Author: Juli Shulem
Worrying is psychologically debilitating and The Opposite of Worrying Planning Recently, I helped a client eliminate the worrying component in his narrative which was causing serious procrastination. This is not unusual, and here are some thoughts for those who find themselves trapped in this wheel of hell. I understand worry intimately. I know those who […]
Worrying is psychologically debilitating and The Opposite of Worrying Planning
Recently, I helped a client eliminate the worrying component in his narrative which was causing serious procrastination. This is not unusual, and here are some thoughts for those who find themselves trapped in this wheel of hell. I understand worry intimately. I know those who are chronic worriers and it can quite literally ruin your life. Everything elicits worry in their mind. The truth is that the majority of the things people worry about never manifest into anything at all.
“Time wasted when you don’t know what the outcome will be, but insist on ruminating on the possibilities.”
This is what most people do when they worry – they mull over ALL the possible problems that could occur – often to the point of mental paralysis. This can lead to serious procrastination and even stagnation. The epitome of ‘going nowhere in a hurry!” Worrying is mainly a cognitive process (Breznitz, 1971) – that means it’s all in your head.
If you are someone who worries a lot – my advice is to PLAN more.
Planning gives you a chance to consider potential roadblocks during the planning process. Let’s say you have a big project that is due soon and you are “worrying” about all the steps that need to occur in order to complete it, as well as the outcome, how it will be perceived, etc. Fine. Try this instead:
If you are so wound-up that you are too stuck to get busy, then pick the smallest, easiest first step and just do that. Starting – on anything really – gets the process going and tends to spur us into action. You may actually notice that starting that first step reduces the anxiety that’s holding you back.
“Worrying is simply the feeling caused by not knowing if something will or will not happen.” Well, if you PLAN ahead – you don’t have to concern yourself about whether something will or will not happen – you MAKE it happen. Done. Worrying is a complete waste of time. Literally.
Instead of sitting around worrying about whether it will or will not happen, you could be making progress on changing the outcome of a situation. Well, guess what? If you sit around worrying about it – you have a significantly greater chance of that thing NOT happening. Good job! Worrying can make things worse in reality by disrupting your performance of the tasks and making you miserable in the process (Davey, Tallis, & Capuzzo, 1996). However, if you plan what needs to happen and can SEE – in writing – the potential of it happening – rarely will worry creep into your mind and impede your progress.
So, the next time you start letting the ‘worry-wart’ tendencies to start growing in your mind – plan everything out and get started. This starting will help ward off negative thoughts and once you see the progress made on your tasks, chances are that the worrying will become a non-issue. Don’t worry – You’ve got this!
Breznitz, S. (1971). A study of worrying. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 10(3), 271-279.
Davey, G. C., Tallis, F., & Capuzzo, N. (1996). Beliefs about the consequences of worrying. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20(5), 499-520.
Article written by Juli Shulem
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
Author Profile
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Now that we are in the midst of the world’s largest remote work does not work experiment, it’s worth asking: what does it take to run a good virtual meeting? It is all too easy to just focus on what can be controlled and configured: security, bandwidth, platforms or devices. However, when it comes to […]
There are several reasons why individuals or organizations might choose to use a Speaker Bureau instead of booking keynote speakers directly. Here are a few key advantages of working with a Speaker Bureau: Extensive Speaker Network: Speaker Bureau typically have a broad network of speakers, including industry experts, thought leaders, celebrities, and motivational speakers. They […]
Whatever you call them, Generation Z – the youngest generation is changing the rules, challenging our boundaries and recreating a generationally cohesive workforce! My first job in high school was working at a grim bagel shop called the Bagel Baker. This was pre-Starbucks, where being a barista has an element of cache’. This was […]
Why is a 216-year-old voluntary member-based organisation like the Cape Chamber of Commerce thriving under lockdown? It shouldn’t – when times get tough, members will look at their expenses and cut those that are ‘voluntary’. People tend to pay their utilities, because if you don’t pay, you don’t get to play. And heaven forbid we […]
If you’ve ever launched something as 3-2-1 Liftoff!, whether it is a basketball shot, a new business, or the 2 Liter bottle rocket for your kid’s science project, you know the arc of senses one feels in each attempt to succeed as we let go of our security and send the object into motion to […]
As I pulled into the gas station in a remote part of southeastern Utah, I was thankful to finally find cell reception to prepare for Watching Yourself. Tethering my phone’s hotspot to my laptop, I hurriedly logged onto the webinar where I was my pre-recorded presentation for a client in Texas, engaging in realtime on […]
This The Incredible Desert Elephants expedition was the first in a series of five Beyond Expeditions with Jacques Marais and Peter van Kets. The idea was to mountain bike the edge of the incredible Namib Desert from Serra Cafema on the Angolan border to Swakopmund along the coast of Namibia. In this episode, we take […]
Success always starts with failure or rather, often starts with failure. Sometimes when you do something, it becomes a success but happens very rarely. When you want to do something or start something new, try it out in a small scale so that the failure is survivable. You should make sure that adequate data are […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
