Worriers Anonymous

Thank you all for coming the the first meeting of Worrier's Anonymous. No, no don't...you are all welcome. You don't have to be on time, and you don't have to worry about what you are wearing. I won't make fun of your tattered bathrobe (but...ehem, Mother's/Father's Day is coming, you could ask for a new one...)

You know why we are all here. We worry, and we worry a lot. I like to tell my husband, "Worrying is a mother's job and I just happen to very good at my job." Lately though, I am worried that maybe I worry too much.

Is it just me, or have you noticed that a lot of the things you worry about NEVER happen? You too? Thank goodness I'm not alone, because I was worried about that.

You have probably noticed then that while the things we worry about rarely happen, the bad stuff blind sides us! There's no preparing for that, ya know? All that precious worry spent on the wrong things! If only we had known, we could direct our concerns better.

I remember worrying that my grandmother was getting old and would soon die...years before she passed away. And yet, I was totally blind sided when I got that call that a beloved niece had a brain tumor. (Oh, but yes all my nieces and nephews are beloved, especially one that blogs...hi Tyler.)

Oh, and have you worried about things that later didn't seem so important? Me too! I used to worry about dating (or my lack of dates). I was sure I would end up a spinster, and yet about the time I decided that being single indefinately was not the end of the world, I met my husband, who thinks I am the world.

Years ago, I heard an interesting quote: "You wouldn't be so worried what other people think of you, if you knew how seldom they do." Ouch!

I think more likely we would be surprised to learn all the good things people think about us. At least, I hope so. Sometime ago, I decided to work on the hypothesis that everyone needs love and acceptance, even those people who seem to "have it all together". The plan was to focus on making the other people in my life happy, and try not to worry what they thought of me. I reasoned that if I did that everything else would fall into place. After all, how could you not like someone who makes you feel good about yourself? It has worked beautifully by the way. One less thing to worry about...so I can make room for other worries.

You have probably heard about the idea of a Gratitude Journal, a place where you write all the things you are grateful for to remind you of the good things in your life that you are worried you will overlook. I wonder if for those of us die hard worriers if a Worry Journal is in order. If we did that and saw page after page of things we worried about that never came to pass. . .well, I just wonder.

Some worry has it's place I suppose. Worrying about being late, for example, helps me work harder at being on time. I have made some great progress in that area. Still it seems that it would be healthier to replace worry about being late, with desire to be on time. Wouldn't that get the same results with less stress?

Well, now I am worried that I have taken too much of your time, so I'll end this. Thanks for coming by, you've given me a lot to worry...er...think about.