“People get so in the habit of worry that if you save them from drowning and put them on a bank to dry in the sun with hot chocolate and muffins they wonder whether they are catching cold.” ~ John Jay Chapman
OK, fess up! How often do you find yourself, brows furrowed, chewing your bottom lip, running through some crazy, made-up scenarios in your head? Or obsessing over something someone said to you, something that you forgot to do, or second-guessing a decision you took? At that moment, it seems like your life as you know it is over!
I’m also willing to bet that most of us have, at some time or the other, had this continuous loop playing in our head:
Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God what am I going to do how am I going to do it Oh My God my life is over!
This, generally, is the loop that plays in my head when I’ve left something for the last minute (and I do it often…and then I hyperventilate…) or when I can’t find my car keys and I’m already late for work…you get the drift, right?
I cannot count the number of times I have looked back at those moments of intense worry and laughed at myself for hyperventilating the way I did. And this brought me to an important realization:
If there is a solution that can be found to my problem, or if I can fix a particular situation I find myself in, it’s pointless to hyperventilate. All that worrying only increases stress levels and the time it takes to fix a problem. And if I come up against something that I can’t fix, what is the point of worrying? It won’t help me in any way!
So here’s a revolutionary act of kindness for you to adopt: Try to look forward a year or so and ask yourself: will this situation, problem, decision, really matter a year or two years from now? Will I even remember this situation that is causing me so much worry?
When you view things from this perspective, you realize that so many things that you focus your worry or your attention on…so many things that you think are vitally important…are really not…they’re just distractions. If you stop worrying about them, you free up time that you can use to focus on the things that really matter to you…that will make a difference to your life a year…two years…three or more years from now.
Are you ready to banish worry to the wayside? Will you join me in the kindness revolution?
Got any tips and strategies to share? Or maybe you have some questions, thoughts, or different opinions? Whatever the case – I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Nice post.We must indeed stop worrying about little things & look at the bigger picture.
I like the idea of kindness revolution. i am all for it. 🙂
It is always good to save that frown and turn it to a curve on lips 🙂
great post ! I wish I look back, remember old events and be brave now !
Heart Warming line and so true, will this situation, problem, decision, really matter a year or two years from now?
I hope I don’t remember the trials one year from now. There was a time I was like will the problem exist one month from now and still gotta repeat it and perhaps shift it to three months. Glad I came here:)
Great advice. I could had used this yesterday between 2:20 and 2:50 when I was worrying about my daughter who was late meeting me….It all worked out, of course, and I worried needlessly (and my worry didn’t change or impact the outcome at all!!) Gail, visiting from the A-Z challenge.