Page 245 - 30 Minute Meals Recipes Includes Easy Dinner Recipes, Healthy Dinner Ideas and Simple Recipes That Can Be Made in 30 Minutes or Less for Busy Moms, Dads \& Other Professionals! - PDFDrive.com

don ’ t let worry rob you of time and energy

vulnerable. Face your fear. As you stop fearing the fear, it may
begin to subside. If so, worry has already done its worst.

2. Name It as You Claim It

Sometimes fear comes disguised as the formless furies, vague
dread or anxiety that can shake you out of a sound sleep and leave
you wide awake until daybreak. Or it may take on a specific but
false aspect. You may think you’re worried about the coming con-
gressional election or the sorry shape your public schools are in—
laudable concerns, to be sure—when you’re really worried about a
mole on your neck that suddenly changed shape and turned red.

Give it a name. Write the worry down as specifically as you
can. Now you can begin to deal with it effectively.

3. Consider the Consequences

Fear doesn’t exist apart from you. Like stress, it’s a reaction
that takes place inside you. Since you created it, you can rechannel
or diffuse it.

Ask: “What’s the worst that could happen to me?”
If you eat that cheeseburger and fries, you’ll consume about a
week’s allotment of fat, along with an enormous number of calo-
ries. This will not do you any good, and as a regular habit, it might
shorten your life. On the other hand, the one meal will not kill
you—and it will taste very good.
Perhaps you’re worried about that presentation you’re sched-
uled to give in two days. What, specifically, lurks under that gen-
eral performance anxiety? Perhaps you’re worried that you might
make a mistake and, if you do, somebody might laugh at you.
Ask: “Could I live with that?”
You might not like it, surely, but you could certainly live with it.
Now ask: “What are the odds?”

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