Don't Let Worrying Sap the Life Out of You

According to an old English phrase, worrying is defined as "slow death by strangulation." That's exactly what it feels like when it's chronic. In my life, obsessive thinking and worrying was not just a habit, it ruined careers and relationships. It became so debilitating that it has forced me to "surrender" and re-evaluate what it means to be human, and how one should live.

In a hypnotherapy session that I listen to every night on my MP3, I am reminded of a time when I purely acted on instinct, without worrying about right and wrong, or what others might expect. Ironically, I was trained to believe that when you grow up, your care free years are over, that you have to worry, be stressed out, and treat everything as an emergency. To not do that would make you uncompetitive, a slacker, or the even more dreaded word: mediocre. However, who ever said that you "had" to live this way. And, what is life really about? Are we merely receptacles for production and achievement? What ever happened to the pursuit of happiness?

Funny thing is, when I basically put myself in a mental prison by analyzing all my thoughts, thinking about the long-term ramifications, and thinking about hard work as a sacrifice for a better future, I became dysfunctional. My creativity was stifled by chronic worrying and replaying thoughts over and over. I was basically neurotic due to the fact that I thought that I was living only in the future. Maybe when I get this career, or prove myself, then I could feel good about myself. Problem is, without feeling good about the moment, life becomes nothing more than a treadmill and motivation is hard to come by.

Like a lot of Americans, I was raised in a school system that tried to motivate me with fear. "You better get this right, unless you want to dig ditches for a living." Or, you have to have a goal or a career, or you'll just float through life. As if our worth as humans and are happiness was only determined by achievement. It was this kind of thinking that got me away from my instincts, and made me focus on success as being more important than happiness.

Although my life could be looked at as a series of struggles, I have gained some wisdom about this in applying things to my daily living. You don't need achievement to be happy, and what is achievement anyways? Sure, it feels good to achieve something, but than life goes on. Rather than focus on what you need to be happy, you have to be happy focusing on enjoying the journey. There are no rules, only laws. In the end, most of our life will be composed of working towards goals, not achieving them. And whether you're the best, average, or less, it really is only a euphemism. What truly matters is the path, which is all that life is - just a path. While focusing too much on the future, we are letting life pass us by.

Source -
http://www.hipknowtherapy.com