Step Outside Your Head: Stop Wondering, Wallowing and Worrying!

       Have you noticed? Sometimes we’re energized and powerful in the face of daunting circumstances, and other times overwhelmed by small set-backs.  I am writing this from a time management perspective (I’m not a mental-health professional!):  Wallowing, Wondering and Worry waste time and energy with little gain. I’ll let you do a little bit of each, then it’s time to move on.  Here’s how:

Wondering:

      I like to know how things work, where roads go, what makes people tick.  Some folks wonder about things, though, without taking that wondering outside of their own mind. No resolution, wasting vital time and energy in wondering instead of discovering. I wonder… what happened to that old friend; if I should set up an LLC or a corporation; if I’m just tired or if there is something bigger wrong…

     So, I wonder… what to do about wondering?  Great ideas can come from wondering.  But we can wonder forever without ever solving the puzzle. GO! Be adventurous, ask the experts, search the internet, phone a friend.  My boys and I are self-guided learners, we internet-search topics all the time, but also in the dictionary and thesaurus on the kitchen desk. 

     I have been wondering how people perceive my business, to re-word my professional bio for a new website… then I remembered the testimonials some of you sent. I am going to read those to form my new bio. Thanks to my experts!

Wallowing:

      We humans feel things strongly.  Feelings are real, and I respect you and your feelings. But as in all things, there must be limits.  Son #2 feels things strongly and recently wallowed after some long-distance friends left. But as his mom, I let him wallow (we all need to), then I helped him cope by turning the sadness to something good, thinking about positive ways to keep in touch with the long-distance friends (email, videos on his new camera, texting, etc.) We moved past wallowing by creating hope.

     Set a timer and wallow, then write down your sadness. Read it out loud.  Then turn the page, and write down 3 actions you can take to make it better. Then Go Do One!  Make a conscious decision to make the sad things better.

Worrying:

      How does the saying go? “95% of what we worry about never comes to pass” or something like that? We waste time and energy needlessly worrying, instead of actually working on the problems.  I worry, but then I act.  The answers for “how to not get stuck Worrying?” are the same as for wallowing and wondering.

      Ask for help. Ask the experts. Put limits on your Worrying. Sit down, set a timer and actually worry for a set amount of time, like 20 minutes about whatever is bothering you.  I prefer less time sitting and more time planning and acting. Write it down, list three actions to make it better and Go Do One right now.  My dad says “Do something, even if it’s wrong”, and I now recognize the wisdom in
the statement. These negative mindsets trap us in our heads, and we require a
change or action to break free.

      So, if you are stuck in your head this week wondering, wallowing or worrying, take a break, step outside your head, talk to people and take action. Do SOMETHING!