A Simple Solution for Worry
Have you ever had the experience of being in-the-flow and feeling so good that you wanted to capture it, put it in a bottle, and preserve it forever? I have, and I love the way that feels. You, like me, have probably secretly thought, “If only I could stay in the flow? If I never had problems or worries, I could live in the ever-flow of life.”
Ever noticed how worry puts a damn in the flow? It will stop it up as fast as super-glue. Suddenly, life feels difficult, dense and hard. It feels as though you are walking through mud. And, just to form one happy or positive thought requires an enormous amount of mental energy and effort. Well let’s face it. It takes the full power of your ‘will’ in those moments.
So, what exactly is worry? I define worry like this…
Worry is when your attention or focus is stuck on what you don’t want rather than on what you do want.
When something is bothering or worrying you, it takes a lot of mental effort to move your attention off of the problem, and onto the desired outcome or solution. In the moments of worry and uncertainty, it actually requires mental (and sometimes emotional) energy to ‘decide’ to refocus your attention. For me, it may be a few minutes or even a few hours before I realize that my attention is in the wrong place; it is focused on what I don’t want, rather than what I do want.
What can you do when it feels impossible to take your focus off of the problem? In the age old book, ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hills, he says this:
“Worry is a state of mind based upon fear. It works slowly, but persistently. It is insidious and subtle. Step by step it “digs itself in” until it paralyzes one’s reasoning faculty, destroys self-confidence and initiative. Worry is a form of sustained fear caused by indecision therefore it is a state of mind which can be controlled.”
An unsettled mind is helpless. Indecision makes an unsettled mind. Most individuals lack the willpower to reach decision promptly, and to stand by them after they have been made, even during normal business conditions.”
Mr. Hill says that the antidote for worry and fear is to form the habit of making a prompt and firm DECISION about whatever is worrying you. “We do not worry over conditions, once we have reached a decision to follow a definite line of action”, he says.
Stop for a moment and reflect back on a recent worry or concern that you no longer have. What happened that caused you to take your mind off of your concern or worry? Where did you attention go? Did you make a decision about something? Whether you made a decision or not, I’m certain that your attention went somewhere else. Something captivated your attention. It’s impossible to worry if you are not thinking about the problem, after all that is what ‘worry’ is; stuck attention on the problem.
In my book, ‘Your Essential Whisper’ (www.YourEssentialWhisper.com) you learned that one of the six distinct ways the Whisper speaks to you is through ‘wonderment’ or ‘wonder’. When you wonder about something you are thinking about the subject in a light-hearted way. You aren’t trying to figure-it the solution; you’re just wondering about it.
We all know that there are two sides to our brain. The left side processes and solves problems logically, with the right side solving them intuitively. Wondering accesses the part of you that already knows the solution to your problem, or the answer to your question, and when you wonder, you let-go. Letting go creates the space to allow the powers-that-be to bring you your solution, in the perfect way and time.
What if you could simply wonder and naturally attract the answers to your questions, or solutions to your problems? Would you be living a consistent flow of life? How would that feel? It would be pretty great, wouldn’t it? Well, you may or may not, be able to live in the flow of life all of the time YET, but if you will simply start the habit and practice of ‘wondering’ anytime you notice yourself worrying, magic will unfold, miracles will occur, and you will be in awe!
In closing, may I suggest that you get yourself a Wonder Journal and each time you have a question, problem, or concern simply note it in your journal along with the statement, ‘I wonder what the solution (or answer) is?’. Date it and let it go. When the solution comes, write it in your journal along with the date. You will be amazed at the results!
Growing up, my mother used all kinds of home remedies to cure illnesses and to address physical issues. When I was four or five, I had grown a wart between my cute little fingers. When I showed it to her, she told my brother to get a match, rub it on the wart, and bury the match somewhere unbeknown to me. She instructed me to “forget about the wart” and that it would disappear one day.
Well, a significant amount of time went by (I think a few years) before I remembered that I had a wart between my fingers. Curious, I looked down to see if it was still there and lo and behold it was gone!
Attention is the fuel that creates anything, especially worry. What we focus on, we attract or create. When the creating fuel is turned off (your attention is moved off of the problem) the creation disappears. If you are ready to play and have some fun, get yourself a journal and start wondering! I look forward to hearing about your adventure!
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