“Worry…is the repetitious experience of a mind attempting to generate a feeling of security about the future, failing, then trying again and again and again…The fuel behind worry…is the internal demand to know, in advance, that things will turn out fine…” -Oliver Burkeman
As I have gotten older and wiser (ok maybe just older), I have learned how to deal with my stress. When I get stressed, I will stop what I am doing and then ask myself, “What am I worrying about?”
The answer most of the time is generally some situation in the future that may or may not happen. My mind begins to create all the scenarios of what might happen if this certain action is taken versus a different action.
I would like to say that I am great at handling my worry all the time but the truth is I am not. Most of the time I will just continue to play out each scenario until I am completely stressed out and then respond by either zoning out on social media or taking a nap.
A better response I have found is to ask myself the following set of questions.
“Can I do something to impact the outcome of what I am worrying about?” No. Then move on. There’s no need to stress over something I have no control over.
If the answer is yes, then get after it. Take the steps needed to deal with the issue that is causing the stress.