If we were to keep a record of all the things we worried about during a given period of time, we would discover--in reviewing them--that the great majority of our anticipated problems or troubles never come to pass. This means that most of the time we devote to worrying, even the constructive kind that prompts us to try to come up with a solution to what is troubling us, is wasted. Thus, we not only caused ourself unnecessary mental anguish, but also took up valuable minutes and hours that could have been spent elsewhere.
To avoid this, it is often necessary to subject potential sources of worry to the coldly objective and analytical light of reason. Once, sortly before a major concert before a standing-room- only audience, a member of Arturo Toscanini's orchestra approached the great Italian conductor with an expression of sheer terror on his face. "Maestro," the musician fretted, "my instrument is not working properly. I cannot reach the note of E-flat. Whatever will I do? We are to begin in a few moments."
Toscanini looked at the man with utter amazement. Then he smiled kindly and placed an arm around his shoulders. "My friend," the maestro replied, "Do not worry about it. The note E-flat does not appear anywhere in the music that you will be playing this evening."
The next time we find ourselves in the middle of worrying about some matter, we might be wise to stop and ask ourselves what the odds are of the problem really coming to pass. We may be able to go on to something more constructive.
-- The Waste in Worry by Brad Stevens
6 comments to WHY WASTE YOUR LIFE AWAY...?
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Unknown Hi Tiger,
Without sounding sexist, there is a tendency for women to worry more than men...Maybe it is due to hormones or their psyche ...I used to be a worry queen and realized that I was robbing myself of much happiness, peace of mind and opportunities to live life to the max! Thank God I learnt my lesson although a bit late in life :-)...Better late than never..You are spot on...We must snap out of worry because all it does is to weaken and not to strengthen us.
Cheers
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Starmandala Here's a practical suggestion. Open a new Word doc and type the following words in 80pt Arial Black (centered):
BE A WARRIOR
NOT A WORRIER!
Then print on an A4 sheet (laminate first if you want) and stick on your study wall! :-)
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Unknown Hi dear Antares,
Ah - very good suggestion...In fact, a few weeks earlier, I put up a post with a similar title.
Thanks to you,, I look at life, people and myself differently :-).
Hugs and much love,
Paula
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Cat-from-Sydney Let's sing: Don't worry, be happy! meow meow meow meow meow...(that's the sound of a happy cat laughing)
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Unknown Dear Cat-in-Sydney,
Exactly! Tis the time to do the meow meow jingle while we juggle our cares away...:-)
Have a great weekend!
Tiger Worry is possibly the biggest non-productive time-killer for anyone.
It would be better to carry on doing/working on what you're supposed to do rather than mope and worry.
Sometimes, we can't help worrying as we're only human, but if we can realise we're losing sleep unnecessarily, we must snap out of it!