We all worry and a little worrying is normal – but for some of us, we can spend most of the day worrying and it’s time wasted that will never be given back to us. So, if your mind seems to be spending most of its time worrying, let’s look at what you can do about that.
I spoke to a client recently and she told me that her mind seemed to be spending ‘most of the day worrying’. She wanted to figure out how to stop that, and here is the advice that I gave to her.
1. What is worrying you? Get it all out on paper.
We all have a mind that is built to be busy – it thinks, it plans, it worries – and if we do not get control of it, it will simply run away with us. Carry around a notebook with you and when you find your mind worrying, just write everything down on paper. You don’t have to be articulate about this – literally just let it all pour out of you.
Then, sit with a cuppa, and have a read of it – what comes up for you? Some of it may be things that you actually DO need to ‘worry about’ – but by making a conscious note to deal with that, we can flip it from being a worry into a solution – how are we going to deal with that? For example if your worry is that you don’t know how to pay the rent this month then come up with 3 ways that you can fix that.
Get clear on what is bothering you, pick out the things of importance and work on them (be active about it rather than sit worrying passively), and everything else that is on the paper, just scribble over it, throw it away, release the worry and get on with things!
2. Choose to ‘bypass’ the worry. YOU control your monkey mind, don’t let it control you.
Your mind is designed to flow, and spiral out of control sometimes. But you have a choice to change things – make a decision that today you are going to be more aware of this. Become an observer of your mind, and when things start to feel ‘chatty’ for you, just give yourself permission to bypass engaging with it.
Simply imagine those thoughts as being like passengers at Euston Station. Some will come in and linger and some will pass through in minutes. Let them become activity going on in the background and do your best not to engage with them.
Of course, if something keeps popping up for you and you know it is something you ought to deal with – then make a note of it – witness, observe and take out the bits that are sent to be used by you. But the rest, just let it go and surrender.
3. Scoop all of that worry together and say goodbye to it.
If your mind really seems to be doing a number on you, and you find yourself worrying a little too much, simply scoop all of that worry together and bat it away from you. Imagine taking the worry and turning it into a ball – then pick up your bat and bat it away from you, as far away as possible. You do not have to do anything else once you have done this, just relax.
These short steps can be repeated as often or as little as you need to – the idea is that you become AWARE of things – you choose to take out the bits that serve you and let go of the ‘noise’ that distracts you.
And of course, as always, if you need to get clarity on what is bothering you, why not book a clarity call with me?
You can do that by heading here and filling in your details.
I hope that these tools work for you, and if you need something to help you calm ever further, check out the INSTANTLY CALM TOOL KIT.
Have a great week and speak to you soon!
Chris.
