Worry Can Be Defeated.

As I was walking around the city of New York earlier today, taking in the sun and the infectious energy of people congregating around, some smoking, some practicing their skateboarding tricks dangerously on uneven pavement and others beaming with life, something happened that caught my immediate attention. As I hit the corner of East 22nd and 3rd Avenue, I found a woman screaming into her mobile device as every other word hit with such profound aggression. I obviously didn't hang around long enough to hear her entire monologue, but the last bit of what I heard as I crossed over to East 21st, was "You keep on worrying, you hear?! It's gonna kill you slowly, keep on..."

I couldn't help but think of all the self help books I've skimmed through or read thoroughly, that covered the topic of the power of worrying. Life is a one shot deal and if we're blessed, it can lead to a second, third, fourth shot and so on. There's no dress rehearsal, as life undresses us at various moments revealing our character at every juncture. We can control worry luckily, therefore we have the ability to NOT give it power. There are times when obstacles and struggles lead us down that very dark tunnel, where we're forced to psychologically question our worth, the "why me?" and all that is synonymous with the bonds that form worry. 

Nonetheless, I was just reading a passage in Mack R. Douglas's "How To Make A Habit of Succeeding" and I found this wonderful piece, which serves as a brilliant reminder that WE have the power to control our thoughts, our destiny, our positive energy.

He says, "It is enthusiasm--the vital quality that arouses you to action.  Self-control is the balance wheel that directs your action and will lead you to be positive and powerful and overcome the destructiveness of worry."

He continues to say later on that, "To be a well-rounded, well-adjusted, well-balanced individual you must have self-control and enthusiasm.  Remember, there is only one thing in all this world that you hold total control over and that is your mind. You can master worry.  You can whip worry by the positive power of enthusiasm.  You see, you are the sum total of your dominating and most prominent thoughts."

In a nutshell our battle with worry is like the battle of David v.s Goliath. We build worry up, as if it is this insurmountable force and in all actuality it can be easily defeated, if you have the will, which we all do, to fight and persevere through the times when we're tempted to go down that dark road.

Be blessed,

SM