‘A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work’ – John Lubbock
I am many things; I’m kind, i’m approachable, i’m loyal, i’m an amazing dancer *ahem*. I’m also one of life’s biggest worriers. I worry about everything, every day and I worry if I don’t have anything to worry about. If i were a McDonald’s ice cream I’d be a McWorry.
Wikipedia defines worry as:
‘Worry refers to the thoughts, images and emotions of a negative nature in which mental attempts are made to avoid anticipated potential threats. As an emotion it is experienced as anxiety or concern about a real or imagined issue, often personal issues such as health or finances, or broader issues such as environmental pollution and social or technological change. Most people experience short-lived periods of worry in their lives without incident; indeed, a moderate amount of worrying may even have positive effects, if it prompts people to take precautions (e.g., fastening their seat belt or buying fire insurance) or avoid risky behaviours (e.g., angering dangerous animals, or binge drinking)’
So for the most part it’s good to worry about things from time to time, it keeps you safe and stops you doing stupid things. I however, very much worry excessively, and I don’t seem to be able to control it. That’s something i’d like to change because constantly worrying and going through every possible scenario in your head before every single decision is exhausting. My main problem is that for me, to feel worried or anxious is a physical, emotional feeling, and even though I know all the facts, and can give myself a good talking to to try and calm myself down that i’m over reacting and things won’t be as bad as I imagine, the feeling won’t go away.
Reading the Chimp Paradox really helped. It explained that the emotional reaction you feel is your chimp and you need to cage your chimp when it starts getting out of hand but it’s hard to put into practice when all the time and I find it really easy to let my mind wander down overreaction alley .
I was also introduced recently to the Circle of Control and the Circle of Concern
Looking at that i think it’s clear to see that i worry way too much about things in my circle of concern that I can’t influence. I really hope i manage to curb the worrying one day, I know i’ll be a million times happier because of it. And I like being happy…..
