Worrying

We all worry don’t we? I heard a Ted talk the other day that talked about worrying. I heard the one giving the talk give an interesting fact about worrying and I decided to look it up and found that, depending on who you read, only 8 to 15% of what we worry about is actually..….worth the worry.

How does our worrying breakdown? Most sources agree with this breakdown of how we spend time worrying:

• 40% is spent on things that never happen: That is 40% of the things that we find to worry about will never happen.
• 30% is spent on things from the past: These are things that cannot be changed.
• 12% is spent on needless worry about our health.
• 10% is spent on petty miscellaneous worries.
• Leaving, real legitimate worries taking 8% of what we worry about.

Worrying can push us to action and help to solve issues, but, what if it consumes us.  It can be paralyzing at times.  I like the quote in the Bible attributed to Luke, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?”

According to HelpGuide.org, chronic worrying is a mental habit that can be broken. You can train your brain to stay calm and look at life from a more positive perspective. The HelpGuide article suggests doing the following:

• Ask yourself if the problem is solvable
• Challenge the reality of anxious thoughts
• Accept uncertainty
• Be aware of how others affect you
• Focus on the present rather than the past or future
• Confine your worrying to one time period during the day
• Learn more by reading the related articles

I, for instance, worry about my health and finances. Will I be healthy enough in the years to come and will I have the resources to carry me through to my old age?

How about you? Do you have things that you worry about? If so where do they fall in the list above? As you get older do you find that you worry less about things?

Thanks for tuning into AgingwithDan and feel free to leave a comment or ask a question.

Until next time,

Dan