Goodbye, My Worrywart Side!

Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.com

 

May was an extra tough month for me. The coronavirus pandemic drastically threw my world and daily life into pure pandemonium. Although I arose to face this turmoil and still accomplished quite a bit last month, I’m ashamed to say that I also spent far too much of my precious time stressing and being overwhelmed. I can’t imagine what I might have accomplished if I hadn’t allowed myself to get sidetracked so frequently by worry. That’s why I have decided it’s time to turn over a new leaf and set some new goals for June.

Overall, I aim to cut back drastically on my worrying. I admit that I am a worrywart by nature. When I get stressed and overwhelmed or too many things start going wrong, worry creeps up on me and my mind gets filled with what-if’s and why-me’s. Eventually, I get so caught up in all the negativity and bad possibilities that I shut down. I get stuck in a worry mire and get nowhere. Nothing good comes from it. I’m only left drained of precious energy, time, and sanity.

Instead, I promise to build healthier habits. From now on, I will try to stop, walk away for a moment, take a break, and then calmly find a strategy to deal with the problem or circumstances.

1) I will take a deep breath and pray. I need a clear head and a strong foundation from which to address the issue.

2) I will assess the situation: is it really as bad as my first reaction? What is really happening?

3) I will clearly list all the problems that are arising, so I can plainly see what obstacles I must overcome.

4) I will prioritize the problems and choose which issue to address first.

5) I will determine what type of issue it might be: is it out of my control, something that I can fix on my own, or a problem that will require outside guidance and/or help?

6) I will calmly evaluate my options and create a decisive plan.

7) Finally I will move on to the next problem on my list and go through the above steps until I have either solved each issue, put a possible solution in motion, or let go of the ones that are out of my hands.

Problems and stress are a part of life, but that doesn’t mean I have to be paralyzed by them. I vow to stop giving bad circumstances, complications, and hurdles the power to hijack my life. From now on, I promise to try to put every ounce of energy that I’ve been wasting on excessive worrying into praying and then dealing with my problems instead.

 

© 2020 Amanda R. Dollak

Mini Vacation from Writing

Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

 

I’ve had to take a break from writing. Although it drives me mad when I go too long without writing, I decided that a mini vacation from typing behind my computer was a must. My body has taken far too much abuse lately and required a rest.

(1) Too little sleep and too much cheating on my diet was making me swell up like a balloon. I was a bad, bad girl the last couple months. I was getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night. I was chowing down on far too many salty foods. And my water consumption became quite pitiful. As a result, I had to spend much of last week in bed, resting and drinking up to 11 cups of water per day.

(2) Almost two weeks ago, I managed to sprain my right wrist. I wasn’t being careful and was in too much of a hurry. I slipped on the ice while moving our giant trash can. I ended up tipping the heavy thing over suddenly…and it took my wrist and hand with it. At first, I tried to push through the pain, stiffness, and swelling, but my stubbornness only compounded the problem.

(3) I’ve been slacking off with my vitamins and supplements again. Since I have severe fibromyalgia, the only thing standing between me and being stuck in bed is a better lifestyle. And one of the major pieces of that better lifestyle is taking my vitamins and supplements. Of course, I got myself so busy that I kept forgetting them time and again. Before I knew it, I hadn’t taken them in nearly two weeks–and I was definitely feeling the effects. I was feeling quite miserable actually.

Although nothing could ever change the fact that I’m a writer to the core, my personal well being comes before even my love and passion for words. I have had to remind myself that if I don’t take good care of myself, I won’t have the chance to keep writing. At the very least, I’ll end up too sick to concentrate and function. At the worst, I might cut my writing career abruptly short by killing myself with my bad habits. I want to keep this body healthy and happy, so I can write for many, many years to come!

 

© 2014 Amanda R. Dollak