Stop Worrying & Start Enjoying Life

Worrying about life in general has become a ‘normal way of life’ in the today’s world. Worrying takes away joys and happy moments from our lives leaving us drained, tired, and stressed. Many of us stay awake at night due to financial, professional, or personal worries. The good news is; you can change this thought pattern and start enjoying your life.

Here’s how to stop worrying and start living:

1. Worry about being worried:
   Ask yourself about the end-result that worrying will cause. Is worrying going to solve your problems? Is it going to minimize uncertainty? Or is it going to make you feel even more stressed? Answer your questions honestly and find your path in those answers.

1. Designate Some Time to Worry:
   As many worriers believe they cannot control their worrying thoughts, they tend to console themselves saying “do not worry, everything is going to be alright” or “let’s think about something positive”. This approach hardly works as naturally our brain tends to think the exact thought that we ask ourselves to not think in first place. Reason: In order to not think, one has to think the very thought first. To cope with this problem, designate few minutes each day to worry about your problems. Do not choose bedtime as it may affect your sleep. In these minutes, worry as much as you can and then promise yourself to not worry about it for rest of the day.

2. Control:
   Realizing that you cannot control some situations in life will let you worry less about those uncontrollable problems in life. For example, worrying about a natural disaster is not going to help a lot. Take precautionary measures and leave rest to the Mother Nature. Similarly, relationships, work problems, and financial issues are not always in our control. Choose to go with the flow and enjoy your life’s present moments.

3. Solve Problems:
   Worrying and problem solving are two different things. Our brain tricks us in believing that worrying will solve our problems. In reality, worrying does the exact opposite. From now onwards, focus on being a problem solver than a worrier. Problem solving involves sensing the risk or upcoming event and preparing for it in advance. Going through hard times requires you to be a warrior, not a worrier. Problem-solving approach focuses on systematic steps to resolve the issue while worrying is haphazard and only brings anxiety.

4. Focus on Enjoying the Present:
   Instead of worrying about future events or feeling bad about past matters, start living your present moments. Learn to enjoy small things such as rain, hot coffee, an evening with family or friends, a relaxing tour; all are moments that we forget to enjoy due to our worries.

5. Accept Uncertainty:
   There is no use in worrying about unforeseen events. Uncertainty is part of nature and it should be accepted as part of nature’s cycle. However, prepare well in advance to any anticipated uncertain event.

Following these simple techniques will allow you to become a happy and positive person while shunning away the worries and problems out of your life.