I have realized over time that I don't easily get stressed out and I am not usually a worrier. This is really nice because emotionally I tend to be much more evenly distributed. I imagine this makes for an easier life in general.
There are, however, times when I do get a little stressed out. This is how that process goes for me.
It always involves something important to me, for example relationships.
I am very much a thinker, and when something happens I will usually try and think through all the possible scenarios that I can imagine. I also tend to want to be prepared for all scenarios. In my opinion the scenarios that require the most preparation are the worst case scenarios. This usually means that the scenarios I tend to dwell on as to what might happen are the worst case scenarios. The combination of dwelling on the negative possibility and the whole subject being important to me will start to worry me and give me a bit of anxiety.
What I have been working on more recently is realizing that a)I am not as smart as I sometimes think I am and that means that I probably don't know exactly what other people are thinking, b)worrying rarely does any good and I probably won't be able to change something even if I do, and c)It is so much more helpful/useful/rewarding to give all this worry and stress up to God.
God is in control, and as long as I trust in his goodness, power, and plan then it doesn't really matter what happens.
There are, however, times when I do get a little stressed out. This is how that process goes for me.
It always involves something important to me, for example relationships.
I am very much a thinker, and when something happens I will usually try and think through all the possible scenarios that I can imagine. I also tend to want to be prepared for all scenarios. In my opinion the scenarios that require the most preparation are the worst case scenarios. This usually means that the scenarios I tend to dwell on as to what might happen are the worst case scenarios. The combination of dwelling on the negative possibility and the whole subject being important to me will start to worry me and give me a bit of anxiety.
What I have been working on more recently is realizing that a)I am not as smart as I sometimes think I am and that means that I probably don't know exactly what other people are thinking, b)worrying rarely does any good and I probably won't be able to change something even if I do, and c)It is so much more helpful/useful/rewarding to give all this worry and stress up to God.
God is in control, and as long as I trust in his goodness, power, and plan then it doesn't really matter what happens.
2 comments:
Luke, you are right on. Before this last year, I was very high strung & worried about everything, big & small. Then I ran into total chaos in my life & realized that I can't control everything. So now I am much more lax (but still proactive) about things and don't let bad events get to me. I realized that by getting upset or nervous, it would diminish my performance.
I attended a lecture on Sunday about leadership and one definition of leadership that was given was "behavior"-how we react to things. You are right to want to plan for events but sometimes, the results are dependent on other people (as in the case of relationships where I begin to break down).
Anyhow, it is great that you are aware of your abilities and limitations. That shows growth & maturity.
-Karbassi
I am exactly the same way. I know we talked about this in person, but I wanted to comment on your blog anyway.
I've also thought of something else. My level of stress and worry goes up when my level of confidence in myself goes down. When I begin to question my abilities (such as to predict what other people are thinking and/or are going to do), then I begin to worry.
I think this means I trust in myself too much and not in God enough.
Post a Comment