Is Worrying Helping?

My devotion this morning opened with a great quote from George Washington: Worry is interest paid by those who borrow trouble.

Worry is one of the main contributors to caregiving craziness. It sucks so much energy out of us, and energy is an exhaustible resource. You can burn out.

In fact, I have a friend who says, “Come worry with me.” Now, you and I know that both of us worrying about the same thing is twice the wasted time. But, what she means is that she needs companionship, a connection, a feeling that she isn’t in her situation alone. I get that and that’s a good thing.

Here’s the deal, though: Whatever it is you’re worried about, the only two issues to consider are can you do something about it, or can’t you?

If you can do something about it, then do whatever you can do. Even if it’s only a little effort that gets you a tiny bit farther down the road, it’s something. And, I can tell you that one something leads to another and another, and the next thing you know you’ve got a handle on that thing you were worried about. You feel more in control and the worrying tends to stop or, at least, lessen.

However, you can overdo the strategy of keeping busy. You can burn yourself out by going-going-going all the time in an effort to convince yourself that you are doing something about the situation.

If you can’t do anything about it, worrying won’t help. Hmmm … you didn’t seem to be paying attention to that last line because you were thinking, “Everyone knows that.” Right.

So, here it is again: “If you can’t do anything about it, worrying won’t help.”

Does worrying make you feel better? No. Does it make you feel like you’re doing something? Sometimes.

Whatever you are worried about, either do something or understand that there’s nothing you can do, and move on.

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