WORRY Archives - Wheeler Coaching Systems

I had returned home from work and brought all my stuff inside the house. This particularly long day required two trips from the car so I took some of my stuff and put it down in my home office. This was what started it.

The next day I was getting ready to read and could not locate the book I had been reading. I remembered bringing it in the house, but found it nowhere!

I was frustrated, angry at my lack of organization and kind of worried because I really had been finding this book helpful and using it to try and encourage people. Needing to start my day, I grabbed a different book to read on the elliptical at the gym instead of this one. For about three days though in the back of my mind I was wondering “where is that book?”

As leaders we get anxious about little problems like this, but also much more complicated problems bring anxiety. Recently I learned a few tips on dealing with worry or anxiety:

A Question

First, I had to ask myself: what is the worst that could possibly happen? I have to buy a new book and am out a few dollars and don’t have the notes I made in the old book.

Acceptance

I had to accept that worst case scenario. If that is the worst that would happen I needed to accept it . . . but I wasn’t therefore it kept running around in the back of my mind.

Shift

I needed to improve on the worst. In other words I needed to move on and forget about the problem.

I decided to apply these steps and I was about to go to Half-Price Books to purchase another copy, but decided to look one more time on my desk.

I am a typical male when I look for things such as in the refrigerator if the item is not directly in front of me I assume it is not there. As I looked at my sloppy desk I looked from another angle and there it was tucked away behind another book and under some papers!

The entertaining part of this experience was the principles above were from the following book by Dale Carnegie . . . How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.

I know, I guess I need to work at applying the principles I am learning in this book a little better.

What about you? How can you apply Mr. Carnegie’s three steps to help you with whatever is creating anxiety in your life? Share with me and in the meantime, lead well.