How Much Do You Worry?
Mark Twain once said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”
Many executives I work with carry a running list in their head of things that have not gone wrong yet. “What if we miss the quarter?” “What if that new hire doesn’t work out?” “What if my board reacts badly?” For some, this list runs in the background all day. By evening, worrying over possibilities has drained them more than their actual problems did.
Worry is a negative visualization of a future turning out the way you don’t want it to. It is based in fear. It is, as Twain also put it, “like paying a debt you don’t owe.”
While worry is totally normal, you can train your mind to change. Part of what makes it stubborn is that worry feels like preparation. Rehearsing a bad outcome feels like we are being responsible, like we are making a plan, and that’s a good thing, right? But planning should stop when the plan is made. Worry keeps going.
Next time you feel your worry list starting up, allow your mindfulness practices to make you self-aware enough to catch yourself. Draw your own attention back to the present moment, to your actual life, where that bad thing is not happening. You can then replace your worry with a positive picture, or even a movie in your head, that shows the outcome you would rather have.
Most of your worries won’t ever arrive. Don’t let them weigh you down.
Until next time, Sherif