Duck and Cover

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” ― Benjamin Franklin

What did we think back in the 1950s when the threat of being wiped out by an atomic bomb was close at hand?

We were ready to protect ourselves with a picnic cloth or a school desk.

We have many things to worry about each and every day. So many things we could spend our entire life afraid to come out from behind a locked door. But we have to go on living.

We keep moving forward and try to live a great life.

If we do that, we have truly lived.

Stay inspired my friends.

Don't Worry, Be ...

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength."
- Corrie Ten Boom

As you go about your day, things will happen which causes worry to come upon you. It might be little things like 'did you leave a light on at home', 'should I have brought an umbrella along' or other small nuisance types of worry. These are the nagging little issues which fill the voids in our daily thoughts. There are other types of worries which impact us in much bigger ways.

Those are the types of worry that directly impact your ability to function on a daily basis. There are a hundred and one kinds of examples we could discuss. Many of you probably have one or two of those at this moment in time. It could be money, health, sex or job worries. Anything that affects your day, that impacts your ability to fully function to your best.

Yet when worry consumes your life, it can be a detriment to your quality of life. It is said in an article from NetDoctor, that "many people openly confess to being worriers. They usually make the announcement as if to suggest the world is divided into the virtuous, who fret over everything, and the feckless majority who are laid back to the point of decadence."

Much of this worry will lead to bouts of anxiety and when diagnosed is a very debilitating disorder. Anxiety can be treated and is not meant to be taken lightly. Treating anxiety is best left to professionals. What I can say is for constant everyday worry for worries sake is not productive.

The time comes when you need to apply energy consumed by worry to one of making change and improvement. Once you have identified the issue causing you worry, take a breath and look for solutions. Certainly there will be things out of your control but you do have control of you. Look for advice, look for information and look to change the situation.

Do not let worry steal your strength today. Make a change in your life and let tomorrow bring a new and brighter day.

Stay inspired my friends!

What Worry

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength."
-Corrie Ten Boom

As you go about your day, things will happen that cause worry to come upon you. It may be little things like 'did you leave a light on at home', 'should I have brought an umbrella along' or other small nuisance types of worry. They are the nagging minor issues which fill the voids in our daily thoughts.

There are also the worries which impact us in a much bigger way. These are the worries that directly impact your ability to function on a daily basis. There are a hundred and one types of examples we could discuss. Many of you probably have one or two of them at this moment in time. It could be money, health, sex or job worries. Worries are anything that effect your day or impact your ability to fully function to your best.

Yet when worry consumes your life, it can be a detriment to your quality of life. It is said in an article from NetDoctor, that "many people openly confess to being worriers. They usually make the announcement as if to suggest the world is divided into the virtuous, who fret over everything, and the feckless majority who are laid back to the point of decadence."

Much of our worry can lead to bouts of anxiety and when diagnosed can be a very debilitating disorder. The anxiety can be treated and is best left to the professionals. But what I can say is that for constant everyday worry, "for worries sake" is not productive.

The time comes when you need to apply the energy consumed by worrying to one of making change and improvement. Once you have identified the issue, then take a breath and look for solutions. Certainly there are things out of your control but you do have control of you.

Look for advice, look for information, look to change the situation. And as the quote states, don't let worry steal your strength today, make change and let tomorrow bring a new and brighter day.

Stay inspired my friends!

Don't Worry

Guido Reni "Worry"

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." -Leo Buscaglia

It is something we do quite often, which is to worry. The word itself means "mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated, such as anxiety." It comes from the Middle English worien, or to strangle or constrict. worry can actually choke the joy out of living. It can constrict your ability to move forward.

In an article by Sean Sabourin, he reveals that "the original Greek word for worry literally means to have a divided mind, or to divide into parts." And he notes that it means;

- Worry consumes
- Worry steals
- Worry captivates
- Worry controls
- Worry destroys
- Worry kills

Worry splits our life into many parts and each of those small pieces can tear at our life from many angles. They are destructive and only serve to hold you back from achieving your best life.

You have heard it said, "don't worry, be happy" many times before. I know that worry is a natural part of our human existence. But we can not let it consume and destroy our life. You have the power over worry. You have the ability to rationalize and turn worry into something positive.

When you take worry and put it in context of the bigger picture, everything will work out alright. Whatever happens will happen. You can prepare, you can accept, and you can move beyond the worries of tomorrow. Don't let it take the joy and happiness from your life today.

The Worry List

"If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying?" -Shantideva

Each of us have a list of worries that kept neatly packed away in our mind. The list can tend to be so long that it overshadows our dream list.

We take a cursory look at the dream list but spend countless hours going over and over the worry list. We spend more time concerned with that list then we do actually trying to solve them. If we were to take an honest look, many are not worries at all.

What we would find is that the list is full of excuses. They are stones building up in our mind's wagon. We pull this around allowing it to cause pain and struggle. The weight of it all simply burdens us as we pursue our dreams.

Think of how much faster, how much easier, how much more successful we would be in reaching our dreams without the worry. If we let it go, tore up the list, emptied the wagon of stones; the journey would be so much easier.

At the very least, we would have more focus directed on dreams then on worries. And that is the lesson to be learned. Do not spend all of your time in worry. Spend that time focused on your dreams.

What Me Worry

"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." -Wayne Dyer

Recently a college graduation occurred in my family. A son earned his degree from the University of Georgia. It was a great time having most of our family together to celebrate this achievement. Another flight from the nest to greater destinations has begun.

It brings to mind as a parent the worry we continue to have through out our children's lives. We worry that they are healthy, getting enough to eat, shelter, clothing and the basic needs of life. We would love to care for them continually but letting them struggle and learn on their own teaches them even more. But we continue to worry none-the-less about such things.

My older children in their own way are working through their lives much like we did when younger and still do. It would be nice to take Alfred E. Neuman's worry-free view of life. The reality is that we will always worry on various levels. Its a human character to care not only for oneself but for others. The care we have for our children will always have worry.

But this worry is out weighed by our happiness for what they are doing with their lives. The joy of seeing first flight into the blue sky swells our hearts with pride. While we know that tumbles will occur, life will do them just fine.

As parents, we will worry and be there to share in the accomplishments, in the sorrows and in the glory of the life they live. I can not say don't worry. Heck, I worry about the lives of my children. But I get more joy out of each little thing they do.

I would much rather live the "what me worry" but that part will always be there. Worry, worry, worry...but do more then worry. Be proud of them more then worry. Respect their decisions more then worry. Be happy for them more then worry for them. Love them and don't worry so much.