Daily Words Of Wisdom To Inspire Your Best Life

Overcoming Worry

Is unnecessary worry keeping you from achieving all you would like in life? You're not alone. But worry has also been scientifically proven to be dangerous - not only to your mental health, but your physical health, as well.

Our body's biochemistry can't distinguish between imagined worries and real stressors in our life. When we worry, our body releases the same stress hormones (cortisol, among others) as it does during truly traumatic events. Keeping the body in a state of heightened stress can lead to physical maladies such as ulcers, high blood pressure, headaches, weight gain, insomnia and more.

Karen Bell, intuitive writer and owner of the blog "Words of Wisdom for Inner Peace" (www.ktotheb.com) describes worry as a "fearful state of mind focused on the negative possibilities." Worry has nothing to do with our external world. It is a figment of our imaginations, when our mind harps on worst case scenarios.

Three Steps to Overcoming Worry

Plagued with worry and not sure how to get your mind on a more positive track? All it takes is three easy steps to replace worry with thoughts about great, endless possibilities for the future. But first, you must take control of your thoughts.

Recognize that your thoughts create reality. We all create our own lives and every moment in them. We see this in action when we look at a problem from a different perspective (perhaps after sleeping on it) and suddenly, find a solution we hadn't considered before.

Once you've accepted that your thoughts create your reality, you are on the path to becoming more mindful of your thoughts. This is the second step to overcoming worry:

Learn how to live in the present moment. Have you ever been so completely immersed in a task that hours passed without your realizing it? You may have forgotten to eat. Your surroundings disappeared around you; all that existed was the task at hand. This state is described as being "in the zone."

You can live in the present moment all the time, regardless of what you're doing. Don't harp on the past or waste time thinking about negative "what-ifs" for the future. Simply pay attention to what you are doing in the present moment.

That's not to say we shouldn't plan ahead or set goals for the future. We can do that, but it should be done in the present moment, in a state of mind where we are conscious of our thoughts.

We can't think as clearly if we are stuck on imagining "what-if" scenarios or busy regretting our past. Our minds are more efficient when our thoughts are firmly planted in the present.

When you find your mind drifting to the past or future, gently nudge it back into the present. Be in the present in your conversations with others, in the work you do, and in your thoughts.

With our minds focused on the present, we are ready to take the important third step to overcoming worry.

Think on purpose. If our thoughts create our reality, why wouldn't we select the best, most positive thoughts to create our lives? Replace those thoughts of worry and fear with positive images. As KB notes, "Instead of asking yourself, ‘What else could go wrong?' ask: ‘How good can it get?'"

Free up your imagination to create the life of your dreams - right NOW!

Thanks to Karen Bell, intuitive writer and owner of the blog "Words of Wisdom for Inner Peace" (www.ktotheb.com) for supplying this great video and content.