How to Break the Worry Habit (Read Time: 2 min.)

What are you thinking about right now?

Chances are, you're worrying about something. Maybe it's the lack of time in your day needed to get a whole bunch of stuff done. Maybe it's the bills that are coming due this week or next. Maybe it's the relationship you're in that seems to keep going downhill. Maybe it's your kids and school or your kids and the people they hang out with. Maybe you're worried about your health.

Whatever it is, there's one thing you need to get very clear about:
You brought the worry habit into your world and you are the only one who has the power to take it out.

In The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale says the following:

"You were not born with the worry habit. You acquired it. And becuase you can change any habit and any acquired attitude, you can cast worry from your mind."

Worry is a negative mental habit we've acquired over time and it serves NO purpose. I'm a firm believer in casting worry out of your mind and replacing it with faith. But how do you actually do that?

Whenever you get caught up in the worry habit, here are 3 things you can do:

#1- Say to your mind "Stop!" and remind yourself "This problem is not bigger than me. I am bigger than the problem."

#2- Clear your mind. When you feel yourself getting uptight, tense and stressed, take 12 deep breaths(which means think of nothing).

#3- Trust the process of life. Decide that everything's going to work out for the best and operate from faith on it. Alot of us expect the other shoe to drop. We believe so firmly in Murphy's Law that we make it happen in our lives. What if, instead of believing the worst in every situation, you flipped the script and chose to believe the best? No matter what resulted, you'd be at peace. That's a choice only you can make.

#4- Look for different options. If it's one thing I've learned in life, it's this: there are at least a thousand ways to get done what I'd like to do. We live in a limitless world of opportunity. The problem is this: most of us don't spend the time necessary to look for different options. If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.

#5- Stop complaining. This is a toughy for me and I'm sure it's a toughy for you. Complaining (even if only a thought) leads to more stuff in your life to complain about. Bottomline: cut it out. The second you feel yourself complaining about ANYTHING, stop yourself and replace it with something to be grateful about. Even if you're not feeling grateful, the act of 'doing' gratitude will move you closer to being worry free.

Remember:

You are who you believe you are.

Your life will be all that you see in it.

You were not built to be broken.