You have a flight to catch, a crucial flight to catch at an ungodly hour in the morning. If you miss the flight, horrible things will happen, and understandably so. Perhaps you’ll lose out on a significant contract, or worse; get fired. While your worry about the outcome of missing the flight is rational, what isn’t logical is worrying yourself sick about missing the flight.
How so?
Well, have you taken reasonable precautions to ensure you’ll catch your flight on time? Do you know where your tickets, necessary paperwork, and identification is? Is everything packed and ready to go? Do you have a ride to get there, or do you have your vehicle where none of the tires are flat, and the ignition starts to get you there? Will you leave early enough?
If you answered ‘yes’ to everything, then all of your other worrying is nonessential. If you’ve taken care of everything on your end of the deal, any other mitigating factors are out of your control.
Can you control traffic or traffic accidents? No. Worrying about things that you have no power over will not stop them from happening. All you can do is make the right choices and decisions to reasonably prevent disasters and mishaps on your end, and also rationally and calmly handle problems when and if they do arise.
Sometimes, we think that excessively worrying about the improbable will prevent it from happening. Of course, magic doesn’t exist and worrying will not shield you from life’s accidents.
And what if you are in the creative industry?
Do worry and anxiety help or hinder the creative process? According to research, fear, anxiety, and pessimism are huge stumbling blocks for creatives. Worry takes up far too much mental headspace, leaving no room for problem solving or for brainstorming new ideas. While you can’t control every horrible outcome, you can control how much you dwell on them and how much power you give them over your life.
If you want to have more optimism and energy, let go of harmful worry and rumination today. Take responsibility for what you can control, and forget about that which you cannot. You’ll boost your energy and creative output, and be seen as a trustworthy, capable leader in your industry.