Worrier or warrior

There's plenty to be worried about these days, isn't there?

In addition to the typical worries and concerns (How will we cover that college tuition? Will our parents' health hold steady while we address a mountain of work at work? Will our child find a suitable job out in the real world?) we now have the larger picture worries (Will this economy buckle under the weight of bad decision after bad decision? Which big bank will fail next? Will the government be able to get us out of this mess? Will someone step up and lead us into a better situation?) The concerns closer to home don't go away, of course. They just have more company now.

How to be a better worrier
Try these if you want to become a better worrier:
1. Pay constant attention to what worries you. If you leave these worries alone, even for a moment, they start to minimize and could even disappear. Since we can' t have that, you must make whatever you're worrying about all-consuming, to the exclusion of just about everything else. Fortunately, you have at your disposal 24/7/365 coverage to provide you with plenty to worry about.
2. Future pace all the bad things that could happen. Look out ahead and use your most negative imagination to create in your mind the dozens, hundreds or even thousands of ways that things could get even worse. That will provide plenty of fuel for your hours of worry, since you can now pull each scenario down from the shelf, one at a time, and keep asking yourself, "And what if...?"
3. Do nothing that gives you peace. If taking a walk alone in the early morning or late evening gives you a place to breathe and slow down a bit, don't do it. You can't afford even a moment's peace if you're going to be a truly gifted worrier.
4. Spend no time with those who are always positive. They just don't get the idea of the whole worry thing, so they will be roadblocks to your ability to worry on a massive scale.
5. Don't be reading anything uplifting. Whatever that is for you - the Bible, Talmud, Quran, How to Win Friends and Influence People - set it aside for the foreseeable future. Hide it if you must. Otherwise, you might be tempted to open it and gain some wisdom of the ages that would break the chain of worry.
6. Don't bother to write out your worries. Once out on the page, they wouldn't seem so worrisome and you might even feel a bit relieved. That's no way to worry.
7. Don't meditate or pray. Quiet time can be fatal to the worrier's way of doing things, so skip that time, get on with the worries of the day and forget about the possibility of centering yourself in the presence of anything but all those worries you have. Remember, you can't leave them alone, even for a minute.

Don't worry about being a great worrier. Just follow these simple tips and you'll have plenty to worry about without adding that to the list.

Keep the faith,
John Earl Carroll