A good day to all!
It is surprising that we have spent January already! It seems like Christmas was just a couple of weeks ago. I have gotten mired in normal life, again. Which is not bad at all. Unfortunately, being on vacation does not pay me well.
Today we’ll touch on the subject of worrying. We all do it at times. Those of us who are more obsessive certainly do it more. Raise your hand if this is you–I knew it! O.K. It’s me, also!
Apparently, constant worrying, brooding, or ruminating is not healthy. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema Ph.D., author of Women Who Think Too Much, says these thought patterns are over-thinking. Nolen-Hoeksema says that this behavior is also a negative way of thinking. The author says to use strategies to help you keep worries at bay:
1) Don’t trust your negative thoughts
2) Fight back (interrupt the process)
3) Switch your focus (get out and do something!)
4) Banish night worrying (get out of bed and do something pleasant)
5) Schedule a worry session (no more than an hour, and do it when you are feeling up)
6) Write your problems down (to clarify them)
7) Talk to someone (sharing can help you find prospective)
8) Do something joyful (to enhance your feeling of well-being)
9) Let go and let God (pray or meditate)

Nolen-Hoeksema also advises us to take control of your situation to calm your mind, try to find self-acceptance, forgive yourself, and forgive others. Some other suggestions are to set reasonable goals, put more fun into your life, and make more friends.
M. J. Ryan, author of The Happiness Makeover, says to “figure out if you can do something about it”, when you find yourself in “worry mode”. “Plan for the presentation you have to give”, or, if it is something out of your control, “make a list of all of the possible good outcomes”.
Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff . . . and it’s all small stuff, writes that one should “look at a situation as if it were happening in a year from now”, and “ask yourself the question will this really matter a year from now?”
This is good advice; I’ll try to take it to my heart. I do need to!
Here is a poem from the yet, unpublished book, tentatively called Waiting for the Rest of Your Life:

Have a worry-free week!

Peace,

Joan