Imagine carrying a heavy weight around with you every day. With it, you can’t move fast or far. Your back hurts. Your legs are sore. Your burden is exhausting. Would you continue holding onto this weight if you didn’t have to? Of course not, you would drop it as soon as possible. Without the weight, your quality of life would improve immensely.
Too many people carry around the heavy emotional weight of worry and stress. This burden has destructive effects. When it’s held onto constantly, physical and mental ailments are common. Since you would readily drop a heavy physical weight, why is it so hard to let go of these mental burdens?
You have become conditioned throughout life to hold onto worry and stress. People all around you set the wrong example by their own incessant worry. Although worry and stress are so destructive, you hesitate letting them go. After all, they’ve been your companions for a lifetime.
Worry and stress never make circumstances better. They can make them worse. Worry and stress never make you feel better. They can make you feel worse. Since worry and stress are so negative, your best option is just letting them go.
Letting go of stress and worry requires reconditioning on your part. You have to alter your way of thinking along with your reaction to problems. No excuses. No justification. Don’t say to yourself or others any of the following: “I have good reason to worry.” “I’m always so stressed out by this.” “What am I supposed to do?” “It’s so unfair.” “Why does this always happen?” “I am so worried it makes me sick.”
Any of these justifications cause stress and worry to become engrained as a way of life. Letting them go requires changing your thinking. Different results require a different approach. Don’t blame other people or circumstances. You are the only one who can let it go.
Letting it go is a simple concept which seems difficult. In the same manner you would open your hand to drop a weight, you can release your worry and stress. Visualize a trap door in your mind. All of your worries and troubles are piled right on top of the trap door. Now open the trap door and imagine all of your stress and worries falling into oblivion.
Each time you feel stress and worry accumulating, open your trap door and watch the stress and worry drop away. You are striving to develop a new habit which lets go of stress and worry.
Telling yourself that this approach is not so easy sabotages your success. Conditioning yourself to let it go does take effort and determination, but it is doable. At first, you may find yourself instinctively holding onto stress and worry instead of letting them go. Whenever you start to hold on, open the trap door. As you repeat this process, you will begin letting stuff go more often than holding onto it.
There are numerous benefits to letting go of stress and worry. You will be more relaxed. You will be happier. You will feel better physically and emotionally. You will be less irritable. As a result, you will have a clearer perspective so you will make better decisions.
Although you are letting go of stress and worry you must still take action to deal with pertinent issues. You should be concerned about circumstances which require your attention. Being proactive is prudent.
As the trap door strategy becomes your automatic response to stress and worry, you will wonder why you didn’t utilize this strategy sooner. All that matters is that you are letting stuff go now. It is a much better way to live.
Bryan Golden is the author of “Dare to Live Without Limits.” Opinions expressed are those of the author. Contact him at Bryan@columnist.com or visit www.DareToLiveWithoutLimits.com.
