I couldn’t quite understand what was happening inside of me as I pulled into the ski resort. It was an unexpected feeling of anxiety that I rarely have. Today was my first day back snow skiing after an injury. I had worked nine hard months of diligently rehabbing my knee to make this day happen, and now I was beginning to question whether it was a good idea. I desperately needed some tips to embrace and manage what was going on inside of me. Was it worry?

You see, I love to snow ski; it is my place where I commune with God, clear my head, and find peace. Snow skiing fills my soul and gives me a much-needed rest to tackle the unexpected that shows up in my life. We all need a place like this. Right?

But here I was after two bad falls that left me with a constant ringing in my ears and missing cartilage in my knee; I wasn’t so sure I should love it anymore.

As I struggled to latch into my new bindings, I kept thinking maybe this was a sign that I should quit this sport. Thoughts and questions were whirling in my head-

What if I got injured again?

Does it really bring me that much joy?

Why would anyone risk falling again?

Step by step, I inched towards the lift. I kept saying to myself; I am not a quitter, so I will at least take one run. Then the troublesome thoughts would flood my mind. Then I realized –

I WAS IN FULL BLOWN WORRY MODE!

Consumed with the “what if’s.” It made me miserable! I needed to make a choice. Would I choose to spend my day in worry and let it rob me of the joy? Or would I find a better way to manage my fear?

Worry is a choice!

So I chose that day to use the five tips below to embrace and manage my worrisome thoughts.

TIPS TO EMBRACE AND MANAGE OUR WORRY

1. Identify Worry Behaviors

Most people do not even realize when they are worried, so you will need to look for the behaviors to determine if you are worried. The most common worry habits are avoidance and procrastination.

Wow, I thought my method of pushing away all of my worries worked well. I prided myself on the ability to have mind over matter, yet I did have that eye that twitched all December and the time I got extremely sick when it was unexplainable

Pushing away worry only works in the short term and comes back with a vengeance later on in all kinds of ugly ways.

Some other problem behaviors to look out for might be seeking a lot of assurance in relationships, superstitions, compulsive behaviors, and much more. What are your worry habits?

2. Notice and Name Your Thoughts

Instead of trying to push away your thoughts, take a moment, and notice what you are worried about? Then say it aloud. Do not get too attached to the ideas, notice, and name them as if they are floating down a river.

3. Accept Your Circumstances

All the worrying in the world is not going to change what is happening. Trying to convince yourself that you are not worried is also not going to make the worries go away. Accepting it will allow you to manage it.   It doesn’t mean you like what is going on or agree with it, but you recognize –

It is what it is!

This one took me by surprise. I am all about accepting one’s circumstances to bring about peace and change, but accepting that I am worried seemed counterintuitive. However, it works, and after practicing, it makes sense.

4. Be in the Present Moment

You only have this moment.  It is a waste of time to worry about what has already happened or what might happen. We can’t change the past, and we can’t predict the future, so look at this moment and see all it has to offer. If it is a painful moment, which some are, at least you will only be suffering the one you are in and not the moments before or those that are yet to come.

5. Let it Go

Letting it go is different than pushing it away. You can’t release something until you have accepted it. This step is crucial to your well-being. Worry will hurt you.

One has to find their way to let it go. For some people, they write it down and put it in a worry box or bury it. For me, I give my worries to God. I put my complete trust in him and remind myself

GOD IS IN CONTROL, NOT ME!

Of course, the more personal the problem, the harder it is to manage. Be encouraged to strive to control your worry – it will be worth it. Start with small things to practice on, and eventually, you will be able to tackle the significant concerns in your life. These five tips for embracing and managing our worry take some practice, so do not give up.

Please share below in the comments any tips you use to manage your worrisome thoughts. Together we can learn from each other. If you would like prayer for a worry you have, please add that to the comments. I would find it an honor to be praying for you this week.

Books I have read, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy inspired many of the concepts I have just shared with you. The resources can be found here. If you missed last week on Fear, Anxiety, and Worry, you can click here to read the article.


 

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20 Comments

  1. Maree thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a link to yours. What an encouraging post. And once again I am astounded how God uses us to reinforce something He wants us to know. My blog is about putting on our Spiritual Armor, Sherry Stahl’s blog is about taking our thoughts captive, Michele Morin talks about allowing God to use us despite our fears. I have been amazed and encouraged by all the blog posts this morning! Thank you.

    1. Laura, Thank you for visiting my post. I am so glad I happened upon your post and link-up. I look forward to getting to know you. Maree

  2. I love your reminder to live in the present! I can imagine all the terrible things that might happen in the future, but God doesn’t give me grace for tomorrow until I get there. So thankful we can trust in a God who will take care of us no matter what!

  3. Sometimes we are worrying without even realizing it as you stated in this post. I find myself doing that a lot more than I’d like to. I like the tips. They will be helpful in identifying the feeling and giving it to God.

  4. Great job Maree! Yes, I worry too much. I love the 5 steps and wrote them down to use the next time choose to worry. One thing I realized is worrying is a waste of time because it can become a distraction from the task at hand. That is what the enemy wants to do, distract and consume. Keep on writing sista!

    1. I couldn’t agree with you more about the enemy. Thank you for your encouragement, it always mean the world to me.

  5. I think the most important words you shared today Maree is this simple truth: “Worry is a choice.” It’s hard to sometimes realize that when we are in the middle of a concerning thought or two, but it is truth. Great read!

    1. Thank you for stopping by. I love what you said; it is hard to realize it is a choice when you are in the middle of it all. So true!

  6. Really good tips, Maree. I’ve never thought about the “Notice and Name” one before. I can see where that’d be helpful–I’m gonna try it. 🙂 It sounds cliche, but the biggest thing I do is pray. I don’t mean in a righteous’y kind of way, but in a I’m-talking-to-God-about-this-and-asking-Him-to-take-care-of-it kind of way. Which proves God is a patient God because I’m in His ear all day long (and night too, usually.) (Yes, I have a few worry issues. 🙂 ) Thanks for sharing with #ChasingCommunity today. Great getting to know you. ((hug))

    1. Oh, I didn’t take it as a righteous’y kind of way at all. I do the same. I don’t know how I would exist without being able to bug him all day long. Today was one of those days. It has been great getting to know you too. I love linking up with #Chasingcommunity. Soon I intend to get the button over on my website. I just have to figure out how.

  7. Noticing your thoughts and naming them for what they are is SO big. It takes intentional time and effort to do this, but it is SO worth it! Thank you for sharing!

    1. I couldn’t agree with your more. I sometimes skip this and have to go back. I have also noticed letting others notice and name their worries can help them tremendously. Have you ever noticed that? It just takes some patience.

  8. It’s insightful to think about the connection of worry to procrastination and avoidance. Someone can’t take the 5 steps until they can recognize and accept that they worry. I find that I get real busy to avoid my worry and while it may appear that I’m moving forward, I’m only putting a band aid on a wound. Only when I’m bleeding all over the floor do I decide to look at the cause and start cleaning it up as I should have done in the first place. Sorry for the graphic images, it’s just pretty much how I’m feeling these days. Thanks as always your blogs are always timely and helpful. I just can’t seem to sit for more than a minute with uncomfortable feelings.

    1. Me too! Sitting with uncomfortable feelings is something I have had to learn how to do. I too have a habit of just getting busy. In fact, the more worried I am the cleaner my house is. Maybe that is useful from time to time. HaHa

      I love it when you read my posts and strike up a conversation. It is so nice to know we are not alone in this world.

      Sorry, you are feeling the way you are. I will pray for you this week.

    1. I couldn’t agree with you more. I have to remind myself over and over again; God is in control.