Sandwiched
As I said last week, when you’re a member of the sandwich generation, worry can overshadow you in an instant. When you add a global pandemic and other terrible things happening in our society, it can dominate your every waking moment, not to mention keep you up at night.
I shared two of my favorite tips last week for how to deal with worry. These and the others that I’ll mention were inspired by Dale Carnegie’s book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Even though this was written in the ‘40s, I think Mr. Carnegie’s wisdom is needed now more than ever before.
Unfortunately, I had to use one of my tips literally just last Wednesday. One of my wonderful clients, who quickly became a friend, passed away from complications due to COVID-19. Most of us knew in our hearts this was most likely going to happen, but it still hit me hard.
I had already cried weeks and days beforehand. After tearing up once again upon hearing the official news, I debated about whether or not to take my four-mile walk that evening to train for an October half-marathon. But I remembered one of my favorite ways to defeat stress and worry – get moving.
Did I feel like going for a walk? Nope. I had wallowed on the couch and watched mindless TV the night before. But I forced myself to get out there and enjoy some time in nature. Nature, by the way, is an incredible stress reliever. I soon felt much better and even slept well later.
I also did my favorite thing in the world as I walked – I prayed. And this, in my opinion, is the greatest way to conquer worry and stress ever. And if you don’t believe in God or prayer, stick with me.
You know the saying, “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle”? Well, I think it should be a bit different. He doesn’t give you more than you can handle with His help. If I couldn’t lean on Him and put my struggles on my “worry shelf” every evening, I don’t think I’d be around today. Worry and stress would have either crippled or killed me.
There are just some moments like the passing of my friend that I cannot handle alone. Yes, friends and family are wonderful and a blessing. But sometimes I just have to let the tears flow, throw my hands up in the air, and declare, “You gotta take this, Lord, because I just don’t know what to do anymore.” And let me tell you, He comes through for me every. Single. Time.
If you don’t believe in God or prayer, I’m alright with that. But there’s this big universe out there that we’re all a part of. I encourage you to share your worries and struggles with it. Write them in a journal. Look up at the sky and say, “I’m sharing this with you, Great Big Universe, please help me.” You may not believe in God, but there are certainly forces we cannot deny that can always help.
Sometimes just writing down or verbalizing our worries is all we need anyway. Deliver them to the universe or God, and I promise you – things will change.