quotations about worry & worrying
Worrying is good when it gets you to do things -- hold peace talks, build flood barriers, lock the back door, teach children road drill. But when you can't do anything then it's just destructive. The trick is to learn the difference between the two.
SHARON GRIFFITHS
"It's worrying to hear we regret our time worrying", Eastern Daily Press, February 22, 2016
People who are prone to worrying are soft-wired to pay attention to threatening news, thereby building up a library of evidence in their brains that worrying is necessary. Think about it. On any given day, there are so many threatening things happening in the world -- anything from new viruses, terrorist attacks, or political conflicts to a hostile email or upcoming storm are all real events. Yet, if you only pay attention to the threats, you have no space left in your brain to process anything else. Threat becomes your reality, and worry becomes your justifiable response. Anyone telling you to give up your worry will sound out of touch, to say the least.
SRINI PILLAY
"Managing worry in generalized anxiety disorder", Harvard Health Publications, February 17, 2016
Worrying is similar to purchasing ulcers on credit.
GREG REYNOLDS
"Issues of Faith: No worries when experiencing God's Peace", Peninsula Daily News, March 3, 2017
The longer I have followed Jesus, the more I have experienced him lifting worry's weight from my soul. Increasingly, I view worry as a cue to pray, choosing to trust my Heavenly Father and to thank him.
GREG REYNOLDS
"Issues of Faith: No worries when experiencing God's Peace", Peninsula Daily News, March 3, 2017
Every moment of worry weakens the soul for its daily combat.
ANNA ROBERTSON BROWN
What is Worth While?
One can make one's life a complete misery, worrying about burglaries and shipwrecks, but ask anyone, anyone you know ... earth-shattering disasters and fabulous inheritances all seems to take place exclusively in the newspapers.
JEAN ANOUILH
The Rehearsal
Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
ARTHUR SOMERS ROCHE
attributed, Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom
Worry affects the circulation, the glands, the whole nervous system.
CHARLES H. MAYO
attributed, Words of Wellness: A Treasury of Quotations for Well-Being
The idea that worrying is a fruitful endeavour is predictive of excessive worrying.
ERIC RASSIN
Thought Suppression
Worrying is a waste of our time. Period. If we are worrying, then we are not doing anything about anything.
JANICE CORSANO
This Is Only a Dream!: When You Die You Wake Up
If the worry is reasonable, do something about it. If it's irrational or out of your control, recognize that.
ERIC BARKER
"Ancient wisdom: How the Buddhists and Stoics stay emotionally strong", The Week, March 30, 2017
If I was a worrier I'd worry, but not being a worrier I'm just sort of confused and p*ssed off.
MYKLE HANSEN
Help! A Beat is Eating Me!
Worms eat you when you're dead; worries eat you when you're alive.
JEWISH PROVERB
Worry compounds the futility of being trapped on a dead-end street. Thinking opens new avenues.
CHARLES W. MAYO
attributed, Nols Wilderness Wisdom: Quotes for Inspirational Exploration
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
KEITH CASERTA
Soul Searching
Don't be forecasting evil unless it is what you can guard against. Anxiety is good for nothing if we can't turn it into a defense.
BRUCE LEE
Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living
Worry in the dark can make it even darker.
CAMRON WRIGHT
The Rent Collector
Worrisome thoughts reproduce faster than rabbits, so one of the most powerful ways to stop the spiral of worry is simply to disclose my worry to a friend.... The simple act of reassurance from another human being [becomes] a tool of the Spirit to cast out fear.
JOHN ORTBERG, JR.
The Me I Want to Be
One of the worst features about worrying is that it destroys our ability to concentrate. When we worry, our minds jump here and there and everywhere, and we lose all power of decision. However, when we force ourselves to face the worst and accept it mentally, we then eliminate all these vague imaginings and put ourselves in a position in which we are able to concentrate on our problem.
WILLIS H. CARRIER
attributed, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
Worrying ... is always useless. It is a form of inner considering--i.e. of identifying. It is a continual mixing up of negative imagination with a few facts and so makes only wrong connections.
MAURICE NICOLL
Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky