????? This is a vanity plate I saw the other day. It didn’t take me long to figure out what it was trying to say, “Worry Wart”. Hmm, I thought to myself. That could apply to a lot of people. Some of us are consumed with worry at different times in our lives. And what is the payback for so much worry? NOTHING! Zero good comes from worry.
I said the following words to a troubled friend recently, “Stop worrying. It changes nothing.” I didn’t think before speaking. The words spilled out of my mouth much like they spill out of my brain and onto the paper when I’m writing. My friend agreed with me and walked away. I was left with my wise words as they floated around in my head. That’s a good one, Sarah. It’s very true!
Worry changes nothing. It has no impact on whatever it is you are worried about. The outcome will be what it’s going to be. No amount of worrying will alter it. Not to mention that as you worry, you feel lousy, stressed out and nervous. You can’t sleep. You don’t eat well. You may even be crabby to those around you. “I’ve got something on my mind,” you tell your family and friends, to explain away your apparent distance, your lack of attention to them, your moodiness, etc. Positive experience? I don’t think so.
Given all of the above, why do we worry? We worry about things we have no control over. When we have no control we feed our imaginations which ultimately reveals all of the possible outcomes. When I fly I always worry. I don’t like flying but I do it to get somewhere I want to be. I worry from the time I get on the plane until we land, and then I breathe a sigh of relief that we arrived safely, no thanks to my worrying.
What is the opposite of worry? Faith. Faith that all will be as it should be. Not that it will always turn out the way you wanted it to. You may not get your desired outcome but it will definitely not be impacted in any way by your worried state of mind. My plane did not land safely because I worried.
Sometimes when we worry it makes us feel hopeful, like worrying will get us the result we wanted. If we ignore it, surely something bad will occur. We must remain vigilant and pay attention, show the universe that we are thinking about what may happen. We’re watching! No, none of this is true. Your worrying changes nothing. It has no effect on the outcome. It is a completely wasted emotion.
Will we continue to worry, knowing that it does nothing? Of course! It’s what we do. We are humans who hate not being in control of our destiny, or what’s going happen tomorrow.
The next time you find yourself worrying about something, repeat this phrase, “Stop worrying. It changes nothing.” Try to have a little faith that you will be able to deal with whatever comes your way. You’ve made it this far.
I’ve said this before – do everything you can do to make it right and then let it go. The rest is not up to you. If you are a believer, give it over to God. There is tremendous power in doing that.
To quote an old song, “Don’t worry – be happy!” Try it. Your life will be sweeter. :))