Worry Later
People are really stressed out, especially Millennials. It’s no coincidence that almost 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug. Life is f*cking stressful. When you think of life’s daily stressors, it’s easy to freak out. Money, parenting, politics, these are real, tangible, things that we fear. Let’s Worry Later in 2017.
During a recording session, my grandfather was composing a song that he initially titled “Classified Information”. After being questioned and pestered to describe the meaning of the song, he simply changed it to “Worry Later”, because he couldn’t think of a better name. This thought process resonates with me. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Even if the small stuff may be big stuff to others.
But worrying can be helpful when it spurs you to aggressively take action and solve problems. According to a case study conducted at Ontario’s Lakehead University, students who ranked high on the verbal intelligence scales tend to worry more frequently. High verbal intelligence is essentially the “analyzing intel” skill, which is what people who tend to be more worrisome utilize often.
My maternal grandmother, God rest her soul, was what one might consider a “worry wart”. Everything concerned her, from small qualms and complaints to grandiose feelings of dread. At 30, I can candidly say that I do recognize similarities of her stress level in myself. Mainly, I worry about my future, the future of my loved ones, and presently, the future of America. Like any anxious person, some days are better than others and I try very hard every day to remind myself that my fears aren’t larger than I am.
Fear of the unknown can be insidious. Don’t let fear and worry paralyze you. Chances are if you worry, you can critically think, and figure out the most seemingly challenging of problems.