Overcoming worry

Overcoming worry

Worry. It's like a family member you didn't ask for, showing up at your door uninvited, feet on the coffee table, helping themselves to the leftovers you were looking forward to eating all day. And just like that family member, worry seems impossible to evict once it's settled in.

Now, if you're anything like me, you've spent a fair amount of time engaging in worry. Not the practical kind, mind you, the kind that leads to solutions. No, I'm talking about the kind of worry that's as useful a blank canvas for a blind painter.

But fear not, for I have developed a foolproof strategy to overcome this unwelcome visitor, refined through years of dealing with my own absurd anxieties and the thousands of hours of helping clients overcome their own worry state. 

But first, let’s understand what worry is and why we experience it. 

Worry is a form of fear because it stems from anticipation of negative outcomes, often rooted in uncertainty or the unknown. 

Worry is the mind's way of trying to predict and protect against potential threats, but in doing so, it triggers the same stress responses as fear, focusing on potential dangers and worst-case scenarios.  

Worry is a natural response to the complexities and challenges we face daily, but when worry becomes a constant companion, it blocks our creativity, drains our energy, and limits our ability to live in abundance. 

Worry is essentially a mental habit. It's the brain's attempt to anticipate and solve problems before they arise. While this can be useful in moderation, excessive worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere. 

We owe it ourselves to break the worry habit and start living a life of abundance.

It's important to distinguish between productive problem-solving and unproductive worry. The former leads to action and resolution, while the latter traps you in a cycle of "what ifs" and worst-case scenarios.

Those “what ifs” hold us back from living a truly creative life. They stop us from trying new things, from taking risks and from giving ourselves permission to fail and learn from our mistakes. 

Unproductive worry convinces us that our failures will define us, overshadowing any chance of success or growth.   This fear of imperfection stifles our creativity, locking us into a safe, colorless corner where nothing new or exciting can happen.

So how do you overcome worry? Start by using your creativity. 

Creativity provides an outlet for expressing emotions, offers a distraction from worrying thoughts, and can lead to problem-solving insights. By engaging in creative activities, you’re not only managing your worries but also enriching your life with meaningful and fulfilling experiences.

Your creativity will transform the internal, often abstract process of dealing with worry into external, tangible actions that require imagination, personal insight, and artistic expression. 

Here are three creative steps you can take to overcome worry:

Step 1: Name your worry: 

Give your worry a name, something pompous and slightly ridiculous, like Cornelius or Gertrude. There's something about naming your worry that makes it less daunting. Suddenly, it's not this omnipotent force; it's just Gertrude being a nuisance again. This act of naming requires you to think about your worry in a new light, applying creative thinking to understand its nature.

Step 2: Talk to your worry

You can do this by writing a letter to it, having a mock conversation where you speak both parts, or even creating a comic strip where you and your worry are characters. Ask it questions like "Why are you here?" "What do you need me to know?" and "How can we work together to move forward?"By dialoguing with your worry, you may discover insights into your own needs and how to address them more effectively.

Step 3: Express your worry

This could be through creating a piece of art, writing a poem or story, composing a song, or choreographing a dance. The key is to embody your worry in a creative form, translating your feelings and thoughts into something tangible. This step can be particularly therapeutic, as it often leads to a sense of relief and catharsis. Moreover, it can transform your worry into something beautiful or insightful, providing a new perspective on the issue at hand. 

These steps are creative because they transform the internal, often abstract process of dealing with worry into external, tangible actions that require imagination, personal insight, and artistic expression.  

Creativity itself is a journey into the unknown, a leap into the uncharted territories of your imagination. The fear and worry that accompany these moments are not signs of weakness but indicators of the significant change and opportunity ahead. Instead of fighting this uncertainty, try to embrace it. See it as a blank canvas, an open road, a story yet to be written. Uncertainty is not an obstacle; it is the soil from which creativity grows.

Overcoming worry is a process that takes time and practice so be patient with yourself as you engage in these activities. As an artist and a coach who is devoted to helping people access their creative free spirit, I've seen firsthand how transforming worry into creative action can open the door to a more fulfilling life.

In the end, worry is a bit like that family member I mentioned. It might never completely go away, but with the right approach, you can learn to live with it, maybe even laugh at it from time to time.  

So there you have it, my guide to overcoming worry. Follow these steps, and soon, you'll find yourself worrying less about the things that don't matter and focusing more on the things that do.