A while back I was reading the book The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. I love this book. I’m only sorry it took me until this late point in life to read it. I wish I had this insight when I was a teenager. I would have read this book every month — just to cement the concepts into my consciousness.
I love this book because it contains so many important insights.
One of them is that worrying is a habit. Think about that for a minute. It’s a habit.
That’s a big idea. An important idea. The good news is that we can change our habits!
I’ve thought a lot about this topic because worrying is one of my bad habits and it’s impacted my life in unproductive ways.
It makes perfect sense that worrying is a habit like anything else. We have a choice whether or not to engage in it. When I read the words that it was a “habit.” something shifted for me. For the first time in my life, I felt empowered to do something about it.
Here are three tips to help you stop worrying:
#1 Recognize that worrying is a habit. It’s under your control to break the habit. Worrying won’t change anything. What it will do is create changes in your brain (new neural networks) that keep getting reinforced every time you worry.
Eventually the ruts become so deep, you just stay in them or easily slip into them. It takes hard work to lessen the effects of the ruts and to create new more productive ones, but the results — less worry and more joy – are definitely worth it!
#2 Understand that worrying accomplishes nothing positive. Unfortunately, all of its effects are negative. It affects your mood, your energy level, and even impacts your health. Other people don’t want to be around you because negative emotions are contagious and folks already have enough of their own problems on their plates.
Worrying changes only one thing — and that’s you. It won’t change the past or the future, but it destroys you in the present — as long as you keep fixated on it. Change your thoughts, change your life. It works.
#3 Rather than worry, find other productive things to do. When you feel your thoughts flowing into the worry rut, make a hard turn and pop yourself out of those tracks. Sing a song, read an uplifting book, start saying powerful and positive affirmations aloud. Do whatever it takes to stop worrying. Distract your mind in a new and more productive direction.
I’d love to continue the conversation with you. If you’re interested in working together to explore your productivity habits, time allocation, and your business goals, let’s chat. Connect with me at https://www.tarahelpdesk.com
Best,
Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff
