Would It Help?
🤔 A 30-second masterclass on dealing with worry
Here’s a 30-second masterclass on dealing with overthinking, worry, and stress:
In this scene, Rudolf Abel is on trial for espionage as a Soviet spy operating in the United States. He’s facing 45 years in prison. Most people would put that high on the list of things worth worrying about. Abel’s response…
“Would it help?”
This question scratches at something we all understand but tend to forget: worry has never once helped.
It has never improved an outcome or rescued anyone from the pit of despair. If anything, worry clouds our ability to see clearly, to find solutions, or to find better ways to cope.
Stoic philosopher Epictetus said,
“Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing.”
In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asks,
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
Worry is understandable. For most of us, it’s automatic. Our practice, then, is to keep bringing ourselves back to that simple question:
Would it help?
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