Articlr

I thought worry was a natural part of life, it was in mine. However, lately I have been able to notice this pattern of faulty thinking, and in recognizing it I have been experiencing freedom from worry. And I am growing stronger because of it.

My reputation as a worrier precedes me. I have been known to worry about the most minute things. My making a mountain out of a molehill philosophy may have come from my mom who also is known as a worrier. I am not sure you can inherit these traits. Anyway, I am a chronic worrier and I am now learning that worry has never, ever done me any good.

First, I have come to the startling realization that all of my worrying has not amounted to a hill of beans. Not one thing has changed for the better or at all for that matter. One of my chief worries was my kids going to and from school. I did my best to let them know the rules of safety-no stranger interactions, don't walk alone. I felt they were well prepared.

But the bottom line is, as soon as they leave the house something could happen to them. They could get hit by a car. They could slip on ice and break their arm. They could get to the corner and take a right instead of a left. And I couldn't do anything about it, and all my worrying wouldn't change that at all!

Up until to now, thank goodness, this has not occurred. Actually, there has never been anything substantial happen to any of my 5 kids. And my oldest is in High School. That adds up to a lot of worrying with no need. So this brings up my next idea.

It seems that most of my worries never come to fruition anyway. Wow - it made me start changing my philosophy. I now try to weigh how realistic my fears are to determine if I need to worry about it or not - still in the process of not worrying at all, ok? I got to chance to start this process when my 9-yr old got to have a plane ride from his Sunday school teacher for memorizing bible verses. Now his teacher was a pilot so the chance of anything happening was slim. So in figuring out the odds that something might happen, even though it appeared dangerous, I knew that I didn't need to worry all that much.

Lastly, worrying can actually bring on problems. I've been self-employed for over 20 years. When you're self-employed, you know that every month can be an adventure, as far as income goes. There are no guarantees. Well, one of my biggest worries is money. It can be so bad that it can immobilize me - I can spend way to much time fretting about paying the bills, and organizing my Quickbooks, and not near enough time actually working to bring in money. The worrying can overwhelm me and bring about the problem that I'm worrying about. This isn't good or necessary.

What we've recently done is my wife has taken over paying the bills, so I can concentrate on income producing activities. She's not the worrier I am, and even if she does worry about it, it doesn't detract from the actual goal of making the needed income to pay the bills.

If you want to know how not to worry, try to readjust your thinking in the 3 ways I've outlined above. And remember what the Bible says: "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.