Why do you want to learn how to stop worrying? Because worry destroys the moment, negatively affects your life and mood, and can evolve into obsessive thinking patterns. This can turn into a psychological disorder (Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by excessive worrying). Letting go of worry frees your mind and soul. When you stop worrying, you can focus on being creative, productive, and centered.
"Worry fragments the mind, shatters focus, distorts perspective, and destroys inner ease. Worry is self-afflicted distress. It has no consistent practical outcome…" says Hugh Prather in The Little Book of Letting Go. When you learn how to stop worrying, you center your mind and adopt a single-minded focus. When you stop obsessive thinking patterns you build inner peace and a relaxed mood.
How to Stop Worrying: A Two-Step Process
In The Little Book of Letting Go, Hugh Prather describes a "release" from negative or obsessive thinking patterns. It's an effective and simple two-step process that teaches you how to stop worrying.
How to Stop Worrying: Identify Your Obsessive Thought Patterns
If you're not struggling with obsessive thinking patterns right now, you can practice letting go of worry by picking something you worried about in the past. Did you obsess about your finances when you were buying a house or car? Maybe you obsessed about your kid's first day of school, your pregnancy, or your wedding.
It might be easier to pick a past worry and practice letting go of that instead of trying to stop obsessing over a current worry. When you remember a past worry – especially if it was resolved successfully – you remind yourself that most things you worry about are a huge waste of time and effort!
How to Stop Worrying: Replace Old Thoughts With New Ones
Substitute your worrisome thoughts for feel-good ones. Think of a toddler you recently played with, the last joke you laughed at, or a party you enjoyed. Focus on God, Allah or your connection with the universe. Sink into your favorite childhood memory or a great vacation.
Simply interrupt or replace your obsessive thinking patterns with thoughts that make you feel good.
How to Stop Worrying: Get a Global Perspective
Hugh Prather adds another dimension to letting go of worry in The Little Book of Letting Go: "It's important to see that even if what we can't stop thinking about is an event, other people's reactions are central to our distress. Our mind doesn't get stuck on events that no one else witnesses or will ever know about."
How do other people play into your obsessive thought patterns? Figuring that out may be helpful when you practice how to stop worrying.
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