1. Remember: nearly all of our worries come from our overactive imaginations - and not from reality.
2. Remember: ninety-nine percent of the things we worry about never happen.
3. Don't let the little things get you down. Often we exaggerate the importance of petty worries and in this way give them power over us.
4. One of the worst features about worrying is that it destroys our ability to concentrate. Our minds jump here, there and everywhere and we lose all power of decision.
5. We are more prone to worrying when we are tired - therefore get sufficient sleep.
6. Don't waste time and energy by worrying about things that happened in the past - things that are over and done with - and therefore cannot be changed. Don't saw sawdust!
7. Don't put off living effectively in the present because you are too consumed with worrying about the future. Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)
8. Remember: Yesterday is dead. Tomorrow is yet unborn. Today is alive! Therefore live today, today.
9. Approach each day as if it is the first you have ever seen - and the last you are going to see. Put all your focus and energy into making this day a great and productive one. Dante said: "Think that his day will never dawn again."
10. Say to yourself: "I survived yesterday. I am getting through today. I won't allow myself to worry about whether I will or won't get through tomorrow."
11. Don't give in to fear. Fear causes worry. Worry makes you tense and anxious. Say to yourself: "Just for today I choose not to be afraid."
12. The philosopher William James said: "Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first thing to overcoming any misfortune." When common sense tell us that we are up against something that cannot be otherwise, let's not pine for what is not, but work with what is reality and within our control.
13. Learn how to bend - how to co-operate with the inevitable. The masters of jujitsu teach their pupils: "Bend like the willow; don't resist like the oak." Keep a rubber band on your wrist every now and then remind yourself to be more flexible.
14. Keeping busy will prevent you from worrying because it is impossible to think of more than one thing at a time. Try it: Close your eyes and htink of the Statue of Liberty and, at the same time, think about what you have to do tomorrow.
15. In jsut the same way, it is almost impossible to remain blue or depressed while acting out the symptoms of being happy. Therefore, choose to keep your htoughts happy. "Fake it till you make it. "
16. Norman Vincent Peale said: "Youa re not what you think you are; but you think - you are.
17. Make your thoughts work for you - instead of against you. Worrying works against your mental health - it can make you feel depressed, fearful, anxious, and even angry. Worrying also works against your physical health- it can produce an ulcer, cause insomnia, and other physical symptoms that can handicap you and negatively impact the quality of your life.
18. Doctor Joseph F. Montague said: "You do not get stomach ulcers from what you eat. You get ulcers from what is eating you."
19. Your emotions produce nervous tensions in your body. Worrything, therefore, will make you feel tired and drained. J.A. Hadfield, one of England's most distinguished pschiatrists said, "The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin; in fact, exhaustion of purely physical origin is rare."
20. Schedule a "worry appointment" with yourself (not longer than 30 minutes per day). By learning to worry only at your designated time, you can limit the impact of worry on your life. If you find yourself worrying at a non-designated time - remind yourself about your next "worry appointment" - and let go of the subject.
21. When you wake up in the morning, say to yourself: "Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is - and not try to adjust everything to my own desires."
- From BYU Stress Management Lab
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