WHY WORRYING IS A HUGE WASTE OF TIME

When I accepted my first accounting position after getting my CPA license, I didn’t know a thing about actually working in my field.

Easily overwhelmed, I’d process my worries onto paper:

“I need this. I need that. Can someone just please help me accomplish this task? I need insight on this. And wisdom for that.”

After offloading my complaints, I’d fold up my paper, put it away in my desk, and go off to war. That’s what it felt like.

I stayed in this job for about three years. When I was cleaning out my desk on my last day, I found one of these old papers. I pulled it out and read this list aloud that, at the time, felt so huge to me, like a crisis.

But now, reading it with “older” eyes, I realized, “Wow. These problems are so much smaller than I thought.”

Whatever issues you’re facing right now in your family, your business, your home economics, your plans for the future—beware of the discouragement that comes with focusing on today’s worries.

Understand that your issues today are momentary and fleeting. They might seem big in the moment, but a year or two from now, you’ll look back and think most of these problems—maybe even all of them—aren’t as big as you remember. You might even realize how much you’ve grown.

If you have a heavy burden in your business, your cash flow, your debt load, or your retirement, take a deep breath and realize this too shall pass. According to one online article —

“Worrying is a waste of good energy. If you are worried about something, take action so you do not worry about it. If it is out of your hands, then let it be and focus on other things. It is simply not productive to just sit and worry about things, apply that energy elsewhere.”

So there you have it. For a simple activation, write down the burdens that seem overwhelming to you today. Date the paper and seal it in an envelope.

One year from now, open it up and read over this list. Get ready to be astounded at just how small these problems actually feel.