What is it that is holding you back? Is it the looming debt? The weight you haven’t lost? The baby on the way? The marriage that feels suffocating? The addictions? The negative thinking patterns?
Now take a look at the things that you’ve listed. Or if you haven’t yet, take a second and do this. Write down all the things that you feel are dragging you down….. Now look at that list. Exam it closely. When you look at the list, what items on this list are the things you feel are areas of your life that you haven’t really put your focus and attention on lately? Are those the same items that feel the heaviest?
A lot of the time when we think about the things that we are worried about, or the things that feel the heaviest, it is often because we haven’t stopped to take the time to examine how to “care about” these things versus “worry about them.” When we worry about something it ruminates over and over in our minds without any sort of healthy conclusion. However, when we take a pause to “Care about” something instead, this shifts our focus to “what do I do about this?” instead of “oh no, look at what this thing is doing to me.” When we ask ourselves the questions ‘what can I do about this?’ we start to look at the next right step. What is one single step we can make today to move towards caring about this topic in efforts to lessen our worry. It can be the smallest step, but the next right step is better than no step at all, and feeling the weight of it looming over you.
Imagine it like this: You’re going on a backpacking trip with your friends. You have packed a heavy pack filled with all the food, and water, and tents, etc that you may need for this trip. However, when you start up the mountain you start to realize “oh goodness the campsite is about 3 miles away.” If you stayed there standing and stuck in the fear your pack will only start to feel heavier, and you will never make it to your campsite. BUT if you take a few steps at a time, resting when needed, you will eventually make it to the great landscape to set up camp and sleep beneath the stars in complete peace. You will feel satisfied knowing you’ve worked hard to get where you are, and you will rest easy knowing you’ve got the fire going and you are prepared for your night in the wilderness. You have to make the first step though. Sometimes that first one is the hardest, but with every step forward you become more motivated, more excited to reach your goal, and more pleased with yourself because you’re still moving. However slow, however fast, you are moving in the direction of your dream.
So think back on your list. Again, what are some simple and small ways you can move from “worrying about” something to “caring about it?” Just do one step today, one step tomorrow, and slowly and sustain-ably, you will succeed.
Be Well,
Buff