Gimme Strength!

Ready or not, here it is!

Welcome to September.

Isn't it incredible? With the flip of a calendar page, life begins to feel all scheduled and chaotic?

If scheduling mayhem wasn't bad enough. It seems that work, school and life attracts a series of worry riddled to-dos as well (Ack!)

If you gotten on this worry train, its time to think about getting off.  Life just doesn't have to go down this way!

Here are 5 Tips (or are they Tricks) that I use, in no particular order, to rid myself of any worries that may be rattling around in my thoughts. Try them all and pick what works for you.

1. Write on!

The best way to sort it out, is to write it out. Just 20 minutes a day will do you right. How is writing it out better than talking it out? When you talk, you get other people's opinions. When you write, your own ideas take form. While there are many studies that applaud the benefits of writing, the value in first hand experience will prove its value to you with a few weeks.

2. Just say "NO"

A common reason for overwhelm is that we're not so great at just saying NO. Absolutely this takes practice, but it's certainly worth it. Saying no doesn't mean your being a jerk or failing those around you. It's simply an act of making sure that when you do show up, you have the time and energy to be fully present.

3. Schedule It

That's right, you're the boss of you, not your worries. So set a time to deal with worrying when it's convenient for you. And I mean schedule it. You're not fooling anyone if you're not blocking off time to deal with and mentally move through your worries. When neglected, worries will just sneak up on you in wildly unpredictable ways. So take care of business before it takes care of you.

4. Set your Watch

Don't ignore your worries, just manage the amount of time you spend wallowing in them. Set a timer and swiftly work through what the worst could be, how you'd handle it so that nothing will catch you off guard and then take your first, then second step into Tip 5.

5. Rehearse your success.

I know. Sounds strangely simple. Lets face it, we'll spend so much time mulling over what could go wrong. What exactly might happen if we started mulling over what could go right? Why not give it a try. If you are going to think about whatever situation is driving your worries, why not flip the script and focus on a positive outcome. Who knows. Maybe with some extra time spend positively pondering, we might think up new solutions to make what we want an easier reality.

Give these tips a try.  I'd love to hear what you found helpful to ease the worries in your mind.

Happy exploration & happy September.