Some days I look in the mirror and think, "Lady, you've got it goin' on." Other days I think, "Lady, WHAT is going on? Quit your worrying!"
I understand the parameters of reality, so why am I such a worrier? I know it's pointless. In fact, worrying to excess is harmful. I know better, so what gives? I think I have an answer.
The first time I recall being truly worried was when I was seven years old. My dad traveled a lot and one night his plane was late. I was convinced he had crashed and I worried myself sick. Of course he was fine, just delayed.
Over the years I continued to worry about a variety of things from A to Z — some realistic, some ridiculous.
They say only 8% of our worries are realistic. And of those, we can actually only do something about half. This means 96% of the things we worry about are a useless waste of time.
Why do some people worry more than others? I have a theory that we worriers have three things in common:
We dictate and delegate, but then end up doing everything ourselves because everyone else does it wrong. We like to organize and compartmentalize and strategize and basically orchestrate the outcome of like, everything. And when we realize we can't actually control nature and destiny, we freak out a little. If we can't control it, we worry about it.
Having a creative mind is wonderful. But for those predisposed to worry, it can be disastrous. A dog barking outside isn't just a frisky pet. Instead, we imagine it is a warning that a burglar is casing the joint. We imaginers can take an ordinary scenario and twist it into an epic conclusion that Stephen Spielberg himself would envy.
I come from long line of worriers. You can identify us by our wringing hands and worry lines. This was fine with me until recently. It became un-fine when I saw the signs in my son—he was growing into a wee worrier.
Replete with regret, and of course worry, I knew I had to break the cycle.
But how??
It started with me. I worked hard to quit the worrying. Meditation, breathing techniques and changing the pattern of negative self-talk and catastrophizing helped a lot.
But the one thing that helped most was working together with my son. By being a positive role model for him, even if it was an 'act' at first, stuck and became reality. Talking through our feelings worked wonders too. By showing him how to take risks, to be grateful, gentle and gracious, and to live life in the moment, I learned how to walk the talk.
Cutting down on worry is something that takes time to work through, but in the mean time, here's something fun that will take your mind off worry for a little while. It's THE GAME OF LIFE - CAA Edition game!
If you live in South Central Ontario, you can earn an entry by playing THE GAME OF LIFE - CAA Edition for your chance to win great prizes and earn entries into our grand prize draw for an incredible dream vacation! Now how's that for a cure for your worries? And don't worry...you can enter daily.
The game of life is filled with challenges and obstacles at every turn. Worrying about them is exhausting. It depletes us of our ability to enjoy life to the fullest and it robs us of time and energy better spent elsewhere. I'm happy to say that my son and I seem to have this worry thing under control. Sure, we still have work to do, but I'm certainly not going to worry about it.
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at the Canadian Automobile Association of South Central Ontario.
www.caasco.com
Contest open to CAA Members and non-members. Complete rules and regulations are available at www.caagol.com.
HASBRO and its logo and THE GAME OF LIFE are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission.
©2014 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.
®CAA and CAA logo trademarks owned by, and use is granted by, the Canadian Automobile Association.
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at Shell Canada.
www.shell.ca
If the idea of opening up your home to a gang of screeching, writhing, sticky little boys and ghouls makes you shudder, it should. Hosting a kids' Halloween party can be scary. Though it doesn't have to be a nightmare. Here's how to make it less gruesome.
1. Don't make it too fancy. Fancy is for adults who actually give a care.
2. Avoid spending a lot of money. Until our little bloodsuckers are out earning some coin, they're in for "frugal fun," and they're going to like it because we said so.
3. Focus on activities that don't require much concentration or general decorum. Peers + Party = LOUD ASS CHAOS
Two hours is plenty. Any longer and heads (yours) will explode.
Plan ONE easy activity—sugar cookie decorating is fairly simple. Pumpkin shaped cookies, orange icing, assorted candies, plastic tablecloth. Go!
Plan ONE good game—"Dress up" is lots of fun. Loud, chaotic, but highly entertaining fun. As a former teacher and self-professed Halloween hag, I have a tickle trunk full of old costumes. If you don't have any dress up gear, ask friends to loan you some or visit Value Village and the Dollar Store to pick up a few things on the cheap.
1. Pile costumes, wigs, masks, scarves, sunglasses, costume jewellery, etc. in the middle of the room.
2. Set a timer for 5 minutes and challenge kids to put together the spookiest, funniest, most unusual, etc. costume.
3. Kids model their costumes. Adults vote. Best three, or however many works for you, get a prize (candy or glow sticks).
4. Repeat 2-3x or until everyone has received a prize. (Ya, I know. "Everybody is a winner." Sigh...)
* Advise guests to come dressed in tank top/legging combo or anything that costumes can be easily layered over.
Variation to idea to above—ask guests to each bring whatever old costumes they still have from Halloweens past (label with your kids name if you want the costume back). Kids can try them on and mix and match to create a new-to-them costume to wear THIS year. Ta-dah! Frightening AND frugal!
Looking for more Halloweenie Links?
If you're up to it, host a Pumpkin Carving Party
Or scare up some frightening food for a spooky mood
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