Worry Less, Influence More
3Do you worry too much? Do you wonder how to stop worrying, or at least worry less? Let’s take a look at the purpose of worry and a useful strategy for feeling more influential over your circumstances.
“Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.” Line from ‘Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)’ by Baz Luhrmann
One of the more enlightening ‘a-ha’ moments I’ve had on my adventures into the world of personal growth was having it pointed to me out how much energy I invested into fussing over things I had no control over.
It was back when I was starting out as an over-eager, wet behind the ears, newly qualified NLP practitioner, determined to create an über successful personal development empire (sound familiar, anyone?) But I was broke and had the business savvy of stuffed goat. Despite all my training in state management and ‘resourceful thinking’, I couldn’t help feeling blocked from every angle trying to get a business off the ground.
I sat down with my mentor and described to her the difficulties I was facing:
It was a saturated market. The competition were way more experienced and I was. Advertising was too expensive. People might think I was too young to be taken seriously.
She listened compassionately and patiently waited for me to finish my rant, then asked, “With so many things you can focus on in business, why would you focus on the things you can’t do anything about?”
That hit me like a brick. It was uncomfortable to take at first, but the discomfort quickly dissolved into a huge sense of relief. She was right. The only thing my worrying was enabling me to do was to move further away from the creativity my fledgling business was crying out for.
[pullquote align=”left”]”Worry is just a misguided strategy for feeling safe. When you worry, it is because part of you believes you can worry your way to a helpful insight, but that is rarely the case.”[/pullquote]From there I made a commitment to only focus on that which I could influence. I decided not to spend money I didn’t have on advertising, but instead to have more real conversations with more real people about the ways I could serve them. I gave up waiting for paying clients to whom I could demonstrate my expertise and started sharing it for free via talks, articles and podcasts (which resulted in paying clients).Progress was slow, but it was 100% more progress than I had experienced prior to that moment of clarity.
Nowadays, I still find myself worrying about things I can’t change, but I’ve gotten a heck of a lot better at spotting when I’m doing it and shifting my focus towards a more useful way of thinking.
We all worry about stuff, it’s part of the human condition. Some of us contain it to trivialities such as the weather, what clothes to wear or what other people think. But some of us could represent our countries in the ‘Worry Olympics'; threating over the dire economy, the state of humanity or the potential for an alien invasion.
Worry is just a misguided strategy for feeling safe. When you worry, it is because part of you believes you can worry your way to a helpful insight, but that is rarely the case. All worry does is feed your imagination with a disaster movie loop that begets more worry. And of course, your imagination is not reality.
However, it is not your job to eradicate worry any more than it’s your job to eradicate the weather. But it is your job to practice wisdom. You don’t always choose the thoughts that pop into your head, but you can always choose what to do with them once they are there.
The saying, ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothes’, can easily be translated as, ‘There’s no such thing as bad reality, only unhelpful thinking.’
AN OLYMPIC STRATEGY FOR DEALING WITH WORRY
One of the simplest, yet most powerful ways I’ve found to exercise more of my own wisdom in difficult circumstances is to remember a phrase popularised by Charlie Jones, a sportscaster covering the rowing events of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Interviewing the various teams prior to their heats, he’d often ask how they planned to deal with the various challenges they might face; the stiff competition, adverse weather conditions, being placed in an outside lane, breaking an oar, etc. What he was struck by was the frequency with which he got the same response:
“That’s outside my boat.”
The athletes refused to comment on any dynamic of the race that they could not directly control. They only focused on two basic questions:
“Is it inside the boat?” and, “Does it make the boat go faster?”
Recognising what is inside and what is outside your boat is fundamental to getting more of what you want out of life.
The fact that you don’t have more money in your bank account, at this precise moment in time, is outside your boat. So, if having more money is important to you, what is inside your boat that you do have influence over?
If a hundred highly qualified candidates have applied for the same dream job as you, that’s outside your boat. What would be most useful for you to focus on to give yourself the greatest chance of standing out? You might not get it, and that’s also outside your boat, so what’s your back-up?
It is outside your boat that your kids may be exposed to some of the less savoury aspects of the big bad world. What positive, healthy strategies do you have inside your boat to prepare them well and to trust their judgement?
It is also worth knowing that what is outside your boat may just be reflective of how things stand today. If you are willing to be patient and take a longer term view, things can often change in a big way with the help of your consistent, little, inside-the-boat nudges. Even international laws have been changed through the persistent loving actions of lowly individuals.
It’s a cliché, but nothing in your life ever changed just because you worried enough about it. Think about what are you able to physically influence right now, even if it is just how to find a little more peace within yourself.
Drop me a line in the comments below and let me know what you are ready to stop worrying about.
I’ll leave you with a reminder of these classic lines from the ‘Serenity Prayer’.
“Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference.”
With love,
As usual Paul, your post showed up with Universe influenced timing! I was literally in a worry-fest when I received the email. I was wondering why I was succumbing to the stress and not heading my own coaching. Your post just relieved some of that, the worry is there but I can choose my response to it. Thanks again! Marybeth, Inspire U Coaching, California USA
i have been struggling with my thoughts,and how to “conduct ” them better.your words cleared the mist.” You don’t always choose the thoughts that pop into your head, but you can always choose what to do with them once they are there”
the next question that popped in my head,was,well,what do i do with my thoughts,how do i react?well,i soon enough got the answer to that too.
i always wondered why the *don’t waste your energy on things you can’t change* phenomenon never struck the chord with me,my pragmatic self always dismissed it as something naive and unproductive(ironically so).
but the BOAT metaphor was the”a-ha” moment for me,definitely.just as i read it,i made a plan to ask myself the very same question,whenever i feel skeptic …thanks a lot
the next question in my head was,well,how do you know what’s in your boat,and what’s not.and surprisingly enough ,there was an answer to that too.”THE SERENITY PRAYER”. ….thank you very much
Hey Naina
Thank you so much for your great comments. I’m delighted the post helped give you some valuable insights.
Px