Excessive worry is a very common problem. Worry can distract you from your daily activities, make it hard to get to sleep at night and negatively impact your health and general happiness. To help bring an end to worry dictating your day, here's 4 top tips to make worry work for you:
1) See the worry thoughts, don't be the worrier
The first thing you want to do when you notice that you've been lost in your mind worrying about something is to have a moment of self-awareness. Do your best to step back inside yourself to see the worry thoughts, instead of being the worrier. In my book Mind Calm, I talk about how you have a mind, but you are not your mind. Instead, you are the calm conscious awareness that is aware of your mind. So if you ever find yourself worrying, you can benefit greatly from stepping back from being fully engaged in your thoughts, to instead be the awareness that's aware of them.
2) Acknowledge that the worry is positively intended
I find it useful to remember that my mind is always doing its best to keep me safe and help me to be happy. Having started observing your mind, you can begin to see that the intention of the worry is actually positive. Your mind is trying to help you to be safe, pay the bills, experience more love or whatever. When you acknowledge the worry is positively intended, you naturally stop resisting the thoughts and in turn, create more calm within yourself again.
3) Thank the worrisome thoughts for trying to help
Leading on from tip 2, I find it helps massively to actually take a moment to actively thank the thoughts for trying to help. I know this may appear to be the opposite of what you may think you want to do i.e. get rid of the thoughts, but again, by thanking the thoughts for being present within you, you stop resisting, reduce stress and can even begin to feel more positive again.
4) Get our of your head and back into the moment
Finally, I encourage you to get out of your mind and get back into the present. This is because when you are more self-aware and present, you create a space within your being that allows you to access your intuition, creativity and wisdom - which all necessary for you finding creative solutions that will help you move forward in a peaceful and productive way. To get back to the now, I find a simple reality check will suffice. Tune into a sound that's been happening that you were previously ignoring, notice what you are physically touching that you were not aware of, or look to notice things in your peripheral vision that you hadn't previously seen.
By seeing the worry thoughts, not being the worrier, acknowledging the antics of your mind are actually positively intended and even thanking your mind for trying to help, you naturally stop resisting the tendencies of your thoughts and learn to live in harmony with your mind. Instead of being used and abused by your mind, this healthier relationship with worry thoughts can help you to discover the solutions you need to overcome any challenge you may face.
