This Week's Inspiration
Just Say No To Worry!
Worry:
|
To subject to persistent or nagging attention or effort; to afflict with mental distress or agitation; make anxious; to move, proceed, or progress by unceasing or difficult effort; to feel or experience concern or anxiety |
What is worry costing you?
Research reveals over 90% of the things we worry about never happen.
Studies show that people who worry a lot are generally less effective than those who don't; they get less work done and are often less happy. And worriers are slower to respond than nonworriers—presumably because worrying burns off mental energy that would be more effectively applied elsewhere.
According to Gary Marcus, Professor of Psychology at New York University, a recent laboratory study at Yale and Pennsylvania State University found the mere opportunity to worry for 5 minutes is enough to bring down a person's mood.
Worry is costing all of us something.
Everyone worries, but most worry is about some negative possibility in the future, not right now.
- What will happen if I lose my job?
- Will my partner ever really love me?
Such questions are worthy of consideration but are not the sort of thing that can be solved by worry.
Worry negatively affects our health and elevates cortisol levels.
Cortisol is a glucocorticoid—C21H30O5—produced by the adrenal cortex that upon stimulation by ACTH, mediates various metabolic processes as gluconeogenesis. It has anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties and its levels in the blood may become elevated in response to physical or psychological stress.
Also called hydrocortisone, this hormone primes our body for physical activity, for example, when we must sprint from danger. It acts to dampen the immune system, which may make us susceptible to infection.
A recent study from University College London of 542 adults with an average age of 60 found that those who engaged with their problems and sought social support had lower cortisol levels than those who did not.
What we need to do is relax and think clearly, but our mindset and society often lead us in the opposite direction. Worry can breed anxiety, paralysis, and depression, rather than creative solutions.
The word worry comes from a Middle English word wyrgan—to strangle. And that's what worries often do; they seize us by the throat until we can't think about anything else. When worry takes on a life of its own, it becomes a huge and often pointless drain on our time and energy.
Worse, chronic worry may take a toll on our hearts. Last year a study from Cambridge University linked the banking crises to an increased number of heart attacks, perhaps because chronic worry and stress can lead people to drink more, smoke, eat too much, and get less exercise.
According to Dr. Robert L. Leahy,
All this worry can affect your physical as well as your mental health. Worriers tend to be overutilizers of the health care system, meaning they see their doctor for just about every ache and pain. Worriers are more likely to have irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, fatigue, and aches and pains. In addition, 93% of people with generalized anxiety disorder also have an overlapping psychiatric disorder such as depression.
Does worry increase your bank account, get you a new job, improve your relationships, or make you feel better? The answer is No, No, and No.
In fact, the opposite occurs—what you are worrying about is actually attracted into your life. If you are worried about getting cancer, you are able to fulfill this worry with the real disease. Who wants that?!
Focusing on what we want produces feel-better hormones and conditions in our body.
In the end, we are all personally responsible for our own thoughts and our emotional state. We have the choice to look at things negatively with worry or positively in anticipation of preferred results. For example, instead of worrying about our kids getting involved with drugs or gangs, we can focus on their being engaged, happy individuals, doing what they love.
One source of worry is the unknown.
To help you on your journey of self-discovery, I am recommending several CRG resources. My new 88-page workbook My Source EXPERIENCE Journal™will take you on a personal discovery of enlightenment and affirmation and help reduce your worries.
I also suggest the Values Preference Indicator, Self Worth Inventory, Online Stress Indicator and Health Planner, and the Online Personal Style Indicator as building blocks.
Follow these Action Steps and complete the recommended resources, to help you increase your confidence—and decrease your worry.
This Week's Action Steps
Just Say No to Worry!
- Think of all the things that have worried you recently. What percentage of your worries came to pass? What percentage of your worrying was needlessly wasted energy? Can you confirm that the majority of your worries actually did not happen?
- How did worrying help you solve your problems? More than likely, worrying did not help you resolve your issues.
- What is your worrying costing you in terms of fulfillment, opportunity, and health? Do you want to continue paying this price?
- Learn the difference between worry and concern. Concern is paying attention to your issues, but not letting your concerns turn into negative emotions that freeze your Action Steps.
- Stop focusing on what you do not want. Start focusing on what you do want. If you are focusing on sickness, switch to health and wellness. If you are fearing you will lose your money, focus on being successful financially, making smart decisions, and living an abundant life.
- Worry resides in your mind and you are responsible for shifting your focus. Stop any victim-mentality thinking or mindset NOW. Excuses are not permitted.
- Do you like to hang out with people who are always telling you about their worries? That's draining, right? Nobody wants a worrier as a buddy. Make sure you are not that kind of friend.
- Confident individuals know who they are and where they are going. To help you and others reduce worry, I encourage you to engage our workbook My Source EXPERIENCE Journal™ – A Personal Discovery Process for Those Who Want to Lead a Passionate and Fulfilling Life.
- At this very moment, choose to focus on a goal, objective, or positive outcome. Do not allow worry to take over your mind.
- If you knew your efforts could not fail, what would you be doing? List those activities now.
- Just go for it or let it go. Either way, notice how you enjoy your wonderful new worry-free feelings.
- Have fun being in the moment. After all, yesterday is gone and tomorrow will never come. All you have is today.
Until next time, keep Living On Purpose!
Ken Keis
For information on CRG Resources, please visit http://crgleader.com.
FREE Download
This 52-page PDF outlines and provides a summary of most of our 100+ resources. It also provides valuable articles that you can re-purpose or forward to others.
Online Personal Style Indicator
Online Entrepreneurial Style and Success Indicator
Online Stress Indicator and Health Planner
Online Values
Preference Indicator
For Consultants, Coaches, Trainers, Speakers, and HR Professionals. In this 3-day intensive workshop, you learn how to transform others by using CRG solutions and access a residual income model for your own business!
Register now:
June 4-6, 2009
Download the Detailed Train-The-Trainer Workshop PDF
Not a subscriber?
just click here!
Once you take one of our assessments, you can´t wait to learn more! You can purchase assessments to use yourself or to distribute to family, friends, co-workers, and even bosses. Wouldn´t you also like to see your closest friends and family LIVING ON PURPOSE? Click here for Online Assessments!
|
We look forward to hearing from
you! Either reply to this ezine, or direct your questions and correspondence from our Website.
Click here to forward this ezine to people in your life who will benefit from the advice and tips we´re giving on personal performance, character, and how to live a successful life on purpose. |
