Do you get a sense that most people (including you) are worried about something these days?
Some worry about grades in school, job interviews, approaching deadlines, bills and expenses, rising gas prices, insurance costs and endless taxes. Some worry about current events such as; ebola, wars, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, economy, health care, immigration, NSA surveillance programs, data breaches (Target, iCloud, Home Depot, Chase), unemployment, elections, immigration, fuel prices, riots, nuclear threat, ISIS, world-wide terrorism, rising police state, Israel-Hamas conflict, VA medical care controversy, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stock markets, wild fires, turmoil in the Ukraine, missing airplanes…I could go on and on!
We all deal with worry in some form and left unchecked, it can become a crippling force in our lives. Worry can keep us from taking risk, from becoming the person God wants us to become, can destroy our ability to build relationships and can have an adverse effect on our bodies.
Some find ways to escape the reality of worry and some move into anxiety. Some of us numb ourselves from our circumstances, some medicate themselves with drugs, alcohol, achievement (this was me), the internet…fill in the blank ______.
Over the span of our lifetime, worrying accounts for hours and hours of invaluable time that you will never get back and it’s just not good for you.
I haven’t perfected being completely worry free, but here are some ways that help me move closer in that direction.