How to stop worrying - How to stop worry and anxiety

Once we learn how to stop worrying and empty out our love tanks from all the mental garbage it brings, we are free to be successful in all areas of our lives.Show more

Ever since I can remember, I had the belief that worrying is a good idea. First of all, I realized that my parents wanted me to worry all the time as a sign that I was a responsible person. I had to worry about them – mostly about not upsetting them, I had to worry about school, I had to worry about what people would say before I did anything. It just seemed normal. It used to be how I related to other people, and how I experienced the world around me. I had to consider all these things around me before making any decisions – which is not necessarily a bad idea, but, I had to focus on the negatives. The cons. The bad things that would happen if I somehow ended up making the wrong decision.

This, of course, is not realistic because none of us can ever predict with certainty what will happen when we do or don’t do something. We only experience the future for what it is. We may wonder, “What if,” but we’ll never really know. And still, for decades of my life, this is how I made decisions. Trying to predict all the possible negative outcomes of my decisions, and trying to think of all the possible solutions or ways to avoid negative consequences – before I ever made a decision. Let me tell you, it was a disaster because I was in a constant state of alert: what did I forget? What haven’t I considered? What’s going to happen now?

By God’s Grace, He protects us all, but I didn’t know anything true about God, so I ended up reinforcing my own false belief: if I did “manage” to avoid something I had worried about, I used to think, “Worrying about it – that’s what made it not happen.” So I just spiralled more and more.

And then, we have the other side of it which backfired: I started believing that if someone doesn’t worry, then they don’t care. And so, when my husband didn’t worry about the small surgery I was going to have, we ended up arguing because he told me, “I know you’re going to be fine.” This, of course, worried me even more. On one hand, I was trying to prevent bad things from happening by worrying, and on the other hand, I had to prevent us having a later argument by arguing now because I was worried. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? :) :) :)

However, the Bible teaches us worrying is not normal but in fact, it’s unhealthy – it’s a sin. Jesus actually commands us not to worry, and teaches us how to fulfill this Commandment. It is a process, and it does take some practice, but we can do it. And when we do, Jesus makes us the Promise that we’ll be free indeed, meaning, free to be successful in all areas of our lives.