Schedule your worries

One of the quotes that I keep coming back too goes: “Worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today peace.” There are certainly things in our lives that we need to concern ourselves with, but often our worrying far exceeds the factors that we actually have control over in our lives. So this week I invite you to set aside specific time for worry and then clear up the rest of your time for other mental activities.

HOW TO: Any time you feel yourself starting to worry about something, say to yourself “I will worry about this after lunch” (or any other specific time, just not before bed), and then focus your attention on something else. When “after lunch” comes, give yourself freedom to worry about anything you want for 30 minutes. When 30 minutes is up, do some activity that makes you feel happy and content – go for a walk, have a cup of hot chocolate, watch something funny on YouTube, listen to your favorite song, etc. Then move on with your day. If you happen to forget or miss your “worry time”, too bad, those worries will have to wait till the next day. Try this for a week and see if postponing your worries has any impact on the way you feel.