Is Worrying the Easy Option?

I was listening to Mel Robbins talk about anxiety and worry the other day – #obsessed – and something she said literally jumped up and smacked me around the face. I swear, there were cartoon birds flying around my head.

She said that often, we worry, because it’s easier than taking action.

In all my life, never once have I thought of worry as being either something that I’m in control of, or that’s easy. It’s always been something awful that’s happening to me.

Actually though, this statement packs a real punch, because there’s so much truth to it; because though it’s not consciously done, often I will choose the path of worrying above taking action.

The truth is that I’d rather spend days worrying about making a phone call rather than making it.

And that’s easy to me – as awful as it feels – because it’s what I’ve always done. Because making the call makes me feel feelings that I don’t particularly like. So yes, I guess on some level, I am choosing to worry rather than to do, because it’s more comfortable.

In the past, I thought that my worries were genuine reasons which meant it was okay to avoid situations. Over time, though, as I’ve learned to detach from these unhelpful thinking habits, I see that when I choose to worry today – rather than to act – I’m actually enabling my own pattern of avoidance.

I hope this makes sense. I’m not entirely sure that it does to me, yet.

All I know is that this feels like something – it feels important.

I feel like if I can catch this habit when it’s happening and find a positive action to take, it could make a whole lot of difference.