My Philosophy on Worry

Late at night, I was thinking about some people who are very close to me and the burdens they bear - the burdens of worry and anxiety. As Alan Alda would say, here is what I overheard while talking to myself...

Worry is the free man's slave master. Worry is your ego operating under the false assumption that you actually have control over the outcome of situations in your life. Worry is your ego's misconception that you can do anything other than simply act in this moment.

You cannot control the past. You cannot control the future. The only control we are given in this life is what we do this very second. You can control your thoughts and your decisions in this instant only. This very moment, you could make an entirely new choice and live an entirely different life. You could, if you chose, stand up, walk away and change your life forever. Remember though, you can only exert that control in the here and now.

Sometimes you will make a good choice, and things will turn out badly. Sometimes you will make a poor choice, and everything will turn out wonderfully. You...do...not...have influence over the future. You have influence over the present and the present only.

What should you do with this understanding? Pay attention to what's going on around you in the present. Work hard. Make the best choices you know how to make in the present moment. Most importantly, do not worry about the outcome. It will be what it will be. When it arrives, you will face it in the present by paying attention, working hard and making the best choices you know how to make in the present.

As we all know, often the greatest good comes from the most difficult situations. Wouldn't it be a shame to make your way to that place where you find the greatest good but ruin the trip by worrying every step of the way? Live free. See where life takes you. And above all, enjoy the ride, my friends. Always enjoy the ride.