A few years ago an (irritatingly) catchy little tune called Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin was going the rounds. Once heard it took ages to get out of your head. But within that simple song lies a profound message; we spend way too much time worrying.

The thing about worrying is that no good ever comes of it. Worry dissipates your energies, diverting them from more constructive use. As we've got better at curing physical illness so it seems mental illnesses such as stress, depression, anxiety (essentially all aliases for worry) have expanded to fill the gap. And of course these conditions adversely affect physical health.

But even worse than that, worry is a form of thought. And as countless teachers have told thoughts are very powerful things. They tend to manifest themselves in reality. So by worrying, you actually serve to create the very thing you are worried about!

If something is bothering you all the worry in the world isn't going to help (and will most likely harm). Whatever it may be - money, work, relationships, kids, health, family... DO something about it. If the problem is money, start planning and budgeting a little better; if it's work, start checking the job ads or consider something more radical like self-employment or re-training; if it's health, eat healthy, exercise and follow the doctor's orders...

Sit quietly, take a few deep breaths, analyze what's wrong and what you can do about it. Don't be afraid to ask for help through prayer, or even from those you trust.

In most situations you'll have a choice of potential actions (including simply doing nothing and letting what will be just be). And for each, since we can't see the future, a range of possible outcomes - including the best, worst and most likely.

You'll now be empowered by knowledge. Decide what you're going to do. Then do it. And stop worrying, because you KNOW that you've done the best you could in the circumstances, and whatever happens you KNOW that you couldn't have done any better.

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday

Think back to childhood. I'm pretty sure you worried then too. Perhaps you forgot to revise for a class test, or maybe you got dropped from the football team, or your best friend didn't want to let you in a game... At the time didn't it seem the biggest problem in the world, but looking back don't your childhood worries seem inconsequential? And that's how today's worries will seem when reviewed in the world of Spirit. So stop worrying and be happy.

By: J Finnis
Johnny Finnis is editor of selfhelpsanctum.com, helping you help yourself. Have your say on our blog A Spiritual Voice.

Submitted by:
Cindi Petrelli
Jokes and Humor

Do the things you worry about keep you up at night? Do you often feel nervous and uncomfortable? If so, this burden of stress is most likely making your life miserable. Do you want to break free from stress, stop worrying and start being happy? You can end this cycle now by identifying and dealing with the underlying causes of stress.

Future Fears

Fear about future events is one of the most common causes of worrisome stress. These fears can range from trivial concerns--such as what to wear to work the next day--to global fears about how the world will survive.

"When I look back on all these worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened." ~Winston Churchill

Anytime you worry about something that may or may not happen at some point in time, you're giving in to future fears. You might hear yourself saying things like:

"What if I lose my job?"
"What if she never talks to me again?"
"My son is sick, what happens next?"
"The world is so scary, what about war?"

Worries such as these can lead to restless or even sleepless nights. Sleepless nights lead to more stress, which in turn causes more worry--in other words, it's a vicious cycle.

Past Regrets

Another major cause of stress is dwelling on past regrets. By not letting go of things that may have gone wrong--or even just not as well as you might have hoped--stress increases and new fears are fed.

"If I had only done a better job on that essay"
"I never should have said that"
"I should have spent more time with my family"
"I should've never put that much money on my credit card"

These are the thoughts of someone who can't stop stressing about things that have already happened. Regret about the past can reflect any thoughts about events that you believe should or should not have happened.

How Can You Tell if You've Fallen into a Worry Cycle?

Whether you're concerned with the past, the future, or both, these kinds of thoughts are the source of the worry cycle and the underlying source of your stress. Trapped in the cycle, you may become anxious, sad, confused, or depressed. You might even begin to stress about worrying so much.

Needless to say, it is normal for us to think about future events, have some regret about past experiences and even stress about them to some degree. You can tell you've fallen into a worry cycle by the number of times your mind goes back to the same subject and by your feelings in relation to that subject.

If something happens that causes concern and you find yourself feeling uncomfortable and thinking about that same subject more than three times, it's the beginning of a worry cycle. Once you're in the cycle, your stress tolerance is lowered and your happiness is severely compromised.

Letting Go of Stress: Break Free from the Worry Cycle

Escaping the cycle of worry is the only way to create a new cycle of happiness. Luckily, there are concrete strategies that you can develop to help you release your stress and focus on the things that make you happy. Like any habit, worrying is a pattern that can be broken. Because the pattern is familiar to you, it will take practice to break free from the cycle.

The following steps can help you to set a new pattern that will significantly reduce your stress and help you to stop worrying so much:

Step one: Pay attention to how you feel. We all have emotions and we have them for a reason. The discomfort that comes along with worry is a warning bell that something deeply important to us is missing in any given situation. Learn to recognize the first signs of worry before they have a chance to initiate a cycle and turn into a stressor.

Step two: Identify what you really want. As we said in step one, uncomfortable feelings are warning bells that something deeply important is missing. In order to start breaking out of the worry cycle it is essential to start identifying what you want in a situation.

Step three: Take action. There is always some kind of action you can take. When you're in action, you have less time to worry or be hopeless about things never changing.

By: Beth Banning and Neill Gibson
Not sure what action to take? If you're serious about reducing stress and are seeking personal development skills that lead to finding happiness, sign up for free our thought-provoking and motivational Weekly Action Tips eMail series at: http://www.FocusedAttention.com/cmd.php?ad=317928.
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