Put Worry in its Place

Written by Aubri Galano

Last night I was so worried about not getting enough sleep that I couldn’t sleep. My brain was working through all the details of the next day and I knew I had to be awake for it all. Ever have a night like that when your mind is your worst enemy?

Why do we worry? For me there are lots of reasons, far too many to count. Maybe that’s because of all the great benefits of worry like how it impedes my sleep, consumes my thoughts, disrupts my peace and heightens my fears. I usually worry because I`m not in control of a situation. If I could control how a situation would play out then I wouldn`t have to worry about it.

Slowly, I am learning how to weed out some of my worry. I know worrying is a habit that will take time to diminish but I can make progress along the way. In Matthew 25:34 Jesus states, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

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Is it possible to stop worrying?

At first, I thought this was a silly verse. I figured there was no way to not worry about tomorrow. Then I realized there is – by not dwelling on tomorrow`s problems. It sounds simple, but is it? We have to think about our problems tomorrow, so why add another day of useless thoughts towards them? George Macdonald is quoted as saying, “No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear.” For some it is simple to rid their brains of worry, but for the rest of us it can be a challenge.

Quite often our worries are imagined and blown out of proportion. Ever worried you said the wrong thing or forgot something important? Both of these have already happened and you can’t change them, so perhaps it is time to let them go. One way I cope with the desire to worry is to make lists. I make lists of all the things that I should think about tomorrow then I can stop thinking about them today.

The best way to stop worrying is to remember that worrying is a choice. You can choose to worry or you can choose to seek peace. The world will not stop moving if you decide to live life in the moment, it can only improve.

Thought switching

The method I find most helpful for stepping out of a habit is what I call the “thought switcher”. When you have a thought of worry, take note, and choose to replace that thought with a thought of peace. For example, replace: “I’m going to do a horrible job on my presentation tomorrow” with “I will do my best on my presentation tomorrow.” The more times you replace negative worried thoughts with positive peaceful ones the easier it will become. Our minds are powerful tools; it is better to utilize them for self-improvement rather than self-deflation.

I am attending full time school, I have a part time job and I’m married. Life is full of things that cause me to worry. I’m paying for school. What if I get terrible marks? What if I fail? For today, I’m going to choose to give up those worries. I’m going to give them to God and choose to live in peace. I’m much happier when I do and I know you can be too. There are quite a few times when I need to utilize the “thought switcher” in my life, realizing that it takes more than once to make a difference has helped. When I’m up at night worrying about not getting enough sleep, I’m going to live in the moment and enjoy my soft, fluffy pillow instead. Sounds much better than worrying to me.

How do you handle worry? Do you have a special technique or method?

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