That little thing called "worry"

In our modern, busy society, where a thousand things a day are vying for our attention, we have a thousand things to do and a thousand more things we want to do, and a thousand more things that we need to think about doing sometime...our tendency to worry is increasing. We worry about the things we need to do, the things we haven't done yet, the things that might happen if we don't get things done. We worry about what others think about us, we worry about how others perceive us, we worry we worry we worry. It's no wonder that there are now so many psychological problems that we are prone to! Worrying creates stress in our bodies, in our relationships both familial and professional, in our lives.

This isn't a new thing either, though we sometimes think it is.

I've started reading the book "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", by Dale Carnegie. In it he quotes the Roman poet Horace, who would have been writing this in about 30 BC.

Happy the ma, and happy he alone,
He, who can call to-day his own:
He who, secure within, can say:
"To-morrow, do thy worst, for I have liv'd to-day."

Carnagie talks about day to day living being the key to surviving worry. To focus on living today, to not spend the day worrying about tomorrow, for that is not living.

It's an interesting book so far, I'm looking forward to reading more.

I'll leave you with a final quote, which funnily enough was used in the recent movie Kung Fu Panda.

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Wise words indeed.