Why worry strips you of POWER (and what to do about it)!
Worry. Worry is one of the most useless habits that I have. Worry strips power. It changes nothing at all, and yet I physically feel drained. It doesn’t help me in any way, shape or form, and yet it is still there. Trying to get my attention.
This could go wrong, it screams in my head. You have busted your knee up for good girl, screams the voice. You made so much progress, but it’s all gone now. UGH. None of this is helping me at all. So yesterday, I told it where it could go. And it stayed there all day long. It really did.
I know that in practicing yoga and creating lasting mindful habits, I am happier. I know that wearing a knee brace and worrying that my MCL is not healing correctly is ruminating and I get that from certain family members. It hasn’t helped them either by the way. Let me explain. I have been to the doctor. I have had it checked out. I am following what he said to do. However; every other day a person named “dad” calls me to “worry” about my knee with me.
I have two daughters, so I get it. I really do. But worry doesn’t prevent anything from happening UNLESS you were actually using it to create some plan of attack on the battlefield or something. Maybe it was designed to help us at one point way in the past. However, my dad must be planning an attack on everything in his life. Whew, it’s exhausting. And he knows this, so I finally had to say if my knee comes up one more time, he had to give me money. HAHAHAHA. One thing that will keep him quiet…money.
How to take back your Power:
- Name the worry. Acknowledge it. Say hi to it, then put it in time-out. I did that yesterday. I created a how-to video for yoga on modifications with an MCL injury. I was very, very careful and know that I am getting a re-check today anyway.
- Staying present took its power away. I mindfully cleaned my living room. Thinking about each task. Didn’t go to past or future, but stayed in the present moment on purpose. I didn’t day dream…for once. I made sure I started my day by grounding with 3 deep breaths.
- Emotions are just that. They pass. Anger, shame, guilt, and worry. All pass. This will pass. This anxiety will pass. This feeling will pass. I know it as I have lived through other “worries” that never came to pass.
- Don’t encourage it. I didn’t want to be rude to dad, but I also didn’t want to talk about the same thing each and every day without it going anywhere. That’s like the old saying about worry being like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere. I don’t feel like being that person anymore. I am creating boundaries around this that it can’t get through.
- Be real. Okay, so it’s natural to worry a bit. As long as you don’t stay there. What can you do instead though? Everyone in my Head|Heart|Health Club knows that I am going to ask you if you are putting the work into what you DO want to happen and take it away from what you don’t want to happen. How you manage life is up to you. If you start to notice this pattern, remember that it is truly up to you to change. Redirect this energy to Empower.
Still need more help in this area? Want to practice taking back your power on a regular basis? Join us!
Spread awesomeness:
