I'm from a long line of worriers. It's very familiar terrain for me. Large and small worries pop upbut I've proudly learned how to tame them. In part, it's a project of turning the fears into facts.
VOICES IN ONE'S HEAD
Worries seem make themselves known when I'm making a change of some sort. In this circumstance, it's a normal response to doing something new. I like to think that worries are part of the "board of directors" in my head. The worries dialogue with other voices in my head. The voice of reasonable risk and the voice of my deepest wishes and desires are arguing with the worries. It's fun to think of it in these terms because then the "conversation" is familiar and normal. And with this perspective, I can hush my worries and get to the underlying fear.
WORRIES GET TURNED AROUND
Worry is a direct response to fear. The key to getting yourself out of the worry mode is to turn the fear into fact. This way you can turn the worries around and move out of the swirl and agony of overwhelm or anxiety. It's a conversation among your board of directors and you are essentially hushing the worrier and creating a balanced conversation.
So here are some ways to turn your fears into facts:
1. Ask yourself what else do I know about the situation? If not, much then get more info. Research in a way that is NOT alarmist.
2. Talk to folks whom you trust and characterize as grounded. Get their perspective.
3. Write out all of your worries, completely unleash your worst thoughts on paper. Then a few hours later or so, go back to your writing with a new point of view (possibly a more expansive sense of the situation, hopefully gleaned from your research or from your trusted friend). Then breakdown your worries into facts by rewriting the worries. You can literally shift the fears what you wrote down into a story of facts.
You will definitely feel less overwhelmed, more steady and capable of taking the next step without a dizzying swirl of worries in your head. Woot woot!
If you need help turning your fears to facts, please schedule a free consultation. I'd love to speak with you.
It hit me like a thud when someone said it to me. I was blindsided by it and it radically changed my perspective...for the better. I'm referring to the realization that the thoughts I had in my head were deeply affecting my life.