Stop ruminating

“New solutions and fresh ways of seeing a problem do not typically come from worrying, especially chronic worry. Instead of coming up with solutions to these potential problems, worriers typically simply ruminate on the danger itself, immersing themselves in a low-key way in the dread associated with it while staying in the same rut of thought.”
Daniel Goleman: Emotional Intelligence

Here’s another paradox: you most need to think creatively when what you are doing now isn’t working. As Goleman points out, it’s hard to think creatively when you are worrying. But it is precisely when your world has turned upside down that you are most likely to sink into chronic worry, and obsess about the potential dire consequences that might come about because your world is upside down.

It’s been said that worry is like paying interest on a debt you might not even owe. I think of worry as abuse of the God-given gift of imagination – it’s imagining bad things that you don’t want to have happen.

Action and faith are the one-two punch for dealing with chronic worry. Define the problem you are worrying about as clearly and specifically as you possibly can and take action to deal with that problem. Then have faith that those actions will, all in good time, bring about the necessary results. Repeat the process as necessary.

Action and faith are the one-two punch for dealing with chronic worry