Stop worrying

The great Indian Buddhist Master Shantideva is famous for his practical advice on dealing patiently with problems:

If something can be remedied
Why be unhappy about it?
And if there is no remedy for it,
There is still no point in being unhappy.

How can we do this in a simple way? By not immediately defaulting to: ‘Oh noooo’, with a mind of aversion, rejection, and worry, but getting in the habit of thinking, ‘OK, this has happened’, and only then thinking: “Now what can I do about this?” If there is something I can do about it, then do it, and there is no need to worry. And if there is nothing I can do about it, what difference is worrying going to make? Instead, I can and will find another way to relate to this situation.

When we decide to stop worrying, we are in effect starting to practice patient acceptance. Shantideva suggests starting small to begin with, e.g. with insect bites. So if you are a chronic worrier about anything that comes your way, you have plenty of opportunities to practice being laid back instead.

Every time we succeed in not worrying by deliberately thinking differently about the situation, our habit of not worrying increases, and our mind becomes fresher, more confident and happier.