Looking to eliminate worry?

There is no doubt that we all worry at times, and there is probably no way to eliminate worry forever (if we are honest with ourselves).  Understand that we are not to spend our days worrying about the things beyond our control.  However, there are some specific ways to eliminate worry right now.  The following tips on how to stop worrying come from experience and I had to learn some effective techniques for stopping this horrible habit. I experienced a point in my life when I was a single mother and that--I kid you not--placed some serious "worries" on me.  I found myself wondering how I was going to take care of my children effectively, while working and attending school.  I thank God for peace of mind--elimination of worry--He provided that for me.  Trying to find the balance between work and life can be challenging, I would like to share with you a few techniques to assist in the elimination of your worries. Here are five of the best: 1. Act Now. Any action towards a goal tends to diminish worry. Thinking too much about your goals or plans, especially if you dwell on the hurdles, will cause you unnecessary worry and stress. Of course you should plan well, but when planning drifts towards worrying, it's time to start doing something positive. Act Now! 2. Make decisive decisions. When you want to stop worrying too much about unresolved issues, you need to make decisive decisions.  Often you will immediately resolve the stress when you, for example, finally decide to quit that job, buy that house, or make that phone call.  Nothing crowds and clouds your mind with worry as much as decisions waiting to be made. Make them now, or at least start gathering the information you need to make them. If they prove to be bad decisions, just make new ones. 3. Categorize Thoughts.. Perhaps there are too many things going on in your head. Start by organizing your thought process by placing them on lists.  It works well for excessive worriers.  When you are dwelling too much on something, and you stop to schedule a time to work on it, or just put it on a list, it is easier to let go of it for now.  Jot down that phone call you have to make on tomorrow's list, and you will feel less worried at the moment.  You are basically creating "mental categories". Try this: say to yourself, "There's nothing I can do about this until ..." Now you can place that worry into a category of "nothing to worry about right now." 4. Deal with problems directly. To eliminate worry when there are real problems, try to confront them head-on, and resolve them quickly. There is more mental pain and worry in anticipating problems than in the problems themselves.  The anticipation of problems is what causes the most worry.  It is best to just deal with them head on as soon as is possible, and resolve them to the best extent possible. 5. Pray. Praying is an excellent way to relax and to stop worrying.  It also allows you to spend quality time with God.  After all, He does tell us to "cast our cares on Him". Don't worry~~Just try this:

• close your eyes,
• let the tension out of your body, and
• take several deep breaths through your nose.

Want an even easier meditation? Try listening to relaxing sounds or music through resources such as the Calm app.   Simply pop on your headphones and they will relax you by slowing your brain waves. As you try the above techniques, make habits out of whichever ones work best to stop your worries. They need to be habits because nothing works if you forget to use it. In fact, until they become habitual, you may want to carry a list of your favorite techniques for eliminating worry.