Reasons why worrying is counterproductive

Photo by Racheal Anilyse | Copyright 

"There are people who are always anticipating trouble, and in this way they manage to enjoy many sorrows that never really happen to them." - Josh Billings 

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Life is full of uncertainty but certain situations such as being self-employed, or pursuing certain types of dreams full-time can bring another set of worry that most people with a stable job probably don’t have.

When I stop believing in my vision, myself, my abilities and talents the worries set in and I start to ask myself many of the following questions: what if I’m going in the wrong direction? What if I can’t do this? What if I fail? What if it doesn’t work out? When and how is the next paycheck going to come? What if I run out of money? Can I really achieve this?  What’s going to happen next? How I am going to move from point A to point B? What do I do? And from this negative inquisitive state come the stress and/or the feeling of being depressed.

What I’ve come to realize is that worry comes from and leads to a negative state of mind. It doesn’t have the capacity to solve any problems or change any outcome. Nothing good comes from it. All it does is rob you of your time and energy that could’ve been spent problem solving, being productive or enjoying your time.

Most of us have found ourselves worrying about the future at some time or another. None of us know what it holds. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next hour much less tomorrow. So why waste so much time worrying about something that may never happen. The impending trouble we worry about is imaginary and this imagined outcome could make the problem seem bigger than it actually is which can then stop us from being productive or moving forward.

We all want to succeed in the things we undertake and care about. One of the most important steps to achieving this success is to believe in yourself and that you can indeed achieve it. So keeping the faith as much as possible is important. But as human beings, sometimes our faith wavers and when this happens it’s good to try to bounce back quickly and start believing in ourselves again. In order to do this we have to be aware of when our faith decreases and one easy way to notice it is by checking if you started to worry. Feeling stressed and worried indicates a decrease in your faith in the moment. Because I believe that faith and worry/fear can't coexist. So find ways to increase your faith so that it becomes stronger than any fear that may come.

You have to trust in yourself and your abilities. Believe that your dreams and your goals are achievable; believe that your current situation isn’t a permanent one and that no matter what you will be okay. Just because you are unable to see your path in its entirety doesn’t mean that you should begin to worry about it or that it’s leading you somewhere undesirable. It may lead you to an amazing place if you believe it to be possible so just trust that things will work out.

Worry can stop us from living, achieving and taking bold steps when it counts the most. So focus on what you have to do today, right now and don’t waste time guessing what tomorrow will bring because it might hold something totally different from what you expected. Just take it as it comes and deal with whatever comes when it does. Remind yourself to not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow just might be beautiful.