But . . . There Are . . . GIANTS Out There!
The world in which we live is filled with GIANTS — standing on every corner; posted on every hilltop; stationed in every board room; infiltrating every organization; lurking around our homes; toying with our minds; intimidating our every intent! Who are these giants? Certainly not the San Francisco type! No sirree! The giants to which I refer are the GIANTS of WORRY! That's right — Worry!
In the same manner that Goliath goaded the Israelites, Worry taunts us, degrades our personhood, challenges our courage, discounts our purpose, laughs at our resolve, calls us names, drains our energy and deflates our spirit! Yes, Worry is one mean dude!
We, like the trusty Israelites, often find ourselves trembling in the shadows cast by the GIANT worries that loom over us! What's a person to do?
Worry's Focus
If we examine the plight of the Israelites, we discover the source of their impotence in facing the monstrous challenge in front of them. At the very core of their worries was a focus on what they did NOT have in their possession. What were some of the things that captured their attention — those possessions that they believed would turn the tide in their favor? I can hear them now – "If only we had ______ we could defeat that mean old GIANT!"
It seems that they believed if they only had "their own Giant," then they would win. If they had the "courage" to face him down, then they would be victorious. If they had a "secret weapon" they could take him by surprise. If they had a warrior with "superhuman strength" then the war would end. If, if, if! It is really difficult to fight and win a battle against worry if your focus is always on what you do NOT have in your possession! Worry will win every time!
KISS and Know Your Enemies!
No, I do not mean the enigmatic rock group! That's a bizarre subject for another essay another time! You have likely heard KISS referred to as either Keep It Short and Simple or Keep It Simple, Stupid! Either way, the power of the simple approach is evident! In addition to focusing our thoughts on what we do NOT have in our possession, we tend to further complicate matters by buying into the false belief that in order for a strategy to be effective it must be inherently complex.
I think that perhaps we sometimes create complex strategies in order to subtly sabotage our own efforts to embrace change and growth; thus, we succumb to the GIANTS of worry. The more we allow worry to dominate our thoughts and actions, the less capable we are of taking charge of our life.
Among the Israelites, one person refused to acknowledge the perceived power of worry and this refusal proved pivotal in the final outcome of the battle in which they found themselves.
After David arrived at the Israelite camp, heard Goliath's taunts, observed the fear and worry that paralyzed his countrymen and inquired as to the nature of their lack of response, he did the only thing that appeared logical. He volunteered to defeat the GIANT worrying his brothers! Now you might think that his courage would have brought him immediate accolades! Not so! In fact, a few became angry while others taunted him — funny how hearing a constant deluge of worrisome words can infiltrate our thinking, is it not? Finally after much persuasion, the king agreed to allow David to face Goliath, but only if he dressed in the king's battle gear. Bad idea!
David was only a teen — certainly not a full grown man! David was swimming in the armor given to him. At last, David rejected the offer and went to meet the worrisome GIANT armed with what he had — what he knew. As a shepherd, he had developed a skill for using a sling shot to protect his flocks — and he was quite adept at this skill, I might add.
David found FIVE SMOOTH STONES, put them into his pouch and made his way out to the battlefield. Despite the laughter, belittling and derogatory comments flung his way by Goliath, David stood his ground, stated what he was going to do, reached into his pouch, pulled out one of the five stones, placed it in the cradle of the sling shot, began the circular motion necessary to launch the projectile and at the proper moment, let it fly! The rest is history, legend or myth (however you choose to look at it) — the stone found its mark and the worrisome GIANT went down in defeat!
The keys to this unlikely victory? There are two.
First, David took a little time to know something about his enemy. He asked questions, made observations and evaluated his enemy. If we are to ever banish the GIANTS of Worry from our lives, we must do the same thing! A friend of mine told me that asking my readers to list their worries would be a great idea! I agree! So, before you read the Five Simple Steps to Banishing Worry from your life, may I suggest that you spend a little time making a list of the worries that cramp your life right now. As my friend said, "writing them down brings them into perspective." In other words, they do not seem as large when they are on paper! Thanks, Mara for that suggestion! So, get to writing!
Second, David focused on what he HAD and not on what he did NOT have and used those skills, those possessions to his advantage! He kept his approach simple!
So What Does This Mean?
We, like David, have the ability to banish worry in five simple steps — but only if we acknowledge the power found in them. David selected five smooth stones knowing that if for some reason the first did not do the trick, he had four others equally capable of handling the task. Let's look at the five simple steps you can employ to banish worry from your life! I recently worked the following process so that I could share it with you from a perspective of experience rather than theory. Believe me, it works! Get ready!
- Focus on What You DO Have! Too often we allow the "if/only" game to set us up for defeat. You know how it goes, "I I only had ______ then I could achieve my goals." When we fall victim to this impotent game, we miss the obvious — those things we DO have in our possession. The First Challenge I extend to you is this: Set aside 30 minutes or so and make a list of everything you have in your possession — at your fingertips — right now! These things will form the foundation from which you will attack worry! Some examples of things you might list are education, friends, contacts, club/organization membership, ideas, products, abilities, talents, cars, computers, a house, televisions, etc. You get the idea! List everything you have right now.
- Reflect on How These Possessions Have Served You in the Past! After you have listed everything that comes to mind, make notations about how you have employed each of these possessions in the past as well as the outcomes associated with using them. Be honest! Be as complete and detailed as possible in order to create a picture of the power packed in the things you possess.
- Determine Ways in Which You Can Put These Possessions to Work for You Now! Begin the process of creating strategies to employ the power of those possessions as you work to attain your personal goals. Assuming that all behavior is purposeful — that we act "in order to" and not "because of" — then the desired and anticipated outcomes of putting your possessions to work for you should become clear. You will have an idea of what to expect as you put those things to work for you right now!
- Take Deliberate Action Steps to Put Your Power into Play! Once your strategies are in place, start taking action steps toward your goals! Be persistent and consistent! Make calls! Write letters! Ask questions! Attend networking meetings! Be teachable! Sell some of your stuff if you have to! You get the point! You must put your personal power into play if you expect to see any results!
- Repeat the Cycle! That's right, repeat the cycle! Why you may ask? Well, when we focus on what we have — those things we possess — and put them to work for us, then we will begin acquiring more of what we want that we didn't have when we started the process in the first place! As we begin to accumulate more of what we want, we discover that our resources have multiplied — we have more stuff with which to work — more possessions to invest in those things that are important to us! Re-evaluation of our position in the process reminds us to always act from the position of what we do have in order to get what we need and want to live a fulfilled life!
One Final Thought
Life is unpredictable — and that in itself is predictable! What we know for sure is that the ebb and flow of life will create challenges that must be met head on! If we are not careful, we can allow the GIANTS of Worry to intimidate us into believing that we can do nothing! They will convince us that our efforts to change our circumstances are futile at best. They will defeat us!
Today — right where you are — decide to shift your focus to what you have at your fingertips!
Determine to put those known quantities to work for you! Step out on that battlefield, select the first of your stones, place it in the cradle of your belief, set it into motion, release it toward its target and watch Worry fall to the ground in a heap of deflated bravado! Now, do it again . . . and again . . . and again . . . and . . .
You can . . . no . . . You WILL banish worry!
Until next time . . . Peace!
Mark
Copyright 2009 Mark E. Hundley
