I thought worry was a natural part of life, it was in mine. However, lately I have been able to notice this pattern of faulty thinking, and in recognizing it I have been experiencing freedom from worry. And I am growing stronger because of it.
People who have known me most of my life can attest to my worrier status. I am the poster child for the Worriers Club, maybe even president. I don’t know if I was born with this or learned it, but my mom too struggles with worrying. That may be where it came from, I don’t know. One thing I do know is that I worry over almost everything and I too know that my worrying has never changed a thing!
First, I have come to the startling realization that all of my worrying has not amounted to a hill of beans. Not one thing has changed for the better or at all for that matter. One of my chief worries was my kids going to and from school. I did my best to let them know the rules of safety-no stranger interactions, don’t walk alone. I felt they were well prepared.
But when all is said and done, they could leave the house, turn the corner and get hit by a car, fall and hit their head, lose their way and the list goes on. There was nothing I could do to stop it and my worrying couldn’t stop it either.
Up until to now, thank goodness, this has not occurred. Actually, there has never been anything substantial happen to any of my 5 kids. And my oldest is in High School. That adds up to a lot of worrying with no need. So this brings up my next idea.
I tend to worry about things that never will happen anyway. So I am looking at things differently. Meaning I decide what are the odds that this could really happen and if it is high then I give it some credence and do still worry. Once when one of my boys had a chance to get an airplane ride for memorizing bible verses in Sunday school, I got to try this theory. The teacher of Sunday School was also the pilot and he knew how to fly that plane. Yes it was dangerous but I determined that the odds of crashing were very low, so I only worried a little bit. (I did mention that I am a recovering worrier, right?)
Finally, I do realize that worrying can add problems. I have worked for myself for the last 20 years. This in and of itself can cause worries in riding the income roller coaster. And as we all have found out recently, there are no guarantees and even less so being a small business owner. So money is a big worry – so much so that I can spend hours fretting over the checkbook, checking and rechecking my Quickbooks and wasting time where I could actually be working so as to bring in money. This will actually make my worries come true and be overwhelming in the process. Not good or needed.
My wife and I have found a solution to this income worrying issue. She now pays the bills as she doesn’t seem to be as big of a worrier. And it also gives me back the time I was worrying to work so we can bring in the money.
Try these 3 ways to not worry and enjoy freedom from worry like you have never known. Keep in my the Bible does say “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
