A Comment About Worry

I believe that worry is an inhibitor to general happiness.  Worrying takes effort and attention away from the discovery of mission and purpose, and it is the enemy of intentional living.  I know this because I worry.  A lot.

But I also know that when liberated from worry, I make better decisions.  And when I make better decisions, I worry less.  So I work hard to focus myself on the controllable and the activities that are tied to making decisions to fit with my values and my wishes.  Because when I feel I’ve done the good-decision-making part, I’ve not got much more to do.

So I sometimes go looking for decisions to make, especially in a stressful time, as the antidote to worry.  It’s not always easy, but it can be a learned habit when coupled with a desire and the right attitude.  I believe it hinges on three key ingredients:

  1. Know what you are talking about.  If you don’t know it, go learn it.  Worrying while ignorant is the worst place to be, so go learn what you need to learn so you can decide how to get out of that place.
  2. Act.  Make a commitment to perform and do whatever it takes to get yourself out of the situations you’re worrying about.  It’ll happen a thousand times faster than if you wait for someone else to act for you.
  3. Grow in your personal relationships.  One person worrying is lonely.  Sharing worries and asking for help means you’ve got a team.

I do what I do because I believe there’s value in helping people worry less about some of the financial stresses in life.  And our core business value is Know | Act | Grow because it’s how we think you can get to our motto:  Less Worry | More Happy

Photo:  Rachael McGraw – Joshua Tree, CA

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