The Art of Happiness – Worry Free World

Posted: February 11, 2016

Earlier this week a friend of mine played the song “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bob Marley to me. It has been a really long time since I heard this song, and who knows how long since I actually listened to the words in it. I am pretty sure almost everyone know this song and the words in the verse. It is a catchy, fun song with a wonderful message, and a slogan that had been used and reused all over the world.

One sentence that stood out to me in the son was:

“In every life we have some trouble, if you worry you make it double!”

I thought to myself, does a world without worry exist at all? I really doubt it. Research shows that negative thought are more available to our conscious mind, then positive thoughts. It relates to our evolutionary survival mechanisms, where only the strong survive (in all matters, it is still the reality today to some respects). As I mentioned in previous posts, there is enough data to support the benefits of positive thinking. Furthermore, negative thinking has a negative effect of the cardiovascular system. They are a source of stress that causes our heart rate to go up, blood pressure to spike up along with blood sugar, and negative hits to our immune system. When it goes on this way for a long time, you are most likely to get some type of a chronic disease (you can read more about it here). What was initially created in our system to help us survive, is now becoming a huge concerns for many people who worry excessively.

There are so many thing we can worry about in our day to day life. However, what many of us do not comprehend is that worrying will not help us in any way. If anything, it will just create negative thought and feelings that will likely make us feel much worse and less likely to be functional in a positive way that could potentially help us in any situation. Worrying relates many times to anxiety disorders. Anxiety relates to a fear of something that has not happened yet (and has a high likelihood of not happening at all. A state of anxiety however, is very strong and has physiological effects on our body. Anxiety is something most of us experience as a result of many situation. It is excessive worry and tension that becomes a problem. I found this cool article about 12 signs that you may have an anxiety disorder here. You can also read about some delusional beliefs people have about being worriers here.

Here are some good tips I collected about how to manage worrying:

Think back to a situation you worried about, and how it all turned out okay
Avoid “what if” thought, they only drag you down
Tell someone about your greatest fear and make it the worst possible. Tell the story few times and see how it becomes a little silly after 3-4 times
Make a list of your worries and analyze them and problem solve
Create a worry period, only then you allow yourself to worry
Talk about it with someone who is not a worrier
Cry it out, dance it out, or scream out loud
Don’t try to suppress a worrying thought, embrace it and let it go
Distract yourself by watching a movie, or doing something you enjoy
Sweat it out – work out, go on a walk/run, gym class
Learn to accept uncertainty, and hope for the best
Practice deep breathing, or meditation
Repeat a calming mantra “don’t worry be happy” and others
Stay in the moment, one day at a time

I hope these few tips can improve your ability to worry less. If you feel that you are struggling with your ability to control your excessive worry, stress, or anxiety please reach out to me here. Or how the song says “Here I give you my phone number, when you worry call me, I make you happy.” 😉