If I had to guess, most of us are worrying a lot more these days. That’s not good. Not because that worry is indicative of a lot of “bad” things that are happening in the world, but rather because worry actually serves very little purpose in our lives.
Worry is an agent of fear that often causes paralysis of thinking and action. It is energy that is expended over something that has not yet happened. Essentially, we worry about things that are mostly made up, or to borrow from our kids, it is “make believe.” The truth is, we often worry about things that don’t actually exist . . . kinda like the scary monsters underneath our bed.
Much of our worry is fed by the unknown. And over the years I have found that not knowing is worse than knowing. When we are in the space of not knowing something we tend to be held victim by worry. The undefined unknown controls us and creates “boogie monsters” in our mind that have us stop in our tracks, or worse, retreat.
Worry does have one redeeming value, though. It is an emotional flare the soul sends up telling us we must take action in some area of our lives. And not surprisingly, taking action is the key way to rid ourselves of worry or fear. That action may be anything from a peaceful prayer or taking a breath to actually doing something . . . anything.
So if you find yourself in the grip of worry, ask yourself two questions. First define your scary monster by asking, “What is it that I am truly worried about?” Next, break the inertia of paralysis and fear by asking, “What is one small thing I can do about that?” You will find that answering these simple questions suddenly give you back your life, power and hope.
What is it that you are worried about and what is one thing you will do about it?
(Photo: © Brian Reitenauer. All rights reserved. To see more of Brian’s spectacular photos visit – www.pbase.com/breitenauer)
Rich Largman
Empire of Hope 
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