The continuous flow of worries that enter the mind is one of the most challenging things that come with nervousness and put your success on hold. It can repeatedly overtake your life and you just want to end worrying so that you can just go on with your life. Worrying is one of the most understated and common thieves of joy in our lives. Most of our worrying takes the form of "what if". What if I lose my money, my job, health, my relationship, or happiness?

Every time we take an action, step or a risk to improve our lives, the "what if" picture often runs around in our heads bringing us down into negative expectations. But what happens if we choose to use "what if" in a positive scenario  like,  what if this is a victory of all? Wouldn't that put you in a joyful mood?

The following are tips to guide you in ending your negative thoughts and stop you from worrying:

1.    The first thing to do is to use a journal/diary or you can write on a piece of paper and write everything you are worried about.

2.    Think about all the worries you wrote down. How would you react in the event the situation came true? Can you recover from it or handle it? Having a Plan B helps to ease any worrying thoughts you might have and help you stop worrying.

3.     Acknowledge the worrisome thoughts you can't control. . The first thing to do is to accept it because there's nothing that can be done about it.  They are out of your control, so stop getting worried about them because they serve no purpose. Why don't you focus on something that you can change?

4.    Remove stress in your life. When you get stressed, worry tends to crack in  your head whether it be work or personal problems.  You should stop thinking about your problems and just relax.

5.    Know when to ask for help. If these problems become a serious obstacle for your ability to deal with life, don't handle this all by yourself.   If you want help, talk to your good friend for support or find a good psychologist to give you professional help. Cited:  devasish, 2011.

Every time you find yourself in a negative "what ifs", its good to quickly turn it around into a positive expectation, making yourself feel more joyful and optimistic. Thus becoming a help rather than a barrier to healing. If you keep on telling yourself that life is full of joyful surprises and every day is full of blessings you will live a positive and peaceful life in the midst of troubles and succeed.  

Sources:

• Devasish
• all4women

Page Created: 15 July 2011

by Zanele Matshotyana