When Worry Beckons You

I hope you have at least one friend in your life whom you not only like to be with but whom you admire and learn from.

One such friend for me is Coyote Karrick. We haven't known each other too terribly long, and we now live in different states, but that doesn't diminish how much I appreciate knowing her.

Coyote tells a story in her blog, Place of Possibility, about how she chose to feel positive during a time when worry beckoned (kind of like the piece of bagel on the floor did this morning to my dog, Caleb. Practically irresistible.) She tells the story with such humor and grace that I can't help but be inspired.

I'm good in a crisis. For whatever reason, I naturally move toward calm, measured, reasoned choices and actions. (I save the falling apart for later.)

But if there's no imminent threat of disaster, I'm a worrier. So many of us are. The fretting, the hand wringing, the "what if" thinking - it doesn't get me much besides broken nights of sleep.

I'm learning to postpone worry, to choose to anticipate, to stay more calm on a more regular basis. I don't think it means I'm putting my head in the sand and ignoring reality. In fact I think those practices leave me more skilled at recognizing reality and dealing with it.

What worry are you willing to let go of, even if it's just for today? See what happens when you push it aside and choose to see your situation through a different lens.