Don't Worry [Be Happy]

When I was little, I remember worrying whether or not my mom would be ok at home without me when I walked to wait for the bus. The school bus. I was like 8. What kid worries about that?!

When I was in the shower this morning I worried to myself…
What jewelry should I wear to this weekend's wedding (Chelsea, can I borrow some?), shit, where is this weekend's wedding? What time is it at? I wonder if my dress will look ok with Ben's suit. Ew you'll probably be able to see my belly in that dress. I need to lose more weight. I need to buy a card. But I need gas too, which one should I do at lunch? Both? But my coworkers wanna go get froyo. Maybe after work, but I might meet up with Bran. Shit, what's for dinner? We need to get that leak fixed ASAP.

Ho...ly shit welcome to my brain.  Hi, my name is Tara and I worry my fucking ass off.  If I could target that worrying to my stomach and worry that off, I'd have one less thing to worry about.

When I went to that conference in San Francisco I attended a session that focused on worrying.  In this instance it was worrying about whether or not your work is good enough.  Having self esteem in what you design is harder than it seems!  Based on the outcome of the session I wasn't the only worrier there that day.  So what did I learn in that session? 

 

I need to be more confident.
Hey, that's one of my 2013 goals! Self esteem, or lack thereof, has always been my arch enemy.

I need to stop making assumptions.

"She didn't text me back, she must have finally realized I'm crazy."

Yup, you're fucking crazy Tara. Get a grip and give yourself a little more credit. People are busy, don't take things so damn personal all the time. 

 

I need to focus on what I can control.

I can plan my life away, but what good is that gonna do? There's no point in stressing over what I can't do anything about.  Instead I could probably focus that energy on something more positive.

 

I also need to remind myself that people in this world, people in my life, have much more important things to worry about.  Their families, their health, the things that really matter.  I often find myself telling friends that, "It could be worse!" when they're upset or concerned about something.  It's about time I take my own advice and realize that I have it pretty damn good.  When I stop worrying I start appreciating and I start living a little.

 

 

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”

What can you stop worrying about today?