It’s Alright To Worry, If You Keep It At 20% (You’ll Be Happier And More Likely To Be Successful)

Imagine what you would achieve if you knew you couldn’t fail.

If you had a guarantee that whatever endeavor you chose to pursue would be successful, you’d worry less and you would be willing to embark on all manner of challenges. We are generally aware that success is part hard work, part opportunity and part good luck. Nothing great comes easy and for most people, a lot of preparation and consideration goes into any kind of new enterprise.

The trouble is that when fear takes hold, an imbalance occurs. Instead of using pragmatism and allowing for a realistic assessment of a situation, we instead let images of the worse case scenario take over our thoughts and focus the majority of our energy on worrying about the worst thing that can happen. We focus on the possibility of failure more than the potential success.

The main thing that people look for in any new phase in their life; whether it be a new business venture, a new relationship, moving house, moving cities or a change of career; is a sense of security. We all want the assurance that there will be a high chance of success. That the gain will outweigh the risk. Nobody wants to outlay a lot of money without any chance of recouping it, nobody wants to risk their health and well being, nobody wants to put themselves and their families in a position of disadvantage. When a new opportunity presents itself, it is only natural to consider if it will improve your life or end in disaster. It is easier to do nothing and be safe; but will it give you satisfaction? Is never trying anything new a good way to live? Will you always have regrets? How will you know what you are capable of if you never push yourself beyond your comfort zone?

Unfortunately we end up spending the majority of our time and energy on worry instead of using that momentum to actually make our dreams happen. Rather than dwelling on possible failures, the wisest and most successful people will acknowledge and address the risks and the possible losses, but instead of making that the focus, they instead become more solution oriented. With careful planning, a bit of research and a lot of courage, triumph comes from the act of participation. Sometimes, even when we crash and burn, the journey is its own reward. The lessons and gains we get along the way may be unexpected and just because things don’t end up as we had hoped, that doesn’t mean that we are necessarily worse off. We may succeed in other ways, even beyond our initial hopes and imaginings.

Instead of 80% worry – 20% work, try 80% optimism – 20% risk assessment

This means that the time and effort you put towards imagining things going wrong, could be put towards addressing this as a possibility, but at the same time, thinking of solutions to equip you to deal with these events should they happen. In other words, you are not being naive and pretending that everything will go according to plan and nothing will go wrong. Instead you consider all the possible outcomes and equip yourself with the tools, the knowledge and the alternative solutions to see you through a disaster.

To worry is only normal and in fact is quite healthy because it allows you to consider the risks and make informed and calculated decisions. In fact, worrying and anxiety has been closely associated with your level of intelligence. The more frequently you worry, the smarter you are. Within reason. There is no point getting into a state and wasting the energy you could put towards achieving your goals on stressing about failing.

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