2500 years ago, Buddha said, “Don’t worry about the things you cannot influence.”

I like the way Jesus put it even better. He asked a couple of compelling questions:

“Who of you buy worrying can add a single hour to your life?” Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

 Corrie ten Boom put it this way: “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”‍

Here is a great Swedish proverb: “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” 

Dale Carnegie, one of the greatest influencers the world has ever known:

“If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.” 

Benjamin Franklin has one of my favorites:

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”

 
Amy Morin, in her Forbes article Six Ways To Stop Stressing About Things You Can’t Control, puts it this way:

‍There's a brutal truth about life that some people refuse to accept—you have no control over many of the things that happen to you. People who resist this truth fall into two categories—control freaks or worry warts. Control freaks believe if they can gain enough control over others, and the situations they find themselves in, they can somehow prevent bad things from happening. Worry warts, on the other hand, fret about everything from natural disasters to deadly diseases. It’s as if they believe thinking hard enough about all the potential worst case scenarios will somehow keep them safe.

If you are worrying, choose to stop. You can read Amy’s article to find out how. BTW, starting on next weeks podcast we are reviewing her “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.”

Forward this blog to someone who is worrying. If that is you—reread the blog!

‍