Worrying.

Raise your hand if you’ve worried at all today, this week, this month. 

Yeah, me too. It’s natural and normal. Everyone does it. 

But some of us are better than others at not letting worry and anxiety seep into other aspects of our day, contaminating our thoughts, and stymying our productivity. 

Think about how much of a time sink worrying can be.

All the time you spend on worrying is time taken away from doing something calming, nurturing or productive.

A friend of mine once told me that worrying is like a rocking chair. You’re moving back and forth, but it’s getting you nowhere.

Today I’m going to share a method for replacing anxious thoughts with invigorating and productive ones. 

If preventing worries from getting in the way of your day sounds useful to you, then stick around!

Time spent worrying is stale time. It’s time that could otherwise be spent enriching your life and those around you.

So how to you jolt yourself out of the worry cycle?

When we remember that time is a finite resource. We can’t squander time on anxious thoughts at the expense of achieving our life goals.

And as soon you jolt yourself back into working towards your goals, your mind becomes re-focused on those goals, which means you aren’t focused on worrying anymore.

Mission accomplished! 

For icing on the cake,it won’t just help you worry less, it’ll also kick you out of a cycle of procrastination. After all, it is folly to put off important work when we have an uncertain deadline. 

It turns out that procrastination has a habit of exacerbating worries because you know in the back of your head that there are tasks that need doing, and that will nag at you until those tasks get done.

Even if this is a house chore you were dreading or an email you were putting off sending, complete those tasks because that will propel you into motion. And momentum is the ultimate elixir: it’s the remedy for anxiety and it’s the antidote for procrastination. Getting things in motion is the name of the game.

How many times have you put off what you could do today, claiming you’ll do it tomorrow? And then when tomorrow rolls around, you say you’ll do it tomorrow. And tomorrow suddenly turns into weeks, months, years…

By contrast, when you fill your day with the things you have set out to accomplish, you have no time for worrying or procrastination. You can sleep easy knowing you did the best you could that day, and you can wake the next morning well rested and feeling invigorated by the anticipation of yet another productive day.

Now the most important part of this concept is making sure you have something meaningful to set your mind to. If you have a very mission-driven job, then let it be your job. If not, then make sure you have something outside your job that can absorb your free time in a meaningful way. 

For many of us, this is tending to the well-being of our family. After all, when you are caring for other people, you feel a sense of purpose and worry less about yourself. But this can also be a side-hustle, a professional skill you are developing, or a language you are mastering. The more concentration and commitment the task takes, the more fulfilling the experience will be.

Once you have a mission that matters, you are all set.

As soon as you feel the worries creeping in, acknowledge those worries, and then remind yourself that you have something far more important to focus on: your mission. Every minute spent worrying is a minute fewer you have to make progress on the things you care about most.

We all have dreams and aspirations. If life is about choices, let’s choose to focus on accomplishing those dreams and aspirations rather than the things that distract from them. 

So now that I've shared our thoughts, I’d love to hear your own ideas for replacing stale worrying time with alive time. What strategies do you have for worrying and procrastinating less? What helps fill you with a sense of purpose?

Share that with me and the Explearning community in the comments down below.

And, if you loved this lesson, please be sure to let me know. You can give this video a thumb’s up on YouTube and if you haven’t done so already subscribe to join our tribe of Explearners, so you never miss a lesson. If you ring that bell, you’ll get notified about new lessons and our weekly live streams. 

Email this video to a friend or coworker who also wants to supercharge their social skills. 

While we’re at it, feel free to also share it with your Facebook and Twitter friends as well! 

With that, have an awesome week, Explearners.

Thank you so much for joining me and I’ll see you next time for your next Explearning lesson.

Happy Explearning ⚡

About the Author and the Explearning Academy:

Mary Daphne is an expert in communication, executive interpersonal skills, and personal development. She is the founder of the Explearning Academy, a platform dedicated to helping individuals enhance their social fluency, boost their careers, and elevate their social game. Through immersive group coaching programs like the Executive Communication Lab and self-guided journeys, participants gain the social superpowers and career catapults they've been searching for. If you're ready to take your negotiation skills to the next level and connect with like-minded individuals, visit academy.explearning.co and explore the various plans available. Join the Explearning Academy community and unlock your full potential.

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