It’s the misuse of imagination according to renowned motivational speaker and salesman Zig Ziglar.

“What if..?” keeps us up the night before a horse show or a presentation or a difficult telephone conversation.

A nagging worry is like dragging a weight around on the end of a rope. Wherever we go, it comes with us.  The longer we drag it, the heavier it seems. We’re not free until we cut it loose by putting it in it’s proper perspective.  When a situation is heavy on my mind, I lighten the load by remembering…

1. To control the things I can control and let go of the things I can’t.  I can prepare my horse for challenging horse show situations. I can practice tougher things than I may be asked to do in a class. I can study for that judging exam and write down my main points before I teach. I can communicate expectations in a relationship rather than  brooding that “they should know” and initiate asking forgiveness regardless of a person’s response.
2. To consider what would be the worst case scenario and whether I could live with the outcome. In most cases the result, although unpleasant, wouldn’t kill me. It might even make me wiser and stronger.
3. That half of what I’ve worried about hasn’t happened. So why let worry eat up the joy of today?

Anxiety never releases tomorrow of its problems. It only empties today of its strengths. Corrie Ten Boom, Holocaust concentration camp survivor.

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Jesus Christ (Matt 6:27, The Bible)