Welcome to a short but crucial message about un-worrying.
You see? I’ve already proved how easy it is to worry! I’m already a little bit worried because I’m not sure if un-worrying is an actual word?
It just so happens that the modern world feeds us loads of things to worry about.
Let’s prove it – here are 5 phobias. See if you can you spot the fake one?
First up, Coulrophobia: that means you’re terrified of clowns. That one sounds reasonable, right?
Two… Omphalophobia: the fear of belly buttons
Three… Arachibutyrophobia: this is when you get panicked by the idea of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth
Oikophobia: that’s the fear of kitchen appliances. Yes, your toaster’s out to get you. And that microwave… it’s downright evil
Number 5: Turophobia: Fearful of feta? Chilled by cheddar? Panicked by parmesan? If so you’ve got Turophobia – the fear of cheese
5 phobias. 5 things to panic about. Clowns, belly buttons, peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, kitchen appliances, cheese… which one did I invent?
Answer… none of them. They’re all genuine fears that people have. There’s even Phobophobia: the fear of phobias
They might all seem silly, unless you suffer from one of them. Then, all of a sudden, things get serious because fear gets in the way of you feeling amazing.
Anyhow, if you can be ‘worried sick’, I think it must be possible to do the exact opposite, which is…
Un-worry yourself well.
You might have to let that sentence sink in a bit before it makes any sense.
Meantime, here are some un-worrying tips starting with one that gets you a perspective on your troubles.
You need a good dollop of honesty and ask yourself a question: How big is the problem I’m facing, really? And I mean really really?
In the grand scheme of things, will it even matter a year from now, or as my co-author and world famous keynote speaker Paul McGee likes to ask, where is this issue on a scale of 1 to 10?
Where 10 is death.
Quite often, your brain has been hijacked and you’re reacting to a situation as though it’s a 9 (Oh my gosh, this is an absolute disaster, my life is over for sure…) when in the cold light of day you just missed your bus which on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is death, it’s actually a 1 or 2.
Be honest. Have you ever huffed and puffed and got in a bad mood over a stupid comment that someone said, but didn’t even mean? You know, stressing like it was a 9, when it was actually a 2. Max.
In the same way, a queue at the supermarket is a 1 so you really don’t need to give it the full histrionics as though it was a near death situation.
It’s a cool question. Where is this issue on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is death?
Of course, if someone actually has died then it’s a 10. That’s genuinely terrible news and you have every right to feel sad, down and upset.
But getting upset because it’s raining or because your team lost the game or because it’s Monday…
Chill. React to these minor irritations by shrugging them off.
Save your bad days for the real thing.