Wednesday; September 20

It may not sound good, but I find myself being somewhat envious of people who are able to deal with stress. I am not necessarily talking about the stress associated with crisis situations and trauma; rather my challenge is when it comes with the anxiety of worrying about day-to-day things. I think that there are a couple of reasons I struggle with this: first, I don’t want to let people down. It’s not that I worry as much about making mistakes as it is that I just don’t want to disappoint the people around me when I don’t do things the way I think they think I should do them. Second, I don’t like to feel unprepared when I approach a situation. While this can be a positive trait, what happens is that I tend to overthink things. What should I do if this happens? What can I do if that happens? Preparation is one thing; anxiety is something else.

As I was pondering this the other day, I got to thinking about some ways I might be able to handle anxiety a bit better. Here is what I thought about. First, when I start to feel anxious, I need to ask myself, “Is this a dynamic situation where I can do something that will impact what is happening?”. I tend to worry about things that haven’t happened – things that might happen. I become overwhelmed by “what ifs”. When I slow down and figure out those things I can control that will help me compartmentalize those things I can’t control. Second, if it is something that I can do something about, I need to figure out the best course of action I can take. I have to realize that I can’t control the actions of others, so I need to be okay with doing what I can do.

I hope you don’t deal with anxiety, but if you do, maybe this can help you. Let’s be the best we can be – but realize we are human and therefore limited in what truly is in our control.

Think About It!

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