Curb Your Worry Habit

There is no need to drive yourself crazy when you can conquer your fears.

Here is how to do it:

*What’s bothering you? Record all the “what-ifs” plaguing you – lack of a job, short on finances, love life gone sour, problems at work, the odds you will inherit your mother’s breast cancer, and so on.

*Make a list. Put your worries in two columns – productive and unproductive. If you can eliminate any uncertainty with a specific action such as getting a physical test if your worry is health related, you have a productive worry. If you can’t think of any way to fix the situation such as, “if he leaves me, I will end up alone,” it is an unproductive worry.

*Act on productive worries. Doing something about your worry will give you a sense of control over your destiny. If you are fretting about being sacked from your job, for example, focus on getting your work in before deadlines and ensure it meets the quality expected and remedy your shortcomings. Also, brush up your curriculum vitae, just in case.

*Make peace with the rest. Approach unproductive worries rationally and logically so you can either learn to live with them or let them go. Instead of looking at the situation as a total disaster, you will start to see it as something you can deal with, even if it is painful or difficult.