I have been re-reading “Kingdom of the Golden Dragon” by Isabel Allende, and the quote below leapt out at me again. Perhaps it’s something you also need to hear this week?
– Confront Obstacles As They Appear –
“Confront obstacles as they appear, don’t waste energy fearing what you may meet in the future.”
This quote leapt out at me the first time I read this book, and again this week it jumped out and did a little dance in front of me (metaphorically speaking) to ensure I had noticed it. I am a recovering worry-holic, and there are times when I forget not to worry about something that hasn’t happened yet and just wait and see what happens. I’ve been doing that a little bit lately.
I know it’s a complete waste of time, as most of the things I worry about never happen. In fact, it’s worse than a complete waste of time because it worrying makes life worse. Worrying opens the door to fearfulness which can lead to bad decision making which gives you more to worry about. Worrying is using your imagination to create things you don’t want – horror stories for your life. Who wants that?
If you, like me, have a good, active, creative imagination, worrying is not a good use of all that creative energy because we can just take it too far! That’s why I like this quote so much. It reminds you to stay in the present moment, and trust yourself to deal with whatever comes up in your life. So far, I have been dealing with whatever came up in life – including deaths, job losses, travelling the world alone, illness, accidents, unexpected expenses – for over 38 years.
And most of the time I did a pretty good job too! Occasionally I have cocked up (who hasn’t?), but mostly I dealt with obstacles as they came up. Some took me a while to figure out how to get under, over, round or through…but all have been overcome so far. And I have no reason to doubt that I will continue to do so.
As I’ve got older, I have become more confident, more skilful, wiser, stronger, more optimistic, more positive, have more of a ‘can-do’ attitude, I’ve learned to ask for help, and I take myself even less seriously than I did before. Taking all that into account, I could conclude that not only will I continue to overcome all obstacles I might meet in the future, I shall do it with wit, grace and flair!
Which sounds much more fun than being a worry wort. Do you worry about things that have not yet happened and may never happen? Or do you confront obstacles as they appear? Take a moment now to appreciate that you too are older, wiser, better prepared, more able than you have ever been and that you can handle any obstacle you might meet…when it appears and not a moment sooner!
– Something to Play With –
If you are a bit of a worrier, whenever you find yourself mithering over something that hasn’t happened yet, remind yourself to “Confront obstacles as they appear, don’t waste energy fearing what you may meet in the future.” Leave me a comment below.
Love
Donna.x