2 Questions for you:
I believe I'm a fairly even keeled individual. I do my best not to ride too high or too low. Underneath the outer facade of a measured man though is a machine of worry, working nonstop through one while quickly producing another. I've often joked that the only thing I worry about is that I'll run out of things to... worry about. So while from the outside I'm may appear slow, steady, but sured in my position, the inside is a ball of anxieties that are chipping away at what progress I've worked towards.
To combat any enemy, we must first seek to understand it.
To worry is to give way to anxiety or unease. A great way to visualize this is to consider the Yield sign. In traffic laws, a yield is otherwise known as a ‘give way’. Visually, it’s an upside down red and white triangle which indicates that merging drivers must prepare to stop if necessary to let a driver on another approach proceed.
As in life, on the road we are moving towards our destination and though we all desire a smooth ride, there are bound to be hazards and distractions that dangerously absorb our attention. We want our ride to be a proper triangle, the sharp edge facing acting as both directive and aerodynamically brushing aside any impediments. Yet when we allow our anxieties or unease to flip the triangle, we lose our momentum and find ourselves being forced to stop to allow another to move in front of us. If it’s anxieties, we are then being led by them as opposed to us leading ourselves to the place we wish to go.
I once heard it said:
It’s not our job to worry about tomorrow’s problems because they are just that, tomorrow’s problems, not our own.
Or as Matthew 6:34, tells us:
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own
I don’t pretend to understand how to overcome anxieties; Lord knows I battle them. But prior to looking at the definition of ‘worry’, I thought of the two as one in the same. By exploring the word, we find that if anxieties live within worry, then by giving way to them, we are multiplying their power. Like traffic on the road, perhaps they’ll always be riding alongside us. Our power is pursuing our course without yielding to them.
If all else fails, we can yield our worries to the words of the great Bobby McFarland:
In every life we have some trouble But when you worry, you make it double Don't worry, be happy
If you find yourself consumed with worry along your career or leadership journey, connect with me