Why we shouldn't worry about things so much

[IggyAZ]

Why We Shouldnt Worry


Almost everyone experiences some form of worry one time or another. It is a part of life. Everyday, we struggle financially, make decisions, and face major changes in life. These things create an inevitable occasional wave of apprehension. Ordinarily, a certain amount of worry is essential for our survival. It helps us to focus on the task at hand and leads us to constructive action. However, when worry goes overboard, instead of being a good friend, reminding us to use good sense, worry suddenly morphs into a bully, making us crazy about things we can't control. Here's a list of reasons why constant worry is not good, if it is at all:

1. Worry is a Complete Waste of Time

Worry changes nothing. We don't accomplish anything or find answers to our questions by worrying. We also cannot add anything to our life by worrying. Worry can only subtract from our lives by causing such infirmities like ulcers or coronary thrombosis. Worry is just muddling away today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.

2. Worry is Unnecessary

Worry can't erase the mistakes of the past. It can't unravel the answers to the future. It can't make anything better in the present. Hence, there is no need for worry because it is inessential.

3. Worry Contradicts Common Sense

We must learn to live one day at a time. God has given us our lives in units of twenty-four hours and we should take life a day at a time. If we wish to live a long and fruitful life, we should respect and live by the biological clock He has built inside us.

4. Worry is Illogical

Worry is illogical because it is futile, unproductive and pointless. It is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and belief in defeat. We do not know what tomorrow may bring, so there is no point in worrying about it. Why look ahead and worry about things that have not yet happened. They may just never happen anyway.

5. Worry Creates the Problem

If we are focused on our fears, we are more likely to crash into them. Thinking about them is a confirmation bias of their existence making them exist even if they aren't really there.

6. Worry Distracts Our Attention

Worry distracts us from the duties of the present. It grabs our attention from the things of utmost importance. It interferes with our highest functioning and delicious enjoyment of life. Worry is an uninvited guest who spoils all our fun, making our shoulders droop and forehead crease just when we should be feeling triumphant or carefree or filled with hope.

7. Worry Doubles Our Problems

To anticipate future troubles by worrying about them today is to double them. We already have enough troubles today. Today's problems are all we are capable of handling. Worrying for tomorrow stacks up more problems than we can handle.

8. Worry Diverts our Point of Life

Life is far more important than material things. So often our worries are about relatively unimportant and trivial matters, such as food, drink, clothing, houses and cars. If we seek fulfilment in material things, we are missing the whole point of life. The point of life is the fulfillment of our purpose. Our life purpose is a combination of three things: who we are at the very core, our vision for our self and what we see possible for the world and our values. Instead of working out for our purpose, worry takes us away from the main stream of life completely diverting us from our point of life.

9. Worry is Toxic to our Health

When we worry, every system in our body is affected. Blood clotting increases, blood pressure rises, and the liver produces more cholesterol, all of which raises our risk of heart attack and stroke. Muscle tension gives rise to headaches, back pain, and other body aches. It also triggers an increase in stomach acid and either slow or speed up muscle contractions in our intestines, which can lead to stomach aches, constipation, diarrhea, gas or heartburn. Worry can also affect our respiratory system by aggravating asthma.

It is a medical fact that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers. That is because, as Dr. E. Stanley Jones says, "we are not designed to live in fear and worry." To live by worry is against our own nature. That is why worry is so destructive.

10. Worry Affects the People we Love

The Greek word for “worry” is "merimnaw" which literally means “to be drawn in different directions.” In logical terms, worry tears us to pieces spiritually, psychologically, physically and even socially. When we become too focused on our worries, we forget about the things that really matters, even the people we care. It is a constant and dominating force that disrupts our lives and disconnects us from others.

We don't have to deny our worries or push them out to the limits because in reality, we can't. It is a part of us. It is our nature. Indeed, worry is good to some extent. It only takes a toll on our lives if we are so consumed in it. If we hang around it day in and day out, it can short circuit our own electrical systems and leave us malfunctioning. We should take control over our worries instead of letting them take control over us. Worries are only in our head, thus it leaves us a choice whether to allow them to propagate or just forget about them. Sometimes, the process of worrying about a problem becomes much bigger than the problem itself.

So we often need to learn to deal with worries head on.
We should choose to think of the present concerns and decide to do something about them instead of simply worrying on them.

 

[noobvious]

Very well said! A far more detailed explanation of something I have said to people over the years. "Stress is your enemy"

Not to say I am immune to stress or worry, far from it....in fact, I used to try and deal with it by drinking a gallon of whiskey a week ....at least I've stopped that.

 

[Lee]

What, you cannot tell humans not to worry. Come on now it is in our nature to worry. Without worry then what is life for. We have children, and we worry about them. We get a dog then worry about the dog. We buy a car then worry about whether it is going to last. The list can go on, and on, albeit I think we all get the picture. Worry is apart of life and any attempt to follow your list is against "HUMAN NATURE."

 

[JMH]

An appropriate worry / stress response is a healthy and necessary part of life. One of the things it does is to release norepinephrine, one of the principal excitatory neurotransmitters. Norepinephrine is needed to create new memories. It improves mood. Problems feel more like challenges, which encourages creative thinking that stimulates your brain to grow new connections within itself.
Worry / stress management is the key. The challenge is to not let the sympathetic nervous system stay chronically aroused. This requires knowledge of techniques that work to activate your relaxation response eg meditation.
Life is a balance.
A concerned / worrying parent is more likely to rear their offspring to maturity than an unthinking / thoughtless carer. It's probably an evolutionary advantage to be a "worrier."
Dr Jan.

 

[IggyAZ]

What, you cannot tell humans not to worry. Come on now it is in our nature to worry. Without worry then what is life for. We have children, and we worry about them. We get a dog then worry about the dog. We buy a car then worry about whether it is going to last. The list can go on, and on, albeit I think we all get the picture. Worry is apart of life and any attempt to follow your list is against "HUMAN NATURE."

I see you didn't read my first paragraph.
" Almost everyone experiences some form of worry one time or another. It is a part of life. Everyday, we struggle financially, make decisions, and face major changes in life. These things create an inevitable occasional wave of apprehension. Ordinarily, a certain amount of worry is essential for our survival. It helps us to focus on the task at hand and leads us to constructive action.
However, when worry goes overboard, instead of being a good friend, reminding us to use good sense, worry suddenly morphs into a bully, making us crazy about things we can't control."

The statement is when you get to a point of excessive it is damaging to your health. Making it work towards a resolution or positve change is the good part.
I never said people don't worry...

Take a deep breath and enjoy life in a positive meaningful way is my message.

 

[Warfare]

It is normal for a human to worry.
(Not human nature, human nature implies that we were born that way, you learn from your parents or guardians)

In fact, if the human race did not worry, we would no longer exist. We would have just watched as those dinosaurs ate our own.

3. Worry Contradicts Common Sense

We must learn to live one day at a time. God has given us our lives in units of twenty-four hours and we should take life a day at a time. If we wish to live a long and fruitful life, we should respect and live by the biological clock He has built inside us.

4. Worry is Illogical

Worry is illogical because it is futile, unproductive and pointless. It is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and belief in defeat. We do not know what tomorrow may bring, so there is no point in worrying about it. Why look ahead and worry about things that have not yet happened. They may just never happen anyway.

Worry is logical, above reasons. Also, sometimes you get that weird feeling that something wrong is gonna happen, then it does.

I also don't agree with #3 but won't get into that.