What You Worry About Never Happens

85% of Worries Never Happen.
They conducted a study that followed people over an extended time and discovered that 85 percent of what people worried about never happened. Does that sound like good news? Wait, don't answer; there's more. Aug 17, 2021

I’d say it’s more like 99%...

“When you think about it, 99% of the things that we fear and worry about never happens. Yet we stay stuck in a pattern of living our daily lives shackled by these fears that will likely never come to fruition. Why are we living our fears rather than our dreams?

Worry is an emotion fueled by fear and it is our way of coping. It takes up a lot of time and energy, which are our most precious commodities. It’s time and energy that you will never get back, whether what you are worried about happens or not.

Can you imagine putting $20 in a jar for every hour you worried about something you have no control over? Over your lifetime, how much money would be in that jar? Doing this is like making payments on a debt you may never owe – especially since what you worry about happening only happens 1% of the time.

Worry is a sneaky little thing. It gives us a false sense of control over a situation we feel powerless in. Then if we focus on the problem and every possible outcome (which is impossible, believe me, I have years of experience with this one!) we think we will be prepared for whatever comes our way. It gives us a false sense of security but what it really is, is a distraction. What we should be doing and what is more effective, is focusing on what we can control – which is our response to what is coming.

Many times, people worry because they feel powerless in how they will respond to a situation. For example, say you’re worried about being laid off. You’ve done the best that you can in your position, but your employer is downsizing. If you stay focused on worrying about losing your job, you’re stuck because there’s not much you can do to influence the outcome.

Ask yourself what is the worst thing that will happen if you get laid off?  You might say that you will never find another job…but that isn’t true. It may take you a long time to find another job, though. So, what can you do about it now to prepare yourself for this possibility?

You can start by taking an honest assessment of where you are in your career. Maybe your skills aren’t as relevant as they could be. What can you do to make your resume more attractive to prospective employers? You can start looking for new jobs now to see what’s out there. You can reach out to old connections and network. You can take some classes to gain new skills that will make you more marketable to new prospective employers.

By focusing on your response and what you do have control over, you can empower yourself rather than fret about things that may never come. And if you don’t get laid off? That’s great! But it’s also great that you have created more options for yourself by networking with others and learning new skills. Should a layoff happen in the future, you will be better prepared”.