“A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work. ~ John Lubbock”

Are you a worrier? While we all worry from time to time, chronic overthinking can ruin your life.

Worry can alert you to pay attention to something, so it serves a purpose. But too much is paralyzing.

Worry is like praying for something you don’t want to happen.

So I’ve put together 10 ways that you can stop worrisome thoughts and take back your life.

(1) Ask yourself…what will this matter in 10 years?

The very easiest thing you can do is to put the issue in context by simply asking yourself…

What will this thing matter in 10 years?

This automatically puts the problem into a larger context and helps put your mind at ease. The fact is that it probably won’t mean much, if anything, in 10 or 20 years.

(2) “Compartmentalize” your worry

We set aside time for many things in life – work, breaks, family time, exercise, and so on. We can and should do the same for worry.

If worrisome thoughts are bugging you during the day, you can take back control by telling yourself that you will give some serious time to worrying later on.

It’s like saying to your mind, “Hey mind, you can stop thinking about this because I’ve scheduled from 7pm to 8pm tonight to do some serious worrying about this”. 

It works! Your mind becomes satisfied with this command, leaving you free to get on with your day.

Hey, even our computers quarantine harmful programs. Quarantine the worry program.

(3) Remember…This Too Shall Pass

All things pass. These 4 words can help you through a tough time. Move on and never waste time feeling sorry for yourself. Here’s quote from the Dalai Lama that I love…

“Try to consider as transitory all adverse circumstances and disturbances. Like ripples in a pool, they occur and soon disappear.” ~ Dalai Lama

(4) Define the worst case scenario & accept it ahead of time

Get a piece of paper and write out the worst case scenario. What’s the worst that can happen?

Now that you have clarity on what it is…accept it. I mean, accept it ahead of time. If this is how things turn out, you’ll deal with it. You always have plenty of time to turn things around later.

This mental acceptance is NOT resignation. Far from it. It frees you up from worry, give you peace of mind, and means you’ll be able to focus on creative solutions to prevent the worst from happening.

And remember, most of the nonsense we worry about never happens anyway.

(5) Is there a solution? Then do this…

“If there is no solution to the problem, then don’t waste time worrying about it. If there is a solution to the problem, then don’t waste time worrying about it.” Dalai Lama

If there really is nothing that you can do about it, then stop worrying. For example, if it’s something in the past, you can gain acceptance and peace about it by giving up the hope that the past can be any different. It can’t.

It’s not actually the past event that is causing you to suffer, but your mental resistance to it. But what you resist, persists. Accept that the past cannot be any different and take your life back.

I’m very happy with my life. I am what I am. I don’t worry about anything that I can’t control. That’s a really good lesson in life. Tom Watson

 

Now, if there is a solution, get brainstorming. Taking action will immediately reduce levels of worry and anxiety. Write down every idea you have – even if it’s dumb. You’ll be amazed at how long that list of solutions will grow after a few days. Just the process of writing out action steps will make you feel better. I promise.

(6) Workout

I guess I wouldn’t be Mark McManus if I didn’t tell you to workout, right? 😉

But training reduces stress and makes you feel much better. You tend to see problems differently and feel more capable of dealing with them.

If you want to lose weight, or if you have trouble losing weight, let me take care of it for you! Go here and have a look at the results I’ve produced for others. What I specialize in is creating powerful fat loss diets with foods that cause you to feel full. No hunger pangs. No cravings.

So far my clients are reporting rapid fat loss, while not experiencing hunger. Paula is down 18lbs in 5wks on the plan I made for her. I’ll get your stats and work out the best and most powerful way to burn off all your unwanted fat without all the hunger you normally experience when dieting.

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(7) Realize that you’re in the same boat as everyone else

We all have to deal with uncertainty. Unwanted and painful things happen to all of us.

Realize that right now, out of 7 billion people on this planet, there are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people going through same thing as you – and much worse!

This will reduce worry and anxiety. Don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of self-pity. “Why does it always happen to me?” It doesn’t. Self-pity cuts you off from the flow of life.

“Worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s joy”

(8) Practice Mindfulness

Mindfuless meditation reduces stress and anxiety, meaning you’ll ruminate less, and be more able to come up with solutions.

For a list of benefits and studies for proof, read my post on mindfulness here.

Start with just 5 minutes per day. Even after a week, you will notice a difference. Apps like ‘Calm‘ and ‘Headspace‘ are a good way to get started.

(9) Tell someone about your worries

They say, “a problem shared is a problem halved”.

Talk to someone you trust about what it is you are worried about. Getting it out of your head and sharing it with someone helps a lot. Also, they may be able to help with solving or avoiding the difficulty.

(10) Put it on paper

This method has the same kind of effect as talking about your worries to someone else.

Writing out exactly what it is you are worried about has a clarifying effect. So long as it’s just in your head, it remains fuzzy and undefined with no solutions in sight.

Sian Beilock, an associate professor in psychology at the University of Chicago, says “It might be counterintuitive, but it’s almost as if you empty the fears out of your mind…you’re not as likely to worry about those situations because you’ve slain that beast.”

I hope this helps. And if you have any more suggestions, or even questions about your training, get in touch with me below at one of my social media platforms. I’m always happy to help.

Please share this post with other on social media. ~ Mark McManus 🙂

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