Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Remember the song entitled “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? Humorous? Yes, you couldn’t help but smile when you heard it! Wish you could do so? Yes. Realistic? Probably Not!

Steve Chandler, in his book 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, states, “Don’t worry. Or rather, don’t just worry. Let worry change into action. When you find yourself worrying about something, ask yourself the action question, ‘What can I do about this right now?’ And then do something. Anything. Any small thing.”

Most of us worry about lots of things. Why? We think it will get better if we do. WRONG!!!!!! Chandler also says,“But when we worry, we don’t worry a thing to death, we worry it to life. Our worrying makes the problem grow. And most of the time, we worry it into a grotesque kind of life, a kind of Frankenstein’s monster that frightens us beyond all reason.”

He suggests we take four problems – 5 minutes each – No more than 20 minutes! Not too much time to commit! I discussed the following four problems with a client recently:

* Upcoming Bank Meeting –

–  How could I better prepare for Friday morning?

–  What will she want to review/discuss?

* Deadline Environmental Report –

–  What must be reported/measured?

–  Did I need help? If so, from whom?

* Stack of Bills Facing Me –

–  Open and sort them.

–  Pay whom and by when?

–  Set a day(s) to do so…

* Plans for my son at College –

–  What do I want for him?

–  What does he potentially want?

–  Set date to outline plans.

–  Set date to discuss this with his son, Bobby.

And it only took 20 minutes – WOW!

*    Fear cannot coexist with Action!

*    If you’re worried, take some Action Steps.

*    Ask yourself, “What small steps can I take NOW?” I think you’ll be glad you did!