“Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.” — Randy Armstrong
Our last series of blogs addressed building relationships and their importance to life and work. Relationships are essential in interviewing which is why we address rapport throughout the interview process. Now we are in the third in a series addressing momentum, consistency, and eliminating procrastination. In the first blog, we talked about the importance of establishing good habits and getting started. In the second the importance of momentum and perseverance to curb procrastination, and here we will look how these all mitigate worry, which stalls procrastination, and helps us to finish what we start.
We have all experienced worries at some point. Right now, you’ve probably even got a few worries on your mind. You might be thinking about a relationship or a situation at work, causing you trouble. Maybe you’re worried about your health or whether or not you’re going to have enough money to pay the bills at the end of the month. Whatever the case, worry happens whether we intend for it to or not. This becomes a problem, though, when worry starts to take over your life. When that happens worry can cause paralysis which sometimes brings to fruition the worries that were originally only thoughts.
So, what is the goal? Is stopping worrying enough to put you on an even keel, or are you hoping for something…more? What if, instead of worrying, you could become excited, then use this excitement to get more done. While worry stalls, excitement starts.
Turning worry into excitement to accomplish goals requires a shift in mindset and the adoption of specific strategies. Here are seven ways to help you make this transformation and to motivate this excitement:
Be Here Now
Worry has a way of trapping you anywhere but here. Either you’re worried about something which happened long ago, or you’re caught up in fretting about something still to come. Neither the future, nor the past are areas where we can change the terrain. To stop worrying, you need to focus on the present. What interests you right now? What can we change or correct right now? This is where our efforts need to be made.
Realize This Gets You Nowhere Fast
Worrying stops you cold. In fact, most procrastination is caused by worrying. With this in mind, why are you wasting your time and energy on worrying? Sometimes just recognizing what a waste worry is, will be enough to derail it altogether. Especially when you have better places to be and things to do.
Think of the number of times you engaged in excessive worry and none of the things you were fretting over came to be. What a waste. Where better would our time have been spent?
Throw Yourself into Something Interesting
Worry needs your attention to survive. Get busy doing something engaging to your mind, and you’ll find you forget all about worrying. Then persevere and be productive as you keep moving forward. Be about doing, not worrying.
Rewrite the Script
If you’re seeing everything blow up around you, maybe you should try focusing on the perceived disaster. Ask yourself how you could do things to handle the situation were it to happen. Once you have it, practice the scenario in your mind. Picture yourself handling matters. With all your tools, visualize the success you will have in addressing and resolving this situation you perceived.
Practice
Worried about something you need to do later? Having a dress rehearsal in your head will make things go smoother and keep worry at bay entirely. I always address this with interview planning and preparation for an important interview. We can’t plan with certainty for how it will go, but we can plan to be prepared for eventualities that may happen in the interview room. We can practice various aspects of the interview process with colleagues to gain their input and opinions. The same is true for most areas of our lives.
Ask
Challenge your worry. Dig in and get to the roots until you understand your worry intimately. Ask yourself where the negativity and thoughts came from. Peel back the layers until you get down to the heart of the matter. When we address it in one area and correct it, we may find that it dwindles and disappears in several areas where worry lived before.
Try a New Path
In the end, worry can become very attached to the familiar. It, in fact, becomes one of those negative habits, that needs to be changed. Challenge yourself. Find a different way to do things. Seek assistance from colleagues at devising new strategies or hearing theirs. Explore where this path takes you.
The main point in all of these is to enjoy the journey. This is where you find the excitement and enthusiasm, which leads to getting things done. The rest is all momentum, perseverance, and a whole lot of brand-new accomplishments just waiting for you to complete them.
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited of what could go right.”
— Tony Robbins
Remember that the process of turning worry into excitement is a gradual one. It takes practice and patience. Keep reminding yourself of your goals, stay positive, and focus on the journey as much as the destination. Over time, you’ll develop a more optimistic and enthusiastic outlook, which will help you accomplish your goals with greater enthusiasm and success.
Is worry taking a forward seat in your life? Do you need to push it to the back? Take a look at today’s list and consider which can be implemented this week as a start to putting worry in its place. Are there some paralyzing worries that you may need to talk to others about. Those worries will steal joy and fulfillment from your life as long as they live there. Let’s look to make some changes. Fixing several of these will make a huge change in your production and results.
Anderson Investigative Associates is positioned to custom-tailor training to your specific needs. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the above issues of turning your worry into excitement for continued momentum and success or any training need, please reach out. Additional issues pertaining to interviewing, auditing, and investigations can be found in other blogs and videos that we have produced and are contained in most blocks of instruction that our company presents.
If you have additional questions, comments, or have an interviewing topic you would like me to address, give me a shout. In the meantime, be well, stay safe out there, and get focused on identifying those worries and transforming them into excitement to maximize momentum, perseverance, and success….it will change many aspects of your life.
Mark A. Anderson
Director of Training and Development
Anderson Investigative Associates, llc
114 Loucks Avenue
Scottdale, PA 15683
manderson@andersoninvestigative.com
tel:912-571-6686
