Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Reduce your concerns
• Method 2 of 4: Organize your life
• Method 3 of 4: Control your own mind
• Method 4 of 4: Give yourself a chance
• Warnings

Being a little worried is healthy. It makes you think ahead and help you prepare for an unexpected setback. However, if you worry too much, you make your own life miserable and put a lot of unnecessary stress on yourself. Read the methods below to get your worries under control and spark your zest for life.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Reduce your concerns

1. Reduce your gang. Despite today's technology being smaller and more useful than ever, we all seem to be surrounded by things we don't use or care about anymore. It may seem like a pain to take the time and effort to get rid of these things, but you'll be happy once you've completed the task.
   • Throw out anything you haven't used in a year or more unless it was terribly expensive or a family heirloom. Run a flea market, use eBay, or just donate your extra plates, clothes, toys, books, movies, games, and other items to charity.
     • Expensive items and / or heirlooms that you have not used in a long time should be carefully packed and stored in the attic, in the basement, in a garage or even in a seldom used bedroom closet.
2. Allocate space. One of the most common prescriptions psychologists give to cure insomnia is to reserve the bedroom for sex and sleep only. By creating a special, dedicated space for specific activities, you convince your brain to participate in those activities when you enter that space. Take this method to heart as much as space allows:
   • Remove TVs, desks, computers, and other such distractions from the bedroom. Keep clothes and books in the place. Only spend time in the bedroom when you change, take a book, go to sleep, or have sex with someone. Don't read in bed.
   • Remove the clutter from your dining room table / dining table. If you don't have a dining room or breakfast nook, but you have a table, clean it. Only use the table for eating and doing paperwork (invoices, studying, writing, etc.). Make a commitment to wash your dishes after every meal.
   • Maintain your kitchen. It is rare that you will ever make so many dishes in a single day that you cannot wash them all in the evening in 30 minutes. Clean up every day so you can keep using the kitchen for cooking and not worry about the mess.
   • Do time-consuming activities in an office or living room. Keep computers, TVs, game consoles, and other similar activity items in a common area. Train your brain to associate these areas with leisure activities and hobbies. You will be able to do things with much greater efficiency in other, utilitarian areas of the home.
3. Consider canceling the TV service. It's a dramatic move for some people, but scheduled TV programming can disrupt an otherwise fitting daily schedule. Most people find that they don't miss the TV service as they thought they would after a few days without it. Invest in a paid streaming video service, such as Netflix, so you can watch TV shows when it suits you.
   • DVR devices that record shows for you to watch later are also a viable option if you can't stand the thought of waiting 8 months to see the new season of your favorite show, but be sure to resist the temptation to just turn on the TV when it's there. Once you start watching, you usually spend more time than you planned, which shrinks the rest of your day and makes you feel rushed.
   • If you can manage it, using the internet less is also a good idea, but since most people also use the internet for practicality, this can be much more difficult. Start with the TV and see how that works out first.
   • Budget flexibly. Different days require a different approach. Maybe you eat out every Monday evening or maybe you have a regular appointment with friends on Saturday afternoon. Be aware of that fact and mentally double check your basic plan every morning. Add time to get things done for the day with a little smoothness on both sides.

Method 2 of 4: Organize your life

1. Compile a budget. One of the simplest and most effective steps you can take to ease the worries caused by your complex life is to budget for your expenses. There is nothing difficult or mysterious about:
   • Track your expenses for a week or two. Don't worry about checking it just yet, just spend as normal. You can track your expenses via your phone or a notepad.
   • Divide your expenses according to general types of purchase. For example, many typical budgets have gas, food, entertainment, and impulse buying categories. Take each category and multiply it so that you have a monthly estimate of your expenses.
   • Add another category for bill payments and one more for savings (if you're saving money). That's your budget. Try your best to stick to it to avoid worrying about how much money you can spend in one place or another.
     • Your budget will also be helpful in helping you make changes to save more money or spend less in a particular category. Just decrease the amount in one category and increase it in any other you wish. Stick to that budget to make the changes.
2. Organize your time. You can set a budget for your time, just like you can set a budget for your money. Because you are trying to reduce rather than increase your worries, go in this process with a focus on maximizing your personal time, rather than stuffing as much as possible each day.
   • Set up a sleep schedule. Stick to it, even on the weekends. In the evening, give yourself a one-hour target for bedtime and set a strict time to get up in the morning. Make sure that the time between your bedtime and the start of your day gives you about an hour extra than the amount of sleep you actually need so that you don't lie in bed and start worrying about whether or not you should will fall asleep.
   • Make sure you do tasks at the same time every day. Plan your time for daily hygiene, commuting, work, shopping, eating, and chores. Also, schedule time for something else you do most days, such as doing homework, exercising, or an active hobby. Put them in a specific order that works for you. Any time that is left is free time for you to use for relaxation or whatever you want.
     • To maximize your free time, try to combine tasks outside of the house. For example, you could plan to go shopping on the way home after work to save an extra trip.
     • For many people, an irregular work schedule makes this form of budgeting difficult, but you can still work around your schedule every day in the same order and the times just shake.

Method 3 of 4: Control your own mind

1. Develop empty moments. It's easy to fill every moment of your free time with smartphone apps, social media browsing, TV, books, hobbies and more, but it's not always a good idea. What you sometimes need is not a distraction, but a moment for yourself. For most people, there isn't much free time in the day, but it's not hard to find some five-minute spaces where you can drop everything and be alone with your thoughts.
   • Use your empty time to think about what you want, or just sit back and look at the patterns on your ceiling or the leaves on a tree near your window. Don't fill it with something that requires your attention to enjoy, such as a book or a smartphone.
2. Take the time to clear your mind. Even the most overworked adult can find half an hour once a week for silent meditation and reflection. Meditation is a powerful technique for organizing your thoughts and your feelings, and all it takes is a quiet place without much distraction. Sit comfortably and focus on your breathing until the rest of your thoughts go still. That way you can think about them without feeling overwhelmed.
   • This is also a great time to set weekly goals or remind yourself of tasks to be completed soon, such as shopping and yard work. Feel free to keep a pad and a pen or pencil handy when you meditate so you can write down and organize whatever comes to your mind. You can use your notes as a guide for the week ahead so you have less chaos.
3. Be rational. People often worry about things they have limited control over, such as whether or not to get a new job (after an interview) or what a new acquaintance really thought of them. These concerns are difficult to avoid completely, even though it is clear that worrying will not change their results. But that doesn't mean you can't do your best to remind yourself not to worry. Make a conscious effort to focus your attention on something else, and let events run their course as best you can.
   • Try to respect yourself. If something doesn't work out as you hoped, assess the course of events in your mind and try to focus on what you did well or how hard you tried, rather than where you screwed it up. Chances are, the results had little to do with your actions and more to do with those of others. If you criticize yourself endlessly, you will only be more concerned the next time a similar situation occurs (and more likely to make a nervous mistake). Believe that you have done your best and that you will do your best next time. There is no good reason to worry about things that have already come and gone.

Method 4 of 4: Give yourself a chance

1. Take a leap. Much of the time, your concerns will revolve around whether or not you can do something successfully. Despite some things largely depend on chance (as mentioned above), you can make up for it nicely by making other efforts on your own. Pick something you've always wanted to do, do better, or reboot and give it a shot.
   • Remember, there is nothing to lose in trying something for your own pleasure. Therefore, there is no good reason to worry about how well you will do. Just compete against yourself and do your best not to worry too much about what others might think.
   • Keep trying and working on things that interest you. You will succeed more often than you might think and you will start to worry less when you realize that 75% of success is just doing it and trying it.People who seem successful and happy are people just like you, except their worries will never stop them from giving things another chance.
   • The things you try don't have to be flashy or important to everyone but you. You could start a new hobby, such as knitting or a combat sport, or you could make a promise to smile more often at work. The goals you set are yours to try and achieve. Pursue everything you've ever wanted to pursue. You will be happy with the results more often than not.
2. Live in the moment. Don't obsess over the future, instead, focus on living in the present. It's okay to plan ahead and set goals wisely, but the most important thing is to live your life as it is now and not worry about what's already past or what the distant future might hold.
   • Practice self-acceptance. As mentioned earlier, excessive self-criticism is a major concern. Part of us listens to what we have to say about ourselves, whether we like it or not. If you always look down on yourself, you will not be able to enjoy anything. Telling yourself that you'll do better in the future is one thing, refusing to be proud of yourself and happy with the steps you've taken to make your life better is another beast.
   • Remember that people are essentially self-centered. When you make a painful mistake or scene, it can lead to all your worries being brought back to life with a vengeance, leaving you half-catatonic with fear and self-doubt. The fact is that everyone has such gaffes now and then and most people, aside from the person who slipped, forget about it altogether or ignore it soon after. No one obsesses over every move you make, in fact most people won't even remember what you said to them a month ago unless you say it to them again.
3. Count your blessings. Like most old proverbs and sayings this one becomes ad infinitum repeated because it is actually very sensible advice. Set aside your resistance to clichés for a moment and think about all the benefits you have. You are reading this article on the internet, which means that you either have internet access or can borrow internet access. It also means you can read, which is something not everyone can do. All but the most hopeless and pitiful lives have an abundance of good in them. Find yours and remind yourself to be grateful for it every day.
   • Put your life in context. If you live in a building with a roof and walls, be thankful for it instead of worrying about it being too humble or dilapidated. If you don't have a home, be thankful for the clothes you wear. If you live somewhere with harsh weather, be thankful it sometimes passes and gets pleasant. Be thankful that you can think for yourself, understand beauty, and dream of better things.
     • Regardless of your situation, reading this article will help you find things to appreciate in your life. Think about them when you too find yourself sitting down and worrying instead of acting and enjoying your life.
4. Limit your responsibilities. There are some people who worry because they try to take care of everything and everyone around them, or because they read about problems elsewhere in the world and feel like they are never doing enough to help. It's good to be supportive and humane, but taking it too far will turn you into a spent mess of nerves and frustrations. Make a conscious effort to remind yourself that other people like you are more skilled than they realize and that you don't have to be there for everyone at every turn.
   • People who have everything taken care of for them, such as pampered children, will end up being ill-equipped to function in the adult world, which means that sometimes not help is the best help you can provide.
   • It's also important to remind yourself that others care about social issues and causes as much as you do. It's okay to share the burden of responsibility with them, often it's the only way to make it bearable. This doesn't mean you should stop caring for it, but rather it means you should be proud of what you're doing and not worry if it's good enough. It's good enough.
   • Set a limit for yourself. This could be a limit on the amount of time you spend helping others, a limit on the money you spend supporting them, or just a limit on how much time you spend worrying about problems in the world. Design a limit based on the nature of the concern that you are engaged in and that concerns you.
     • Remember, anxiety never resolved anything, and there are some things you can't fix as much as you would like to. Force yourself to put your concerns aside beyond a certain point and do whatever you need to do to enforce that limit.
5. Trust yourself. There are some things at the end of the day that no one can really control: the weather, death, natural disasters, and other such unstoppable forces that are a part of life on Earth. Learn to trust your own ability to deal with these things. You can't change the way these things behave, so all you can really do is prepare for them and trust in yourself that you will do what you can when faced with them.
   • For example, thousands of people get into car accidents every year, but people continue to use the cars because they trust themselves to do whatever it takes to avoid such a situation: drive safely, wear seat belts, learn from past mistakes, and respond to changes that are happening in front of them on the road. Take the same attitude with every uncontrollable force in your life.
   • It is wise to prepare for accidents. Things like emergency food and water, first aid kit, and fire extinguishers are wise investments in your safety. However, when you make your preparations, make sure that they relieve your worries instead of feeding them. Don't give in to buying and preparing more and more things. The goal is to find a reasonable balance, say, "This is enough," and get on with your daily life.

Warnings

• If you feel completely trapped by fear, worry, and / or depression, and find yourself pitifully mocking every item in this guide, seek professional guidance when you are able. Remember, as a patient, you have the right to shop around and choose a therapist that you are comfortable with. Find one and let him or her offer you professional help. It may sound pointless now, but in fact it can make a world of difference. Help may be available for those who cannot afford counseling.