?Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.??Corrie ten Boom

I have to admit, there is something I do too often and it is really hard for me to stop: WORRYING. ?I intrinsically know it’s a waste of energy. I know it won’t lead me anywhere that it’s not productive in any way. I know it creates stress, and I definitely know that stress can kill me.

I worry about lots of things. I also worry about worrying.

If you are like me, you find yourself awake at night, wasting your precious regenerative time thinking about yesterday, today, or tomorrow. You easily get distracted from living ?in the now? when you start worrying about the past or the future.

This article is not about understanding why we worry. It’s about taking the first step to stop.

Here are 5 words that can get you from a state of ?worry? to a state of ?calm?:

DID I MAKE IT UP?

Let’s look at worry as a cooking recipe for a minute. What would the ingredients be? There are three simple ones: ?facts, past beliefs, and the story we make up in our head.

How would we mix those ingredients? What would the percentages be?

If I’m cooking up a worry recipe, my estimation is: 10% facts, 20% past beliefs and 90% the story we make up in our head.

Wait a minute:? Do I not know how to calculate 10+20+90?? Did I miss that it adds up to 120?

I’m not that good at math, but I do know basic addition. ?It is obvious to me that the way to get into an ?energetic overdraft? is to add 90% of the worry ingredient, things I make up in my head, into my recipe.

The fact remains: 90% of our energy is invested in a story that we make up in our head. This is a guarantee that we will NOT feel CALM.? It is a guarantee that we will stew up a great batch of WORRY.

The Bottom Line: When you catch yourself starting to worry, pay attention to the facts and identify the story you are creating in your head. And then disregard it. ?In doing so, you have already taken the first step to shift from ?worry? to ?calm?.

Ask: Did I make it up?

Affirm: I pay attention to the story I create in my head and I stick to the facts.