" The Age Of Worry ... "

Close your eyes and clone yourself

Build your heart an army ...

Know your fight is not with them

Yours is with your time here

Dream your dreams but don't pretend

Make friends with what you are

Give your heart then change your mind

You're allowed to do it

'Cause God knows it's been done to you

And somehow you got through it

Alive in the age of worry

Rage in the age of worry

Sing out in the age of worry ...

Act your age in the age of worry

And say, "Worry, get out of here!"

~ John Mayer ~ The Age Of Worry ~

***

We all worry but some of us more than others ... and sometimes to the point where it becomes a problem in itself.  Spoiling your life with worry.  

So what is worrying?  Worry is spending a lot of time thinking about bad things and being preoccupied with negative possibilities.  Gloomy thoughts about what might happen in the future, about what is happening in the present, and about what is already in the past.    

Future Fears ... concerning yourself with things that may or may not happen such as accidents or illnesses or what happens next.

Present Fears ... feeling anxious about a situation you are powerless to change but also about situations you can do something about.  

Past Fears ... once it has already happened there is often nothing you can do to alter it.  Yet continuing to worry about what you could have done differently.

Our bodies chemically react to the fear 

that worrying can create ... 

Fear affects our digestive system ... worry releases adrenalin so a rush of it can cause stomach aches, head aches and make you feel ill.

Fear affects our sleep ... we usually feel worse at night.  We have no distractions, we become anxious and it is much easier for our thoughts to get out of perspective at night.  

The more you worry, 

the bigger your worries become ...

So why worry?  Well, for me, my worrying is connected to my lack of confidence.  Fear.  And that is hard for me to admit but it is easier for me to worry about something than to do something about it.  Sometimes it is easier for me to just dwell.  The more problems I think I have, the less able I feel I can cope with them.  This increases my sense of helplessness, reduces my confidence and makes me more vulnerable to my fears.  

Also I think subconsciously if I “worry enough” I can prevent bad things from happening.  But the fact is that excessive worrying taxes my mind and body into overdrive as I constantly focus on “what might happen”.

Believe that you are capable 

of taking action or handling a bad situation ...

Yes easier said than done, for me.  But I am learning. 

• Learning to talk it over with others helps me to consider a possible course of action not formulated on my own.  
• Learning to face whatever I know about the situation and what I can do about it. 
• Learning to blog/write down what is troubling me 
• Learning to consider action about a situation I feel anxious about and that is preoccupying my thoughts 
• Learning to focus on shifting negative thoughts with positive ones by seeing worries as physical objects that can be discarded (thru meditation)
• Learning that exercise can change the focus from my mind to my body, resulting in less tension, better moods & overall sense of well being

I have to tell myself that trying to predict your fate and future is futile so quit trying.  Life is a flux, it keeps moving and worrying is the mind’s means of pretending as if it’s in control.  I do what I can and and leave the rest to destiny.  Because when I deeply realize that life is not controllable I understand truth is to live in surrender to what is.  

Worrying is like riding a rocking horse, it doesn't get you anywhere