All the water in the ocean will not sink even a small boat if the water doesn't get inside the boat; likewise all the problems, challenges, and difficulties in the world cannot sink you, as long as you do not permit worry and stress to get inside you.
Prolonged worry robs you of vitality, enthusiasm, motivation and energy, leaving you a physical and mental wreck.
Medical professionals point out that chronic worry is behind numerous diseases such as asthma, allergies, cardiac trouble, high blood pressure, and a host of other illnesses too numerous to mention.
The worried mind is confused and divided, and is thinking aimlessly about a lot of things that are not true.
Although many of us have real troubles, such as illness in our family or the loss of a job, much worry is due to indolence, laziness, apathy, and indifference. When you wake up, you do not have to think worrisome thoughts.
You can think of harmony, peace, beauty, right action, love, and understanding. You can supplant the negative thought with a constructive thought.
This article explores some of the signs of constant anxiety and worry as well as strategies on how to overcome worry, stress and anxiety. By practicing some of these new coping skills, you may find yourself better able to deal with feelings of worry and anxiety.
#1. How To Overcome Worry, Stress And Anxiety.
Steve L. had been worried about his health, but after a comprehensive physical exam, his doctor told him there was nothing wrong with him physically, but that he was suffering from anxiety neurosis.
Anxiety neurosis is a fancy phrase for just plain, chronic worry. And the word "worry," when you translate it 'from its original root, means "to strangle, to choke," which is what Steve was doing to himself.
He was also constantly worrying about money, his job, and the future. His vision of success and prosperity was thwarted by his chronic worry, and the fretting consumed his energy. He felt constantly tired and depressed.
He was advised to have quiet sessions with himself three or four times a day and declare solemnly that the Almighty had given him inspiration and hope and all he needed to do was tune in on the Infinite and let the harmony, peace, and love of that source move through him.
The following meditation was recommended to overcome worry and overcome stress:
God, or the Supreme Wisdom, gave me this desire. The Almighty Power is within me, enabling me to be, to do, and to have. This Wisdom and Power of the Almighty backs me up and enables me to fulfill all my goals. I no longer think about obstacles, delays, impediments, and failure. I know that thinking constantly along this line builds up my faith and confidence and increases my strength and poise, for God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
He meditated on these words regularly and systematically. These truths entered into his conscious mind, and then his brain sent these healing vibrations all over his system. They went into his subconscious mind and, like spiritual penicillin, they destroyed the bacteria of worry, fear, anxiety, and all those negative thoughts.
In a month's time he arrived at that awareness of strength, power, and intelligence that was implanted in him at birth.
He has conquered his worries by partaking of the spiritual medicine and Infinite Intelligence locked in the subconscious depths.
You can do the same if you want to understand how to overcome worry, stress and anxiety.
#2. Break Your Worries into Pieces.
Andy E, an engineer, reported that he looks at his worries as an engineering problem. "When I face a technical problem on the job," he said, "I take it apart and break it into small pieces.
Then I ask myself 'Where do they come from? What does each piece signify? How can I adapt it to the entire problem?' With worries I ask, 'Do these worries have any power ?' Is there any principle behind them?' "
With his cool; rational thought and logical analysis, he dismembers his worries and realizes they are shadows in his mind, fallacious and illusionary.
No reality, just shadows in the mind. A shadow has no power! Well, that's what much worry is a shadow in your mind. It has no reality, no principle behind it, and no truth behind it.
These worries are no more than a conglomeration of sinister shadows. Eliminate those shadows by converting them into realities and dealing with them.
#3. Your Body Reflects What Is in Your Mind.
Doctors will tell you that many of their patients worry so much about diseases that they do not have, that they suffer the symptoms of those ailments. Doctors call these symptoms "psychosomatic."
The roots of this word are psycho which means "of the mind," and somatic, meaning "of the body." What you think in your mind is reflected by the reaction of your body.
The vice president of a major insurance company in Hartford, Connecticut, was worried that he had a bad heart. His closest friend, a man twenty years older than he, had just had a heart attack and he was sure that he was also susceptible.
He went to see a heart specialist, who took a cardiogram and learned that his heart was normal and that his problem was psychosomatic.
His friend's heart attack triggered in him an inordinate concern about his own heart and he actually experienced spasms in his chest and other symptoms of heart trouble.
The doctor told him that the cure for his problem was not in medical books, but in his subconscious mind.
He prescribed that he meditate on good health until the false idea was lifted from his psyche, and then his soma would respond. It only took a few weeks.
He practiced the great law of substitution by repeating the good idea over and over again until the mind accepted the truth, which set him free and left him serene.
It takes a little work, but you can do it. It is a discipline. It's a willingness to do it. "I'm going to overcome this. I'm going to meet it head-on. It's a shadow in my mind, and I'm not going to give power to shadows."
The insurance executive's emotional spasms were caused because he was obsessed with the idea that he had a bad heart. He didn't. So he was completely healed. He was healed of what? A false belief in his own mind.
This is just an example of how to overcome worry by changing your subconscious mind.
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#4. The Power Is Within You To Overcome Stress And Worry.
Whenever any fear or worry comes to you, or whenever you think you cannot accomplish something, get still and quiet and recognize that Infinity is within you, that God is boundless love, Infinite Intelligence, Infinite Life, marvelous wisdom, absolute power, absolute harmony.
If you call upon It, It answers you. Infinite Intelligence responds to your thought. This type of prayer or meditation will bring about complete relaxation, quiet your mind. When in this relaxed state of being, contemplate what you want to be, to do, or to have, and the Infinite Spirit within you will respond to your faith and confidence in it.
This faith will filter down into your subconscious and enhance this powerful force in coping with any problems you face.
For years Carlos J. drew charts and graphs for the marketing department of his company.
As he was praised over and over again for the clarity and accuracy of his work, Carlos felt very secure in his job. But as computer techniques developed, there was no longer a need for a person with Carlos's skill.
Instead of whining about unfairness or griping about his bad luck, Carlos persuaded his company to retrain him in computer graphics.
He studied hard and mastered the new techniques. He learned that his previous charting experience gave him much insight in computer graphics, and he mastered the subject and became a top performer.
Let nothing bother you, let nothing frighten you, let nothing disturb you, let nothing anger you. You are a master. You are in charge of your own conceptive realm: of your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and reactions. You are a king over your own conceptive realm.
When any negative suggestion comes to you, you can say, "I have within me the capability and strength to overcome this. With the help of the Infinite Power, I will be able to find an answer to this."
#5. Feed Positive Thoughts into Your Conscious Mind To Overcome Worry.
Worry and fear can only dominate your life if you let them. You have the power to eliminate them from your life. You have the Presence within you, the strength to change your life.
By prayer and meditation, by commitment to your spiritual self, by trust in the Divine, you will overcome your fears and concerns.
If you feed positive thoughts into your conscious mind, your subconscious mind will respond positively when faced with problems, and find solutions that will result in a happier, more peaceful, and more rewarding life.
#6. Relax Your Body, Quiet Your Mind To Overcome Worry.
You are scheduled for your annual performance review with your boss tomorrow morning. What do you do? You will probably worry about what your boss will say. You will recall all of the errors you've made, the deadlines missed, or other problems.
Your subconscious mind may be burdened with negativity that will keep you from sleeping that night. But instead, let's assume that you know the laws of mind and the way of the spirit.
Instead of worrying about the review, you sit down in your chair or on your couch and mobilize your attention.
You relax first. When the body is relaxed, the mind becomes quiet.
You say to yourself, "My toes are relaxed, my feet are relaxed, my abdominal muscles are relaxed, my heart and lungs are relaxed, my spine is relaxed, my neck is relaxed, my hands and arms are relaxed, my brain is relaxed, my eyes are relaxed, my whole being is completely relaxed from head to foot."
When you are relaxed, your body has to obey you; when you relax and believe, your prayer is always answered.
If you do not relax, you do not get results. Relax and believe. When' you relax your body, you are relaxing your mind. Your mind becomes quiet and still.
So what would you do to prepare for what has always been an ordeal for you?
You should concentrate on all your accomplishments over the past year the costs you reduced, the innovations you suggested, the customers you satisfied, and all the other positive actions you were involved in. If you run that movie in your mind and keep it up, you will be ready.
When you meet with your boss the next morning, you will go in with a strong positive attitude. Worry will have been replaced with confidence.
Sure, the boss may point to areas in which improvement can be made.
That's your boss's job, and all of us can make improvements. But you will accept them as constructive suggestions not as criticism. You will have programmed your subconscious to replace concern and worry about your job with the assurance that you are doing well and are willing and able to do even better.
#7. You Think You Have Problems?
There is an old tale about a wise man; a lover of the mysteries of life, a mystic, who instructed all the people on earth to form a great circle.
In the center of the circle they were to deposit all their problems, grievances, misunderstandings, heartbreaks, ailments, lacks, and limitations problems of all manner and every kind.
Then they were granted permission, indeed they were ordered, ordained, to examine the whole sorry lot (this conglomeration of difficulties) and to select any of them they wished for their own. A great hush fell over the multitudes. They became very still and quiet.
After much thought and due deliberation, every man and every woman went back to the center of the circle and each one retrieved his or her problems, and returned home.
No one, not one soul, elected to select, choose; or take onto his or her shoulders the burdens, distresses, trials, and tribulations of another. It is so tempting to attempt to solve the problems of others. It is a fallacy and a complete waste and dissipation of our energies.
With all the goodwill and intentions in the world, much as we might desire to we are not competent to resolve the conditions of another.
But it is only we, ourselves, who are ultimately equipped to cope with our own lives for they are of our creation.
We can alter and improve them by changing our beliefs, remembering who we truly are.
We must continually remind ourselves to accept our legacy, our inheritance, of all that is good and true and beautiful.
#8. In Conclusion Here Are Nine Ways on How to Overcome Worry And Reduce Stress.
- Learn to relax. Set up periods of time during the workday when you can spend a few minutes by yourself to engage in deep meditation or programmed relaxation exercises. A short break often refreshes the mind and helps you think more clearly when you return.
- Take a walk. If you can get away from your desk or cubicle, take a walk. Go out of the building. Walk around the block or the parking lot. Get some fresh air. If you are restricted to the building, walk inside. Removing yourself from the place of stress often helps alleviate the stress.
- Believe in yourself. Don't let pressure or criticism from others control your emotions.
- Explore your spirituality. Whenever you begin to feel stressed, call on your religious or spiritual beliefs to guide you toward peace of mind.
- Keep learning. The experience of ongoing learning keeps you alert, open-minded, and stimulated.
- Develop a support team. Avoid major stress by having friends and team members available to back you up when things don't go well.
- Accept only commitments that are important to accomplishing the mission of your job. Politely turn down other projects that drain your time and energy.
- Seek new ways of using your creativity. By rethinking the way you perform routine tasks, you make them less boring and stressful. By developing creative approaches to new assignments, you make them less stressful to handle.
- Welcome changes. Consider them new challenges rather than threats to the status quo.
