Step to take to help you worry less

There is no lack of things to worry about right now. From Covid-19 to economic uncertainty to whether schools will reopen for the upcoming academic year uncertainty is the name of the game. And with uncertainty, can come worry. Worry is a natural response but excessive worrying can make it difficult to think clearly and make good decisions. 

Lisa Mitchell, Communications Expert & Founder of Power Body Language has a few simple tips to help you worry less:  

1. Don’t get stuck in
the “what if” worry trap  

A lot of what we worry
about isn’t even things that have happened or will happen with certainty. We
spend a lot of time spinning on all the “what if” scenarios that we create
in our minds, most of which are not even within the realm of actual or
likely possibility, and we put our energy into worrying about things that don’t
need our attention. When your mind starts running into the worry trap, reign it
back in by asking yourself “how likely is this to really happen?”
before giving it your serious attention. 

2. Identify what
specifically is causing you the most worry about any situation 

When you find yourself
worrying about something, pause to ask yourself what you are specifically worrying
about in that situation or scenario. In the case of worrying about something
you consider to be a “big” concern or problem, break it down into
specific pieces or stages to see where your worry is really being triggered.
You will most likely find that even though a problem at first appeared to be
big or complex, there may only really be 1 specific concern that you can take
action to plan for or avoid that could make a big difference in how big you
perceive the problem to be and will lead you more clearly to what action to
take.  

3. Replace worry with
perspective 

Write down what you’re
worried about in detail. And then challenge yourself with 2 questions: 

1) How likely is this
to happen?

2) What positive
outcomes might result? 

This helps you to shift
your worry perspective by getting honest with yourself about the actual risk or
chance that whatever you’re worried about might actually happen and also allows
your mind to see that positive outcomes are a very real possibility and that helps
to dilute your worry to a more manageable feeling level of concern.  

We live in stressful and uncertain times. It’s not realistic to think we can eliminate all of our worries but we do have more control over how much energy we give to our worries and how we perceive concerns that we give ourselves credit for. 

For more from Mitchell, visit her website or connect on Instagram.