Life Tips Daily

Does anybody else spend far too much time worrying, and not enough time enjoying or just plain dealing with that they are faced with?

As the eldest of four children, with parents in their late 50s who seem to have a new health complaint every year, I worry most about my them. I just want a guarantee that they will be around forever, healthy and whole. Surely that’s not too much to ask? I’m not unselfish though: I worry that my single state will be a permanent condition; that I will die alone and bitter. Both of these worries cause me stress: my heartbeat becomes accelerated and my blood pressure rises, I am uneasy, my sleep is unrestful and I’m plagued with negative thoughts.

I’ve especially found that as I age, my tendency to worry has increased enormously. If this is one of the perks that come with adulthood, it’s no wonder I continue to act like a child in many ways. I simply am not ready to accept that worrying has to be a part of my life. At the same time, letting go of worries is something that has proven very difficult for me.

So today I am asking you what you do to minimize your worrying. I have some good ideas but so far, I’ve been too worried to try them out!

• prayer
• meditation, focusing on breathing in and out to physically calm yourself down
• doing something positive to help the situation, no matter how small, even if it’s just something like making a doctor’s appointment, or reading up about the cause for concern
• talking to a close friend or someone about the problems (let a friend be your shoulder to lean on!)
• asking for help to deal with the situation
• talking to the person that you are worried about, and listening to what they have to say

How do you keep worries at bay?

With me spouting off about procrastination here and here, you might think I’m a shining example of a procrastination success story.

Sadly, I’m not, not even close. I am sure that when procrastination is classed as a disease, I will be invited personally to be a research subject, my procrastination is at that advanced a stage. Due to procrastination, I have had to restart the process of acquiring a driver’s license, I have missed deadlines to apply for jobs and I have failed to get A+s on school projects (the teachers/professors have always informed me that certain work submitted by me would have been an A+ project had it been submitted on time). All of this qualifies me to speak about the benefits of abolishing procrastination, I think.

Here is my list of things to do, with a date beside it in brackets indicating when when I was to have done it:

• File my income tax return for 2006 (April 30, 2007) September 30, 2007
• Get an x-ray of my right foot (March 2007) September 15, 2007
• Sent the winner of some contest their prizes (March, April and May 2007) August 30, 2007

The new dates in bold indicate the new date by which I want to have accomplished these goals. I will rely on the tips such as just doing it, breaking each task down into smaller goals and accomplishing them, and not letting a fear of not doing each perfectly stop me. Clearly I need my tips at least as much as the next person. I will keep you posted on my progress!