Why Worry? Because We Do. But We Can Kick the Habit. Make just two adjustments in your thinking to stop worrying about everything.
By Matt Mayberry Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
We all have different kinds of mental routines. Some are positive and nourishing to the mind, while some are so negative and tragic that they actually lead to death.
A key part in reprogramming the mind for optimal performance and healthy thoughts is to kick the worry habit. So many people love to worry about every little thing. Half the things people worry about are not even in their control. Most are worrying about things that they can do absolutely nothing about. They are creating stress and negative energy all throughout their entire body when they worry.
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Worrying is unhealthy. Worrying kills. Worrying destroys dreams. Worrying creates bigger problems than the actual problem itself.
As human beings, we naturally tend to worry about so much already. Then all of a sudden go ahead and add some kind of adversity or major failure to the mix, and then the worry just intensifies. Worrying about anything, whether big or small, creates a huge burden in our lives that limits us from reaching our full potential.
John Lubbock said, "A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work." I couldn't agree more with that statement. Worrying completely sucks all of the energy right out of us. Worrying really does create more work than actually doing work itself.
Just like all of the other habits that we have and spend time doing every single day of our lives, worrying ends up becoming a habit for most people as well. There are all kinds of things you can do to temporarily eliminate all worry from your thinking, but the only way to permanently rid yourself from the worry habit is to get in tune with your faith like never before.
Bestselling author Max Lucado said it best when saying, "Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will." You can't worry and have faith at the same time.
Let your faith be so big that there isn't even the slightest of chance that worry can even creep in at any point in time. When your faith isn't there, it's second nature for worry to occur. It's almost expected, especially when your back is up against the wall.
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Here are two ways to help you kick the worry habit.
1. Focus on what you can control.
It seems so self-explanatory, but it's also one of the hardest things to do most of the time. One of the best ways to help eliminate worry is to put all of your energy and time on the things that you can control.
Each and every one of us spends more time than we should on things we have absolutely no control over. You can't necessarily control an outcome, but what you can do is put yourself in position to win by focusing on the process and everything that you do have control over.
When we start to focus on things outside of our control, anxiety, worry and fear begin take over in a big way. I will be the first to say that only focusing on what you control is not the easiest of task at times. However, it's an absolute must in order to minimize the amount of worry in your life. Focus on what you can control.
2. Make progress every day, and then acknowledge it.
When you focus on making progress each day and then acknowledge it, you begin to feel good about yourself and instantly boost your self-esteem. You come to the realization that you are better than you were the day before -- and that gives you a deep sense of satisfaction.
A lot of the times most people worry when they feel like they aren't making progress or getting anywhere in life. So by putting your attention towards making progress and then finding a way to acknowledge it can greatly help in decreasing the amount of worry in your life.
To give you an example, every night before I go to bed, I grab my journal and start writing down the progress that I made for that specific day. Some days I have more to write down than others, while some days it can be hard to find things to even write down in the first place. However, regardless of how easy or hard it is to find things to write down at night, getting in the habit of acknowledging your wins and daily progress can positively impact your life -- and tremendously help in removing worry.
It's awfully hard to tap into your full potential with worry becoming a natural and daily habit for you.
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