Are you a natural-born worrier?
Do you find yourself lying awake at night playing back the events of the day?
Or perhaps you worry about the future?
Or maybe you worry about everyone else: Your kids, parents, partners, and everything that comes across your news feed.
Some of us are more prone to worrying than others.
That was me for sure.
I THOUGHT if I worried about something BEFORE it happened, I would be better prepared IF bad news came later.
I wasted a lot of time and energy worrying about the “What Ifs” and “If Whens.”
Worrying is NOT a good strategy. Nor a good coping mechanism.
Worrying robs you of being present by stealing your time, energy, and ability to problem-solve efficiently.
It can also weaken your immune system by flooding it with cortisol.
And if that isn’t bad enough…
Worrying is contagious.
When we obsess about something, we often create stress for others in our lives. We intentionally (or unintentionally) are teaching others to worry too.
Worrying is a bad habit. So, how do we stop the runaway train of worry?
One simple hack is to write down what is worrying you. It might be a long list of big and small things. Get them all down on paper.
Once you have your list, separate out the things that CAN control and those you CANNOT.
For those things that are beyond your control, acknowledge them and let them go. You can still hold space for them by sending them good thoughts and energy, but recognize that worrying about them is NOT helping anyone.
For the things that you can control, identify the steps you can take to solve the solve problem.
Even adopting the thought, “I will figure this out” is a powerful place to start!
If you would like to learn more about breaking the worry habit, check out today’s podcast episode on The OverThinker’s Guide To Joy by clicking here or listening on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or YouTube.
Happy Wednesday!
xo, Jackie
P.S. If you would like help breaking the habit of excessive worrying, let’s chat. You can schedule a free consultation with me by clicking here.
