“Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, faith looks up.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The habit of worry habits is one of the self-sabotaging things we do to ourselves as humans.
Though, it may appear on the surface that brooding is necessary when bad things happen but in reality, worrying doesn’t serve any useful purpose. In fact, it may cause harm, both psychological and physical.
If you pay attention, you will notice that extremely worried people are not busy taking action, which is what they need the most to suppress an unwanted emotion or make their tomorrow better.
And by failing to confront the truth, they inadvertently make their circumstances worse. You see, in any sad situation, there are only two options: it is either fixable or it is not.
And if a situation is such that we can do something about it, then we are better off acting than worrying. And if the situation is not fixable, then what’s the good in brooding?
In the words of Wayne Dyer, the author of ‘Your Erroneous Zones’: “It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there's nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized.”
To explain this further, let’s take a look at the book, ‘Stop Worrying and Start Living’ by Dale Carnegie to learn how we can suppress worry and take proactive action on the things within our power.
In the book, Carnegie narrated many remarkable stories one of which was that of Galen Litchfield who was a prisoner of war stuck in Shanghai during WWII under the rule of Japan.
Galen was informed that a Japanese admiral had found out on a weekend about a hidden treasure he had failed to disclose to the Japanese authority.
He realized he could be torture to death as a result of such misrepresentation and for a short while he was greatly disturbed by it.
However, instead of worrying, Galen decided to take the path of courage.
He wrote down the facts of the situation. On this critical point, Carnegie mentioned an interesting line which goes thus: “If a man will devote his time to securing facts in an impartial, objective way, his worries will usually evaporate in the light of knowledge.”
In the book, ‘Good to Great’ Jim Collins wrote something similar about the most effective leaders of great companies. They are the ones who are willing to confront the most brutal facts of their current situation while also believing that they will eventually win out in the end.
After writing down the facts, Galen analyzed them, and made a decision on the best action for him in that situation, which was to appear boldly in the office as if he had heard nothing.
To his amazement, the Japanese admiral never talked to him about it. Few weeks later, the admiral was transferred to Tokyo and Galen never saw him again.
From the stories in that powerful book, I have extracted five simple steps that anyone can use to subdue the syndrome of worry and take a bold step forward in any situation.
5 Steps to Overcome Worry in any Situation
1} Write down the brutal facts of your situation
2} Analyze them critically to figure out the options you have
3} Decide on the most promising course of action
4} Then act upon your decision immediately
5} However, if a disaster is imminent no matter what you do (do your best anyway), but decide in advance to accept whatever happens with equanimity.
Know that there is no gain in worrying whatsoever but there is a real loss in the habit of brooding as the Dutch Watchmaker, Corrie Ten Boom wisely discerned: ‘Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, (but) it empties today of its strength.’
Therefore, no matter the gravity of your circumstances, don’t let worry steal away your power. Just apply the principles above to keep calm and collected in the midst of any difficulties.
