Worry Less

 

There's no way to cure worry. But we can learn to get better at recognizing it,

 and gently guide ourselves back to what matters.

- Elisha Goldstein

The brain often tricks us by amplifying the woe and minimizing the joy. Worry exists in the human condition even though it has no utility. 

We worry to anticipate and avoid potential situations and to keep us safe. Worrying ramps up our nervous system. Yet we go into an imbalance that leads to more frustration.

Feelings of fear arouse anxiety when we worry. We need to acknowledge the fear and call it out. If we resist, it persists. We need to let it be as it is. Allow it.

Ask questions of worry.

What does this feeling require right now?  Is it an animal that needs care and safety? How will it discover a sense of security?

Deepen awareness. Think of love or a kindness to shift the feeling. This lessens negative thinking.

Take a break from jousting with worry. Rather than change the way you think, change your relationship to your thoughts. 

Learn to watch your thoughts, rather than engage with them.

When a negative thought distracts, stop the runaway train. Notice sights, sounds, scents, a taste of air. Engage with a feeling.

Stay with what’s going on in the moment. Find words of admiration to discover the rightness of things. 

Observe nature with all your senses.

Create your own metaphor for struggle. Consider your greatest accomplishment and how you achieved it. Recall it in detail.

Avoid always thinking in fix-it mode.

Sing La La La and launch into a favorite melody.

Keep a journal for positive ideas and gratitude comments and write in it just before bed.

Use humor to design a defense.

Feel less reactive to the worried mind. Turn the volume down. Feel spacious, with ease and joy.