How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

I recently downloaded the book "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" by Dale Carnegie to my Kindle.  I'm over half way through and have found that the way in which Carnegie writes is so easy to read and relevant to my life and thinking.  It's nothing new but a fresh way of looking at worry and a no nonsense kind of directive.  What I didn't realize was that he wrote the book in 1948.  Yes, 1948.  Have we really changed so little since 1948 that people are still so overcome with worry that it is disabling at times? Apparently so. 

Worry has always been a big problem for me.  I worry about everything.  And when I worry... I am unable to do anything else.  I am almost paralyzed until the thing that I am worrying about has come to pass.  And typically it does.  And typically it doesn't actually cause anything bad to happen.  I get so caught up in limbo (worry) that it's the very thing that I hate the most.  I have developed several conditions because of worry over time... high blood pressure, hair pulling, ADHD, etc.  As I am getting older I am realizing that I've wasted a lot of time thinking about things that never happen.  And even if they did happen, there was nothing I could have done anyway.

I am currently considering a big professional move that is very scary for me.  It shakes my career and my finances but it's something that I am starting to realize I need to do.  If I don't, I am going to be stuck in the my current situation till I die.  And I'm pretty sure I'll pass prematurely if I stay in the same spot I am.  My work is exhausting and politically a nightmare.  I constantly am worrying about who is trying to undermine me or backstab me and I just don't want to be in that environment anymore.

I have put a lot off for my job and I'm just not willing to do it anymore.  I haven't been able to even consider expanding my family due to the stress that my body would have to endure and risk of losing a child.  I don't think that's reasonable and it's only through some recent feedback from other consultants that I am realizing that I am really worth more than all of this.  So I've got to get over the worry because if I'm going to take the plunge, there is going to be a lot of uncertainty and I need to be able to navigate through limbo. 

If you've been looking for a good self-help about worry, check out Carnegie's "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living"