One of the arsey things about worrying is that you can feel too panicked to think straight: You’re imagining an unpleasant result in the future, and thinking about that sends you into a spin in the present. Coming up with a solution feels unreasonably hard, that feeds your worry too and – urgh.
Here’s a set of questions that lead you from your worried state into a clearer understanding of the problem that’s bugging you, and then helps you equip yourself and suss out steps you can take.
So. Next time you’re feeling worried, grab this set of questions and answer them one by one. I use them often, in all kinds of different situations, and I always find them helpful. Don’t take my word for it though – try them out for yourself!
- What exactly are you worried about?
- How long have you been worrying about it?
- What started you worrying?
- Who caused this worry?
- Who is responsible for addressing it?
- What’s your worst experience of this worry?
- Why haven’t you stopped worrying yet?
- What do you want to happen instead?
- How will you know when you’ve got that?
- What else will improve when you get it?
- What resources do you already have which can help you achieve this?
- What is something similar which you did succeed in doing?
- What is your next step?
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These questions are based on an original set by international Trainer and Coach, Ian McDermott: Highly recommended!