Stop Worrying

NOW – for many years a woman couldn’t sleep at night because she was so worried that her home would be broken into. I MEAN – it was just this uneasy thought that dominated her mind day in and day out for years.

WELL - one night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he found a burglar.

AND SO - the husband said to the him, “Hey, could you come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you.”

POINT - a thief will steal from you once, but WORRY can steal from you for decades.

WORRY – is a thief, a thief who steals…

• your thoughts, your peace, your joy

• your confidence, your courage

OKAY – raise your hand if you have ever struggled with WORRY… Like, has WORRY ever stolen, your…

(thoughts, peace, confidence courage or your joy)?

Raise your hand if you have any WORRY now.

SO – we are not alone in this struggle, are we?

Worry is defined by Webster as “mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated.”

In other words, worry is about things that have not happened.

Worry is not an emotion; it is a mental exercise.

It is not unnatural worry or be anxious when things are tough or unpredictable or when a solution to a particular problem is not clearly evident.

This causes us to worry—replaying possible outcomes over and over again in our mind. Sometimes, even when we can see a solution in our mind, we continue to worry, refusing to be satisfied until the solution becomes a reality.

Being concerned can be positive when it propels us to action—such as seeing a doctor when we are ill or a mechanic when the car sounds strange.

But worry is rarely tied to constructive action and is unproductive.

Worry very often rises to an unhealthy level and takes its toll when:

You’re not sleeping.

You’re not productive.

You’re worried about two or more topics more days than not.

You’re focusing on situations of worry more than on the other business of life.

Your life feels out of control