When Worry Lives In Your Head

When Worry Lives In Your Head

The things you worry about take up space in your mind. It’s like the bandwith on your device – it drains your time and energy and slows down other parts of your life.

We can get so caught up in our worrying that we forget to work towards a solution. Is worrying productive? Of course it’s not, but some of us make it a priority as if it’s necessary in order for us to live.

To Worry Or Not To Worry

Worrying is one of those things that can be picked up as a habit from your environment. If you grew up seeing someone being stressed out all of the time, there’s a great chance that you’ll follow the same pattern.

As a child, if you see your parent(s) worrying about bills, it seems like the ‘adult’ thing to do. At a young age, you never think that maybe your parent(s) could be irresponsible with money, which could be the cause of their own stress.

In situations like this, it can be helped. Sometimes, we don’t realize that we cause our own frustrations – we do it to ourselves. No one likes to blame themselves, but we have to take accountability before we can move forward.

If you budget your money in a way that takes care of the bills, you alleviate the weekly worry that you cause. Go to sleep earlier or wake up earlier, so you won’t be late. Exercise and eat a better diet if you don’t feel your best when you’re around others. Whatever puts you in a state of constant worry, do something that can prevent that feeling of uncertainty.

When you prepare in advance for things that you can control, it becomes possible to live in a more productive and happier space. There are things you can do to enhance your confidence and eliminate the doubt that you create.

What happens when things are out of your control and you can’t help but to worry?

Is There Ever A Reason To Worry?

“What about when someone ends up in the hospital or their house burns down?”

Yes, these life situations happen. Some things, we aren’t able to control, but we still have to adapt and adjust. To sit in worry and sadness does not benefit anyone.

Our first reaction is to start worrying, but it shouldn’t be the only reaction we have. In cases when life happens, it’s natural to worry. It’s unnatural to stay in that worry.

If someone is in the hospital, don’t add to their worries with yours. The best thing you can do is be positive and speak life into them. It doesn’t help them if you’re as uneasy and unstable as they are. See the possibilities with them.

When people worry, it can do more harm than good to those they’re worrying about. To be strong when others are in their weakest moments is definitely a difficult thing to do, but you can be the light that they need to see. If everyone else is depressed along with them, it takes away from the strength needed to fight their battle.

Words and actions are powerful.

Be Helpful, Not Hurtful

When it comes to things we can control, the best way to prevent worrying is to prepare. We may not be able to predict everything that’s going to happen, but some things can be helped.

It doesn’t make sense to be a worry-wart when you can actively participate in your own life and make things better. We’re all a work in progress, but you must be active and allow yourself the opportunity to improve.

Life happens to everyone and it can be a cause of worry. The best thing you can do is look on the bright side and work towards positive action. Deal with the situation at hand, but also, be brave enough to see the possibilities. Don’t let worrying make it worse.

Believe in yourself, don’t belittle yourself. Don’t let stress and anxiety live your life for you. The more confident and prepared you are, the less worrisome you’ll be.

Be a warrior, not a worrier.

7 Habits That Will Give You An Advantage In Life

7 Habits That Will Give You An Advantage In Life

How do you build winning habits? The first thing you have to do is start, but where?

No, there isn’t a pamphlet on success, but here are 7 habits that can give you an advantage. Here’s a list:

  1. Be helpful and encouraging of others. In order to be successful yourself, you should be supportive of others. This allows for a positive environment, which benefits everyone around you. As opposed to being critical, be helpful.
  2. Hold yourself accountable for your actions and decisions. Personal responsibility will take you further than excuses and complaining. When things go wrong, instead of working together, most people will place the blame on someone else. The truth is, the sooner you accept responsibility, the sooner you can move on. Blaming others only allows you to become stuck and stagnant. There is power in responsibility.
  3. Take your emotions out of it. Having emotions has it’s place, but it shouldn’t be overdone. Being emotional takes energy and it can contribute to making bad decisions and can stunt your personal growth. Some people like to whine and be in their feelings, when they can simply choose to move on. Don’t stay stranded – feel it for 10 minutes and get on with your life.
  4. Build your standards. You don’t have to ‘find’ yourself – you can create yourself. This is done by coming up with standards. What characteristics do you need to work on? How do you see your future self? Start with actionable habits that will shape you into that person. For example, if you want to become more disciplined, make your bed every morning. Be intentional.
  5. Don’t expect anything. When you have expectations of other people, there’s always the possibility of becoming disappointed. You can’t control what other people do. Have expectations of yourself, but never of others.
  6. Spend time outside. Technology has done wonders for communication (among other things), but it’s imperative to step away every once in a while. As humans, we’re not made to sit and stare at our wonderful devices all day, everyday. Get outside and take a walk – you’ll be surprised at how much it helps to clear your mind and allows for new ideas and solutions.
  7. Be solution-oriented. This ties in with being accountable. Instead of blaming and complaining, be the one to find a solution. It may not be the right solution, but at least you’ll be moving forward and figuring it out – don’t be afraid to be the captain of the ship.
  8. BONUS: Always keep it moving. It’s important to take a break, but some of us stay on break. No matter what it is, always figure out a way to move. Being complacent is comfortable, but it’s not productive. Life doesn’t stop for anyone. Physically or mentally, always keep it moving.

Begin building your habits. You don’t have to do them all at once – start by focusing on one per week (or month). If you ever find yourself stuck, follow any one of these suggestions and it will put you on a productive path to progress.

How To Win the Day

Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash

When we wake up in the morning, most of us act on autopilot. We go through this routine that needs to be done and we simply go about our day, hoping it will turn out well.

If you want to have a good day, you have to make it come about. Hoping and wishing will only take you so far. There are things you can do to ensure that you win your day, before it unfolds.

  1. Think it. Go over in your mind how you want your day to go. See your meeting being successful. Envision drinking water and having a healthy lunch. Anticipate having a productive day, where you create solutions and add value to the team. By seeing it in your mind first, you will already have a head start on how things will go. Visualizing helps to guide the outcome in your favor.
  2. Follow through. After you ‘see’ how great your day is going to be, do it. This is where the challenge lies. You can think of having an awesome day all you want, but you have to put effort behind it. It won’t happen magically. Once you think it, you must follow up with the type of actions that will create that awesome day for you. It starts in the mind, but you have to follow through and act it out to get those results.
  3. Give compliments and be supportive of others around you. When you have a pleasant energy about you, it spreads to others. In order to make your day great, the people around you have to be in the same boat. Although you’re unable to change anyone, you can direct the process by giving them a compliment or by helping them get over a challenge. Not only does it make you feel good, it also encourages them to have a good attitude, which leads to being more productive. It’s a win-win for everyone!

As you can see, there are many ways you can improve the outcome of your day. Allowing your day to float along without any effort from you, can lead to  stressful and ineffective reactions.

Take control of your day before it begins. This allows you to have a positive start towards a positive day. As you go throughout your day, remember, you are in control of how you respond.

Winning your day starts with you. By thinking it out, following through and being supportive, you can have your best day, everyday!

#BeGoalden