Is Worry Strangling Our Creative Force?

I have been having conversations with people and doing some thinking about the concept of worry. It is a strange one….how did all of this worry come about and why do we do it? When did we start (the human race) worrying about our lives?

Has it always been like this?

There are a few ways to look at this habit in fact…one is that it’s only a mind thing. I mean, can you imagine your body being worried about something? Or for that matter, what about an animal spending time fretting….

From what I can see and understand, most other living beings just get on with asking, planning, creating or finding ways and means to get their needs met. In other words, they stay active and persistent (anyone have a puppy? LOL).

But, then there’s us…the top of the food chain and what do we spend most of our time worried about? Perhaps for a good many people it’s about food – what will we eat, how will we afford to buy our food and then the ultimate – how will that food affect us (weight gain, health, energy etc.).

It’s quite a cycle we have set up here! Worry until we have the food or the means to acquire it, then, worry about eating it, cooking it, preparing it, serving it, sharing it, wearing it – and how to get more of it.

And then lets look at this word – what does worry actually mean and where does this word come from? According to Websters', worry means to torment oneself and to suffer from disturbing thoughts….it’s original meaning was 'to strangle'.

Hmmm…look at these descriptive words – we torment and cause suffering to ourselves when we worry. Not only that, we are strangling our creative force when we spend our energy (resources) worrying.

The big question here is how to stop? And of course, what to do about these things that are sitting on our minds…perhaps the first step is to recognize why, when and how we worry.

Then, to begin the process of breaking this pattern….take action. Each time we find ourselves fretting over something, do anything constructive (exercise, laugh, write, sip water, go outside, talk to someone) that lifts us up and out of this debilitating habit.

April