Don't sweat the small stuff... and it almost all small stuff

For those of you that have read my blogs over the years, you know that I am a worrier (mentioned in my blog, "I am not perfect").  I worry about things I can control, along with things I cannot control. 

I have been working very hard these past few years, to stop all the worrying and focus on productive and positive things.  Giving up worrying is tough though, I have decades of the learned behavior.

Enter the concept of not sweating the small stuff. 

The more I work to stop worrying, the more I realize that most of the stuff is VERY small.  Worrying does not help fix the issue or problem. It does ensure I loose sleep, eat poorly, am grumpy and have to fight that much harder to be positive.  If this were any other terrible habit, I would have worked years ago to stop it. If it were an illness, I would have seen a doctor. And, if it were something in my house that caused me this much trouble, I would have driven it to the dump myself to finally be rid of it. 

But, worrying is like an old friend to me. I mistakenly think of it as "caring" about an issue or problem. It gives me comfort to think that if I am worrying about something - I care about it.

For instance, if I am working on a presentation and something is not working right - I worry about it. In a warped part of my mind, I think that really does mean I care about how it turns out.

Craziness, I know. 

Instead, I am trying to look at everything in a new light.  Can I fix the issue?  Is there a video I can watch or an article I can read that will teach me how to fix the issue?  Can I create a work-around that will produce what my boss wants? Is anyone going to die if the presentation is not 100 percent perfect? 

And... honestly, that is the big question... is anyone going to die?  If the answer is "no", then there should be nothing to worry about. Caring about doing a good job, should not create worry. Caring about being a good friend/neighbor/family member, etc, should not cause worry.  Worry is a true waste of energy.

I have a friend and mentor (you know who you are and I thank you for your teachings) that has been working with me over the past few years to stop me from worrying.  Each month I get a little better.  I am kicking the worrying habit. 

I am learning that my old friend, worry, is not a good friend and I need to cut him from my life. 

Is this a work in progress... sure.  It took me almost two years to cut soda from my life and I only drank it for a few decades.  Worry has been with me pretty much my entire life.  But... I really do hope to read this someday in the future and realize that I kicked the worry habit entirely. 

All I can say to my younger friends that might be reading this is to stop worrying right now.  The sooner you kick this habit, the better.  It will never mean you don't care. It just means you are wasting energy on something stupid.