“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.” ~Eckhart Tolle
Worrying takes no one anywhere, especially when it doesn’t even affects the issue you are worrying about. Sometimes you will wonder why you even have to put yourself in this situation. I have broken down the uselessness of worrying into 3 segments and they are as follows.
1. Control
Human beings “lose it” when they feel that they can’t control something or its not within their grasp and therefore begin to panic. If we have to trace back all the time we let lose by worrying about something, it was because control slipped out of our hands. Most times, we believe if we do not personally control and manage something, it won’t work out as planned, and the moment the opposite of this happens, all hell breaks loose. This should not be so, as in order to feel more in control is to let go of control. When you have done all what you could have done for something, stop trying to totally control it and put it in the hands of someone else, aka delegating. Learn to take it easy and “be like water” as Bruce lee would say.
2. People who worry a lot are wasting the present time
Another reason why people worry a lot is due to the fact that they are always worried about what will happen in the future., They don’t want what happened in the past to repeat itself. Although it is good to be cautious, being too cautious can become counter-productive? Once in a while, it is good to let go and just focus on the present and enjoy the present moment. This makes life a lot more peaceful and enjoyable when you are living in the present moment instead of constantly worrying about the past and the future.
3. Uncertainty
It all comes back to wanting to be in control, while not being aware of uncertainty. No one knows for certain about what will happen in the next minute, after reading this text, or the next 10 years. Life is such that no one can predict the close or distant future with 100% certainty. Thus, it is better to get used to the unpredictability of life and adapt yourself according to that. Uncertainty is a major part of life, so it is better to live in the present instead of worrying about what could have been if you had done things differently in the past. Every human on Earth is in the same boat and no one gets a head start with regards to predicting the future. The only head start is that some people have realized about this uncertainty sooner than you have. But this is not a reason to panic, as you can begin to start living in the present. So stop worrying about what could have been and only focus on those things that you can directly control.
The Serenity Prayer is perfectly apt for this issue. It goes like this:
“God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time”
So stop worrying about things that are out of your control and only focus on those things that you can directly control. All the best!
image courtesy of: thebis.com.
