Worry & Guilt, what actions are you taking to get rid of them?
By: Kimberly Englot
Worry & Guilt are two negative thoughts that everyone deals with. It is important to recognize that they are toxic thoughts and causing you to miss your life. Let me explain.
Your body is always in the present moment. It has no choice. Your mind, on the otherhand, can travel back in time and into the future. When your mind is not in the current moment, you are missing out on life because life only happens NOW. When you worry, your mind is in the future. You’re thinking about “what if” and dreaming up stories that may or may not come true. Think about it, though. If your body is here now, but you’re worrying about something that might happen in an hour, or next week, or 20 years down the road can your body actually do anything about it? No it can’t. Assuming that you have done everything you possibly can to prevent things from occurring you have to let go of your false sense of control for everything else. You can only control you and your responses to events. The idea that you can control external circumstances (especially by worrying) is a false sense of security that you need to quash immediately because it is keeping you from living right now.
Guilt is the exact same issue, only occurs when your mind travels to the past. You feel guilty about the fight you had with your husband, best friend, mom, whomever. You feel guilty for having to work and dropping your baby off at daycare. You feel guilty about not working and staying home to raise the kids. You feel guilty for saying no to volunterring on some project you didn’t really want to do, or you feel guilty for wanting more time for yourself! Guilt is everywhere. Again, it is something that you are putting on yourself. Don’t let your inner critic tell you that you should be feeling guilty for some reason or another. Feeling guilty doesn’t change the circumstances. They’ve already occurred. All you can do it grab the present moment and get the most out of it1
Life is lived NOW. Don’t look up in 20 years and wonder where life went.
Here are a few tips:
3. Is it this thought rational?
4. Is it something I can fix or prevent?
5. If you have already done everything you can, it is out of your hands. There is not point in letting guilt and worry steal your life from you.
6. If all else fails remember this one thought:
“No one put you in charge of the world.”
