A Worrisome Engagement
by Morgana
Braveraven
Worry, worry,
worry. Worry, worry – worry, worry, worry. Worry, worry, worry, and
worry some more… We’ve all experienced it – a rumpled brow, the
wringing of hands and tightening of the stomach as though a crazed
rodent were gnawing relentlessly at our intestines… W o r r y !
Are the bills
paid? Is there money in the bank to cover the mortgage payment? Is the
right kid at the right lesson at the right time? I wonder how Aunt
Jane is doing. Are mortgage rates going up again… what about taxes?
Speaking of taxes, did I get the income taxes in by the dead-line?
When will I find time to vacuum? Argggh! I forgot to get gas… Why
isn’t my business growing? Did I remember to buy dog food? I hope that
traffic isn’t still snarled up from that accident earlier this
morning… What will I make for dinner – do I need to stop at the store
on the way home..?
There’s so much
to worry about that eventually you start worrying about what to worry
about next.
And what does
all that worry do for you? Is it helping? Is it doing anything for
you? These are important questions and you need to answer them. But
I’ll tell you something – worry never helped any situation. Worry
never solved a problem. Worry never stopped anything bad from
happening… In fact, as far as I know, worry only results in more
worry. It’s self-perpetuating and it’s a nasty little trap to fall
into.
Let me ask you
something – if you were engaged to be married, and you became aware
that the person you were planning to spend the rest of you life with
was hurtful and harmful to your well being, draining all your energy,
and holding you back from attaining your goals, would you follow
through with the marriage, or break the engagement?
I think you’d
break the engagement! No one willingly sets themselves up for a life
of misery. But if you engage in worry – then you are committing
yourself to a life of unnecessary struggle. And guess what! Now that
you are aware of this nasty pitfall – you can break that engagement
too!
When you worry
about something your mind becomes consumed with worrying thoughts, and
there is no room for constructive thought, no room for solutions to
rise up to the consciousness. Any thought that might be constructive
is squelched by worry.
Worrying is a
very bad habit and makes an unpleasant bedfellow. Whether you refer to
it as a habit, a mood, or an emotion – you can be sure that at its
root is a whole lot of … Fear.
Fear holds us
back. Our reaction to what we fear destroys our drive and our ability
to explore solutions. It encroaches on our goals robbing us of our
dreams, and steals all hope for change from our hearts.
And fear, as
Coach Steele of
Tools to Life will tell you on any given day, in most cases, “Is a
product of how you’re thinking”.
Fear and worry
are merely your perception of any given situation – and how you
choose to react to it is up to you. Your perception is nothing
more than what you think about a situation. What ever you think about
a situation – it’s true. If you think something is a problem, it is.
If you think it’s not a problem, it’s not. And what do we know about
thoughts?
Thoughts are
things, and thoughts are magnetic.
Everything that
is, in this world, began as a thought and everything that you spend
time thinking about or dwelling on, makes its way into your
life. When you think positively, you draw positive things into your
life, and when you think negatively, you draw negative things into
your life.
Sadly, most of
us spend our time worrying about the things we don’t want in our lives
(those are negative thoughts by the way…) and by so doing, we end up
energizing those things and dragging them into our lives again and
again – then wondering why everything we don’t want keeps landing on
their doorstep.
So – what do we
need to do about all of our worries? How do we deal with them and what
can we do to escape them? First, you need to recognize that your
reaction to worry is your choice. You can choose to freak out, or you
can choose to take positive action. It’s entirely up to you.
To take positive
action, we need to be aware, and we need to pay attention to how we
are feeling. If you are feeling badly then there is a strong
possibility that you are thinking negatively, so ask yourself if you
are worried about something. There’s a good chance that you are.
Remember, if you
are worried, you are spending a whole lot of time thinking about the
things that you don’t want, which is not productive in any way, and
worse – that worry only serves to draw those negative things straight
into your life. Is that what you want?
Do yourself an
immense favour and give yourself a wonderful gift – react positively
and think about what you want in your life – and draw those things
into your life instead!
If you are
racked with worry, here is the first thing you need to do: Identify
what you are worried about and write it down – if it’s more than one
thing, make a list of what you are worried about.
Once that is
done, be it a list or a single item; rewrite that worry in as a
positive statement on a separate piece of paper. Here is an example:
Worries:
I’m worried that
I won’t be able to pay my bills
I’m worried that my business is not growing
I’m worried that my life with always be a struggle
I’m worried that _______ does not love me
I’m worried that I will always be dirt poor
I am worried that I will never be happy or successful
Rewritten as
positive statements:
My bills are
always paid!
My business grows strong and steady each day!
I live my life with effortless ease!
_______ loves me and so does everyone else!
I have all the money I will ever need and plenty more!
I am always happy and successful!
Now read the
worry list out loud. How do you feel when you are done reading what
you wrote down? Not good, I’ll bet.
Now read the
positive statements out loud. Read them with passion, conviction, and
belief – really take those positive statements in and feel them.
Feeling better?
Thought you might!
Now, take that
piece of paper with all of your worries written on it, tear it into
little bits, and dispose of them (in the recycle bin, of course, we
are very environmentally concerned solution seekers!). You don’t need
those worries – they will never serve you well, so disengage and let
them go!
Now take the
piece of paper with all your positive statements and read them out
loud again. Those statements are your reality – own them! Lovingly
fold up that piece of paper and put it into your pocket and carry it
with you. Cherish those statements read them frequently throughout the
day and allow yourself to feel grateful for each statement. Each time
you read your list of positive statements you will energize them and
draw them into your life experience.
By working with
this little exercise, you can let go of all your worries simply by
thinking of what it is that you want in your life rather than
what you don’t want in your life, and you will energize the positive –
what you want, rather than the negative – what you don’t want.
As always, the
solution is so simple. It’s just a matter of changing your mind and
changing the way you think. The good new is that you can make that
change in less than 5 minutes – but as always, it’s a choice, and it’s
up to you!
Until next time,
remember: You can engage in whatever you want – be it positive or
negative. It’s your life. You’re in charge. It’s your choice.
Morgana Braveraven
Visit
Morgana Here
