Choosing Faith in a World of Worry

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Everyone goes through struggles at one point or another in life. Sometimes life can feel difficult, emotional and overwhelming. We all know people who handle tough times differently. You may know someone who can stay calm in a moment where everyone else is in a state of panic.

When things aren’t going our way, we tend to worry, often feeling anxious, stressed and exhausted. When we are living in a constant state of fear and worry, we can get caught up in worst case scenarios and feel like things are never going to be okay.

Worrying can be known to be the opposite of faith. If we choose to have faith that it’s going to work out, we can save ourselves quite a bit of time, energy and headaches.

A popular anonymous quote may be helpful to determine if worrying is truly the best use of your time: “Worrying is like a rocking chair. It is in motion, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

No matter how you react in these moments, it’s important to have a foundation of faith to make daily life feel less victimizing.

This is of course easier said than done. It takes practice to not lead a life full of worry and concern if it has how you have lived for years. Even if you go to church every weekend and believe in a higher power, there are things you may be missing on a daily basis to build your practice of faith and even to believe in yourself more fully.

Less Reacting, More Breathing

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Think about a time when you reacted quickly and then felt badly after. You may have received an e-mail from an upset customer. Maybe you had a health scare. Your kids might have spilled juice all over your new couch. You may have had a family member say something rude and hurtful. You may have received an unexpected bill. In a moment of stress, it’s easy to get all worked up and imagine how much the world is against you. You can instantly start worrying rather than trusting it will be okay. Instead of reacting negatively right off the bat, it helps to take at least one big deep breath. There are so many times when people have regretted how they handled a situation because they reacted from an emotional place rather than taking a step back and analyzing how it can be handled in a productive manner. By placing your hand on your heart and taking a deep breath, you give your body and brain a chance to slow down the stress hormones before you say or do something you can’t take back. This way you can trust your body to calm down and manage it in a more appropriate manner.

Less Panic, More Prayers

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We never know what is going to happen from day to day. That is just how life works. One minute we can know someone who is healthy and the next, they could be fighting a terminal disease. Or we know someone who was financially secure but then loses their job and finds it difficult to find work and pay their mortgage. At the end of the day, we do not have control over everything that happens in our lives or to other people. The news is a constant reminder that scary things happen to good people. Sometimes the only thing we can do is pray. Setting time aside to pray more consistently (rather than when you desperately need to), helps you to build your faith in a higher power. When you pray and focus on gratitude for your life, you are allowing your body and mind to relax as well as allowing yourself to trust more often. Practice trusting will allow you to feel less pressure on yourself while you hand it over to your faith.

Less Complaining, More Writing

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Many of us spend a lot of time complaining during our day. We are spending too much time grumbling to co-workers, family members, and friends about how stressed and tired we are. Of course it might feel good to vent in the moment but it doesn’t truly benefit us to do it constantly. Try to hand-write in a journal. Avoid typing if possible since writing on paper has been known to have certain benefits to the body and brain. You can write poems, stories, songs, letters or express your current emotions. Or you can draw. It’s a chance for you to be creative. It’s an opportunity to have quiet time to yourself with your thoughts. Notice the thoughts that are on repeat. If there is a negative emotion that keeps coming up, become aware of how you might be able to change the circumstances or not. Once you begin to acknowledge the things that worry you, you can make necessary changes or begin to release the feeling so you can move on.

Less Rushing, More Planning

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Do you usually start your morning rushing around and feeling stressed out? If so, it’s important to make a couple of changes in your routine so you can remain calm throughout the day. Make sure you get up early enough to pray, eat a nourishing breakfast, stretch or walk, prepare lunch, tidy up the kitchen, take vitamins, get your kids ready, etc. Setting aside even a few minutes every morning to do something that makes you feel grounded before your day begins is essential in reducing your amount of worry. If you aren’t a morning person, try to prepare as much as possible the night before. Maybe you hard-boil a couple of eggs, take a bath or pick out your outfit for the following day. Little adjustments to your schedule will allow you to have more faith throughout your day rather than rushing around and feeling overwhelmed. The more you practice preparing, the easier it will become and the better it will feel.