Worry is like a rocking chair

Someone once said that worry is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do, but it takes you no where. Like others, I have spent too much time worrying - dreading a presentation, replaying a bad experience, and the list goes on.

Worry gazes upon the past or the future in unhealthy ways. One brings regret while the other brings anxiety. Both ruin the present.

My suggestion is to treat worry as a warning. When it starts, let it redirect you to something more productive. If you are worrying about a presentation, prepare and practice. If you are worrying about something you said or did, make amends or develop habits that will prevent you from making the same mistake again. Remember, worry is lying. It can’t help you.

Jesus spoke at length on the subject of worry. “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” In other words, worry can’t change anything. Or “do not worry about tomorrow… each day has enough trouble of its own.” Worry has only one power - it brings the troubles of the future or the past into the present. It is but a rocking chair.