Motivational Leadership Speaker, Bestselling Oprah Author

Enough. I swear I have had several hundred conversations and e-mails with people who are trapped in terminal worry loops. They can’t let go of the what-if scenarios that might arise out of this horrible economy and they let their minds wander from one negative outcome to the next.

Look, I know you are being realistic in 2009 if you ask yourself if your job is secure, wonder if you will be in the next round of layoffs, badger yourself about how you will ever find work in this climate and so on. The truth is, we’ve all got a lot to worry about.

But, what does worry accomplish? It pulls us off our game, filling our minds with outcomes that will likely never materialize. It’s one thing to worry about something that is certain to happen, but almost all of our worry energy is directed at potentialities that never occur. The more you worry, the more you fear. The more you fear, the more you are victimized by your imagination. That kind of thinking attracts the energy that breeds bad things that would never have happened.

Why put that energy out there?  Take that energy and come up with a plan.

I am not saying you should go into denial about impending doom if doom is really impending. But, put it in its place. If you know you are vulnerable to a layoff, get your resume ready and sit down and prepare for action – not worry.  If you fear for your job, ask questions and come up with a plan. If you don’t know what you are going to do about money, go to a financial planner.

When all seems to be lost, it is not. Ground yourself in reality, not fear. You still have people who love you. You live on a magnificent earth. You have whatever spiritual connection you have opened yourself up to and you have your self. download turner hooch That’s plenty. Those things matter. Instead of worrying about what you can’t control, let it go. Hang on to the things that really matter, and count your blessings that you have what you have because you are blessed.

If you must worry, just put your worry time on the calendar. Give it 30 minutes a day, then put it away. What will a whole day of worry do for you? Nothing. All worry does is magnify the negative. Put it in its place.

If you can’t control it, let it go.

Fawn Germer is the best-selling author of five books. Finding the UP in the Downturn will be released by Newhouse Books this spring.  Fawn is an international speaker on leadership and performance issues.