How To Stop Worrying? 10 Ways To Live Life Tension Free

How many times a day do you worry? A couple of times or maybe a hundred times!

If you ask the same question to my younger version, the answer might be in hundreds! So, don’t be guilty with your numbers, I have been there.

We all are worried about something or the other, each day of our life. The source of worry might vary, ranging from getting up in the morning and going to the office to paying off the bills. Often this worry bubble ends up taking a whole space in our mind, not allowing us to be in the right headspace (phew).

But, do you know knowingly or unknowingly we feed these thoughts of worry by letting it take us away from the present moment. And that my friend intensifies your worry, which if not taken care of may result in various mental health issues. But, don’t worry there’s good news, you can break this pattern by the subtle practice of living with mindfulness.

So, just put a smile on your face and set yourself ready to get the answer to the most common question to pop this worry bubble- “How to stop worrying and start living.”

10 Ways to Stop Worrying And Start Living:

1. Inhale Positivity Exhale Worries

The first and probably the quickest way to put horses on your worrisome thoughts is to focus on your breath. When you are in a worry zone, your breathing becomes shallow and don’t allow you to cool down. Most importantly, with your breath pacing fast, you lose touch with reality, with the moment, you end up pushing yourself more into the worry zone!

So, to quickly regain your focus on the moment, breathing is a great tool to be mindful and settle down your worry. Just take five minutes out and breathe mindfully.

2. Pen Your Worries Down

When your thoughts of worry swing you away from reality, it is advised to take your pen and paper out and start penning it down. Free expressive writing will allow you to focus on the thoughts that are causing you to worry on the one hand and give your mind a message that yes, everything is under control.

Sometimes we are worried, but we are unaware of the thought that is the primary cause of it, as we are hopping between a lot of them. So, it is like a loop! To know the unhelpful thought and work on it you have to be mindful and for that should be aware of it, which is best achievable by writing!

3. Repeat a Mantra

When the worry bubble starts to chant “worry” “worry” “worry” in your head, slam it down with your power sentence or as I like to call it, an anti-worry mantra. When you recite a mantra or a coping statement to yourself, you shut the worry bubble and become mindful of your current situation and of the fact that yes you got it! You may want to use statements like “I got this,” “This time shall pass,” “I am in control of my reality,” and others.

4. Set Worry Time Aside

When your mind is running a loop of worry and asking for your attention, just give it what it needs! Once a day or maybe a week, spare time in your calendar for “talking with my worries.”

It might sound silly at first, but when you set yourself for this practice, you will be better able to understand its importance. Let us see the benefit of it,

• Clears your minds by decluttering your worries.
• You get the courage to accept and work on your worries.
• Won’t take your entire day into worries.
• Will make you mentally healthy.
• You will be better able to focus on productive thoughts.

With so many benefits to offer, why not set aside worry time, be grounded, and set worry at bay!

5. Add Meditation Time to Your Calendar

And while you are adding a slot for worry talks to your calendar, it will be a wise move to add the best anti-worry and mindfulness tool in it as well! Yes, you guessed it right! We are advising you to add a meditation slot. Meditation… be it mindful meditation or chocolate meditation, the ultimate goal is to be in the moment and not let yourself stew over worry.

So you can choose any form of meditation and make it a part of your lifestyle. Or if you don’t know where to start from, we have got a short mindful tool for you to use and mediate quickly!

6. Boil Down Your Worry

No, don’t take it in literal terms. We are not asking you to boil the source of your worry here! We are recommending you to identify all your thoughts and identify what the primary source of worry for you is.

Depending on the final boiled down source of worry, start finding solutions. By working on your worry provoking thoughts, you will be able to eradicate it from the roots, be mindful, and lead a worry-free life (YAY).

7. Make A Worry Jar

Is the upcoming date the source of stress or the exam? Is it the deadline approaching or household chores? What are your worrisome thoughts? Think over them or use the second way to stop worrying here and put them in a jar.

Now when you take your worry time out, pick a worry and rationally challenge it. Some of the questions that I use are:

• Are my concerns realistic?
• Do I have any control over these worries?
• How can worst things get?

Here you can use this template to work on a virtual worry jar…

8. Bye-Bye Technology (For A While)

What’s the first thing that you do when worry comes chasing you? Take out your phone and just take a break from all the chaos! Well, that might be a sweet and temporary escape to overlook the worry, but that will make your worry bubble grow (at a subconscious level). We have enjoyed this escape for long now, but with research suggesting that it isn’t healthy, it is time to put it aside.

So, what to do instead? Just put devices away and enjoy the silence (don’t worry sipping on herbal teas. Alternatively, talking to your friends and family members (in real) can also help here. Bye-bye reel life, hello real life!

9. Be Mindful

Yes, meditation is and being mindful are two different ways to stop worrying. While in meditation you are sparing some time out to meditate, being mindful asks you to be aware of your surroundings and practice mindfulness right there!!! With your mind focusing on what the current moment has to offer, you will be savoring the present instead of sabotaging it.

All you have to do is be in the moment. Eating? Just focus on the texture, smell, and flavor of what you are eating, Bathing? Bring your attention to water flowing off your body, the aroma of your soap, feel every drop of body. Similarly, be aware of what moment has to offer you!

10. Munch On Gratitude

Probably the best way to ward off from worries and get a hold of your moment is to practice gratitude! It’s a simple and powerful practice. To make sure that you are not letting worry take over you and at the same time you don’t shove it under the “hush it” carpet you can use the gratitude sandwich.

It reminds you of two grateful things in your life on one hand and puts the worry in between them. This reminds you that even if there’s one thing bothering you, two good things are happening as well. How to make this gratitude sandwich?

Well, the best part is that you can use all these ways to stop worrying and start living mindfully.

Good Luck!

Pro-Tip: If you wish to master the art of stop worrying and start living, we additionally advise you to read “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” by Dale Carnegie.

If you have tried any of these ways to live with mindfulness, drop them down in the comment. We would love to hear about your experience.

Time for you to stop worrying and start living…