There’s plenty of stuff to worry about in your life right now. There’s even more to worry about when you consider the state of the world. That was true yesterday, it is true today, and will still be true tomorrow.
Ever since I came out of the womb, I’ve had elevated levels of whatever hormones cause anxiety and stress. I got really good at freaking out over situations that had yet to come. And even better at brooding over situations that were in the rear view mirror.
Growing up, you could find me…
Staring at my closet, wondering what the hell I was going to wear for picture day that might finally catch the attention of my crush.
Freaking out over the fact that I had to stand in front of my class for five brutal minutes to deliver a presentation on whatever book had been assigned that I hadn’t read (probably “To Kill a Mockingbird” or something).
Sitting in my room, ruminating on the slick comeback I could’ve delivered when my classmates pointed at the shiny cold sore on my upper lip saying, “Ewwww, what happened to your lip?” (20 years later and I finally have a response that would’ve rocked the room, “Ewwww, what happened to your face?”)
In other words, I was a professional worrier. Ever been there?
I call this panic time.
But don’t worry, this isn’t an essay about how I overcame panic time and how you can too. Because that would be a lie.
If that’s what you’re looking for, there’s libraries full of self-help sewage that will claim to solve that for you in seven simple steps. But I did find a helpful little trick that has worked well for me, so I thought it’d be worth sharing with you.
Instead of beating our heads against the wall to try to eliminate panic time once and for all, why not just schedule it into the calendar?
That’s right.
All we need to do is set aside a two hour time block each week. Sunday afternoon between 4-6 pm seems to be the sweet spot, but you can test different times and find what works for you.
I prefer those late Sunday afternoons because football is over, and for many of us, that’s when the Sunday scaries start to kick in anyway.
Panic time used to consume most of my waking hours, and, as a matter of fact, most of my sleeping hours as well (my dreams wouldn’t grant me an escape either).
Now, anytime I get the urge to start worrying about something that’s yet to happen, or wondering why I did that stupid thing the other day, I save it for panic time.
I don’t try to block the thoughts out of my head entirely, I simply tell them they’ve gotta wait. It sounds silly, but it works.
Because I know when 4 pm on Sunday arrives, I will get to do all the sulking about whatever it is that I really wanted to be freaking out about in all those little panic moments throughout the week. There’s never a shortage of material.
Now I look forward to panic time. Because that’s when I know I’ll get to explore those all-too-important-in-the-moment-thoughts in more depth.
But something strange has started to happen.
When 4 pm on Sunday arrives, many of those thoughts that I was thrilled to get to worry about have disappeared. It’s actually quite difficult to recall whatever it was I wanted to panic about on Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon.
For the few thoughts that do remain rumbling around in my mind when panic time arrives, I figure they’re actually worth worrying about. So I indulge in them without any guilt.
Because some stuff really is worth worrying about. Just not 24/7.
Panic time has become a highlight because I go about my week with a newfound sense of excited anticipation.
But as soon as the clock strikes 6 pm on Sunday, I get up, take Xena (my dog) for a walk, and all that gunk that had been clogging the pipes of my mind from the week prior drains out.
I’ve compressed what used to be enough time to be considered an extra job into a two hour time block once per week. That’s what I call progress, baby.
Plus, life would be unbearably bland if we had no panic time to waste some effort and energy.
Maybe you and I will eventually be struck with enlightenment and drop all of our worries, but until then, let’s schedule some panic time in the calendar. It’s good for the soul.
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