting ourselves to our Heavenly Father, we no longer have to be ‘torn in two’ by the events of life. They have been transferred from our hands to His, and with that, we can be content. As singer Bobby McFerrin put it, “Don’t worry, be happy”.  Here’s why you should always believe in yourself and stop the useless worrying:

1.   90% of what is worried about never happens This world certainly provides plenty of things to worry about, but never has worrying about them done someone any good. By recognizing how little worth worrying has and how much damage it can actually cause, we can begin to worry less and approach our problems in a more constructive, useful way.

The next time you find yourself starting to worry about something, consider how little good it does, and let your worries disappear.

2.   Worry destroys confidence  Confidence is one of the most valuable attributes a person can have., Confidence is the most important psychological contributor to performance in the business world.. It could also easily be argued that confidence is equally important in every other aspect of our lives as well.

Worry destroys confidence by inviting in self-doubt and forcing us to dwell on what could go wrong rather than on what could go right. While worry offers no value itself, it does destroy something that offers tons of value, your  assurance in who you are to the world.

3.   Worry is unhealthy Worry can cause a long list of physical symptoms including fatigue, headaches, irritability, nausea, and shortness of breath, just to name a few. Not only is worrying not good for your mental functioning, it can have real, tangible consequences on your body as well. Worry can be a cause of stress, which is linked to an even longer list of physical symptoms.


4.   Worrying accomplishes nothing No problem has ever been resolved by worrying about it. Forming a plan of action is important, but worrying about the outcome is not. Worry isn’t constructive, and it should be avoided. Why worry about something that may not even be an issue when time comes about?

 
The future is fluid and impossible to predict. With that being the case, there’s no sense worrying about something that may never even happen. Even if it does happen, circumstances might have changed to the point that it is no longer an issue. We just don’t know what the future holds, so there’s no reason to worry about it.

5.   Worrying wastes your life in the present Worry often comes in the form of worrying about what happens he future. It may also come in the form of worrying about the past. Worry wastes the only thing we actually have control of the present. Let go of the past, and let the future take care of itself.  Enjoy what you have now.

 “Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but never gets you anywhere” (Erma Bombeck) [i]



[i] Sources used:
·        “5 Reasons Not to Worry and Be Happy” by: Susanna Halonen  

·        “5 Reasons Why You Should Stop Worrying” by Kolyanne Russ

·        “Dealing with Anxiety: Why Does Jesus Say We Shouldn’t Worry?” by Erwin Lutzer
·        How to Stop Worrying” “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” “How to Deal with Worry” by wikiHow
Inspired by  Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 6:25-34
 

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