quotations about worry & worrying
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
Worms eat you when you're dead; worries eat you when you're alive.
JEWISH PROVERB
The cause of worry is life: its cure is death.
CALEB WILLIAMS SALEEBY
Worry: The Disease of the Age
Worry is negative prayer, or prayer in reverse. It is a habit which is not to be taken lightly, for it is an evil one.
MARTHA LEMASTERS
"Worry is ingratitude to God in advance", Vero Beach Newsweekly, February 8, 2016
If something worries you, check it out. Do what you can, take care of what you can, and then let it go. At this point, having done all you can, worrying about the issue doesn't do you any good. You could be using that energy in other ways to help you feel better.
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
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
The reason worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
RALPH LOUIS WOODS
The Modern Handbook of Humor
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
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
The Greeks said that worry is two opposing forces that tear a person apart. The Saxons say worry is like a wolf with a stranglehold on a man's throat. Worry chokes our physical strength, our creative powers, our spiritual growth and our joy.
TOM O'BRIEN
"Focus your thoughts on God", Ellwood City Ledger, March 24, 2017
You're worried about what-ifs. Well, what if you stopped worrying?
SHANNON CELEBI
Driving Off Bridges
Action is worry's worst enemy.
AMERICAN PROVERB
Worry is evidence of unbelief and proof that there is deep insecurity caused by a lack of oneness with God.
MARTHA LEMASTERS
"Worry is ingratitude to God in advance", Vero Beach Newsweekly, February 8, 2016
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
Worrying is about living in a "what if" state of mind and visualizing what you DON'T want to experience, instead of what you DO! When your mind gets stuck on a negative thought, it automatically shifts into high gear and tries to fix the situation.
JAFREE OZWALD
The Manifesting Manual
Do not worry at being worried; but accept worry peacefully. Difficult but not impossible.
JOHN CHAPMAN
Spiritual Letters
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
The first thing you have to realize about worrying is that it is a choice, not an inevitability. Some people think that worry comes naturally when you have problems. That's not true. You worry because you choose to be worried.
ANTHONY JOSHUA
Overcoming Anxiety: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living