We’ve set our intentions for the New Year 2008.  Now that the holidays are over, we’re back from vacation into the every day rhythm of our lives.  And right about now, our minds start to wonder – how exactly are our intentions going to become manifested?  What changes will come into our lives?  How will our loved ones react?  What will our employers, our coworkers or our clients think of the changes we want to make?  Before we know it, worry sets in.

Worry happens when the mind tries to resolve what is currently beyond its control.  Worry is re-examining decisions we have already made.  Worry is concern over choices that are still in our future.  And finally, worry is our mind weighing in on decisions that are not ours to make to begin with. We can put a positive spin on this, and tell ourselves that we’re just preparing ourselves for future eventualities or worst-case scenarios.  We can tell ourselves that we’re trying to learn from past choices, or that we are just concerned for our loved ones.  In truth, however, worry removes us from our own present moment and distracts us from the choices that are actually currently before us.

Here are a few ways to turn off the worrying thoughts that are taking up your valuable mental energy:

Ask yourself: “Is this a decision that I can make right now?”  Sometimes we are so busy thinking about what we will do in two weeks or two months in some imagined scenario that we actually start losing sleep – all over something that isn’t even present in our current reality!  But if we ask ourselves if this is a choice that lies before us right now, we can bring ourselves back into the present moment.  The mind that is so busy worrying will turn its attention to the question, creating a space within which you can come back to your here and now.

Ask yourself: “What choice or decision can I make right in this moment that will lead me towards the desired outcome?”  Sometimes there are in fact small things we can take action on.  We can inform ourselves, do a little research on the Internet, or take some other small but necessary preparatory steps.  And sometimes the best thing we can do toward the desired outcome is to get a good night’s sleep.  If there is something you can do or decide right now, no matter how small – then do it.  Make the choice that is before you. By doing what you can in the present moment, the mind is satisfied that its concerns have been addressed. 

One of my favorite exercises is to take all those thoughts and concerns about the future, and imagine placing them all into a box – preferably one that I can put a lid on!  I imagine the jumbled mess of thought patterns going into that box and sealing it tightly.  Then I imagine handing the whole thing over to one of my Spirit Guides.  I imagine asking my Guide to hold these thought patterns in trust for me until the time comes that I can act on them.  I give the worry away, and know that these thought patterns will come back into my mind when the time has come to make actual choices about the issue that I’ve been worrying over.

Worry happens when we try to make choices and decisions that are simply not ours, at least not in this moment.  Taking this perspective reminds us that the true power of creating our experience lies in mindfully addressing those choices that are available to us, right where we are, right now.

Blessings,
Andrea

Filed under: Embrace Your Highest Path and Purpose • Manifest Your Desired Outcomes • Spirit Guides and Angels • Spiritual Development

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