DON’T OVERTHINK IT!

Did you start the New Year full of determination to change something in your life for the better? Usually, it’s concrete things like giving up smoking/vaping, exercising more, or cutting back on the booze. These are all great things to aim for and worth doing.

But what about also making some changes in your thinking that may help you better handle life’s day-to-day stresses and worries?

We often spend our mental energy worrying about things—money, relationships, work, family issues etc. A good, proactive way to approach your worries is not to overthink it, and apply the following test:

Whatever you’re worried about, is there something you can do about it?

If not, then try not to worry because it’s not going to achieve anything

If you know there is something that can be done about it, stop worrying and go ahead and do it.

By applying this thinking, you may realise your worrying is futile and it may help you put the problem into perspective. I’m not an overly religious person but this is an approach to problem solving that is used in Buddhist philosophy and one that really works for me.

Most humans tend towards negative thinking and spend a lot of time sweating the small stuff. By getting a bit of perspective around some of life’s challenges and thinking positively, your mental attitude will be strengthened, and little things are less likely to get you down.

I’m back on deck at Master Plumbers and Masterlink, so feel free to reach out and connect if you need a yarn.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Need to talk? Master Plumbers members and their teams can get in touch with registered social worker Kereama Carmody on the 0800 Wellbeing Number during normal business hours. Details in the member log-in at www.masterplumbers.org.nz (under Wellbeing on Tap).

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