So what’s to worry about? What could possibly go wrong?
It doesn’t take a whole lot of time to come up with some pretty good answers to those questions. And what’s amazing is just how EASILY we can come up with those answers. So easily in fact, it is almost as if it requires no effort what…so…ever!
I came across a quote a few days ago and it got me to thinking. The quote, although I can’t for the life of me remember where I found it or who said it, went something like this:
“The chains of worry are forged in the furnace of an idle mind.”
That’s why it is soooo easy to come up with things to worry about. When your mind is idle, it becomes fertile soil for whatever seeds happen to fall into it. Your mind likes to be going, and when you don’t take charge of it, it can run rampant like a 6 year old boy loaded up on sugar! Where it’s going to go and what it’s going to come up with is a mystery. But, since we know that our ego mind is an overachiever when it comes to keeping us safe (its version of safe anyway), we can be sure that the things IT fears will be pushed to the front of the “attention line.” That is what we’ll have on the wide-screen theater of our idle minds, fearful images.
In James Allen’s awesome book “As a Man Thinketh,” he compares the mind to a fertile garden ready for planting. You can plant whatever seeds you like and they will take root. You can plant happiness, prosperity, creativity, or whatever and they will grow. However, just like a garden, if you don’t plant what you want and tend to it, ANYTHING that blows into your garden will grow. Weeds, thistles, thorny things, crabgrass, poison ivy, and so on. Our thoughts of lack, not being enough, being broke, being depressed can slip in WAY to easily and take root.
There’s a great video on YouTube where stand-up comedian Kyle Cease (who also happens to be a motivational speaker) tells a great story of what happened to him when he got so good at what he was doing that his mind ended up with a little free time to roam the world of the bizarre. Watch below to see this funny and enlightening video.
This little habit our idle mind has of focusing on things that don’t move us forward into the life we want, is really quite the pain. It affects us negatively in our efforts to have a great relationship, to build a world class business, to take that class that will help us break out of our rut, and more. But, as you know, here at LaBCaF, LLC, our goal is to teach you how to avoid or overcome a bad or dangerous situation, whether it’s a disaster or a criminal threatening your safety. So how and why would I be bringing up this topic that seems to belong more to the world of the motivational speakers and success coaches?
Its simple: we are also success coaches! The success we focus on is the one that happens during a fire in your building, during a terrible storm, during a shooting going on at your workplace, a terrorist event, or when a bad person decides that he (or she) is going to take from you or do whatever he wants to you, regardless of the pain you’ll endure! We want you to be successful in getting away, in being safe, in being victorious when faced with danger or criminal action.
You’re probably asking me right now “what does worry and an idle mind have to do with saving myself from a dangerous situation?” Well, I’m glad you asked!
When you’re faced with a scary situation, whether it’s going in to ask your boss for that long overdue raise, or someone is breaking into your home while you’re there, there is only ONE thing that can get you through the situation: ACTION! When you are taking action, your mind stays engaged in the action and helps to move you forward to victory. BUT if you allow yourself to stop thinking of the goal, of the next thing to do and then doing it, your lovingly and fearfully overprotective ego will “try to help.”
All of the many options you may have around you, the tools you could use, the opportunities you have will become cloudy if not completely invisible once you give in to the WORRY grown from the seeds planted by the ever scared ego. The whirlwind storm of negative “what if” questions that come up when you’re not moving toward your goal can bring your successful endeavor to a screeching halt!
If, in order to escape a bad person in your home, you must go out the window and climb down a fire escape ladder, what do you need to do? Only 2 things: first, go out the window; second, climb down the ladder. That’s where your focus should be. That’s the action you should be taking. But, if you chose to “think about what could happen,” you’ll spend time thinking about “what if I fall?” “what if the ladder breaks?” “what if he catches up with me?” “what if the people below can see up my skirt while I’m climbing down?” Oddly enough, your ego, who put those crazy time wasting worrisome questions into your conscious mind, will gladly help you to answer them as well (and probably not with the most hopeful and optimistic answers!). But NONE of that will help you to do what must be done to survive, to win, to succeed: go out the window and climb down the ladder. In other words, the worry that your mind creates, if not overpowered with action, WILL derail your efforts to succeed, regardless of what the actual situation is.
Just remember this: worry is created in an idle mind. When you allow your mind and your thoughts to run rampant instead of focusing on what actions to take and then taking them, your idle mind IS the chainmaker! It IS the furnace where the chains of worry that can doom your chances of success are made!
As I’ve learned many times in my experiences with chasing or fighting bad guys as well as with taking on new challenges, Fortune Favors the Bold. The bold you, the action oriented you, the determined you, doesn’t have time to stop and worry. Now that’s not the same as not stopping to think.
Maybe it will help you to think of it this way – if you are focusing on what could go wrong you are being stopped by the chains of worry and making them stronger by the second. If, on the other hand, you are focusing on the actions you can take to achieve whatever success is most needed right now, that is thinking and moving you towards that success. Got it?
Example in my own life: when I was wandering around my house this morning, my thoughts were “Oh man, I haven’t written an article for my blog yet! Oh no, I haven’t finished creating my downloadable home security inspection program yet! Oh boy, I’m getting so far behind!” So, what did I accomplish between 7:00 and 11:00 this morning? A BIG FAT NOTHING! Why? I wasn’t being in control of my mind, my thoughts. I wasn’t taking action. But then I just made myself sit down in front of my computer and start typing – I took action! Then, as my action towards the successful creation of another wordy yet inspirational article gathered momentum, my mind was so full of ideas to pass on to you that I had no more time for worry. The fight to beat the chainmaker, once I got into the fight, was short and victorious. That’s the way it always is. Engage. Move forward. Take action and you will beat the chainmaker. But stay vigilant, the chainmaker WILL be back. Remember this, you can beat him EVERY time!
Until next time,
Cranford
Chief LaBCaF Guy
