For the longest time, I considered myself a ‘worrier’. I typically would spend a lot of time pondering on situations that I had little to no control over and make permutations about potential outcomes. Over the years, I started making conscious effort to worry less and believed I had made significant progress until a few days ago when the worrying syndrome hit me again – this time a bit more intensely than I expected and in a way I hadn’t experienced in a long time. 

One of things about worrying is how it could quickly snowball – how you could start creating stories that have no basis for yourself and start to believe those stories to be true. 

I actively sought out material to find some guidance on how to deal with the thoughts and then I stumbled on some teachings by Eckhart Tolle, author of ‘Power of Now’and ‘A New Earth’ (two books that have now made it to the top of my reading list for this year) and in one of the conversations I listened to, I had a few light bulb moments and thought to share 3 of the key things I learnt about managing worry/anxiety:

  • Accept the present moment as it is: In explaining this, Eckhart took it a step further by sharing that not only should you accept the present moment but accept the present moment as if you had chosen it. 

  • Always remember that the only moment you have is now

  • Watch your mind as an observer so it is not controlling you

Did any of these resonate with you? How do you typically deal with worry? 

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Taking a page out of Koye’s blog, I thought to start sharing what I am currently reading or listening to in these ‘Life as I Go’ blogposts. You could just find something that resonates with you …. 

What I am currently reading:

I am currently reading ‘The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare’ and I have a love/hate relationship with the book. Whilst I love the story, the writing style makes reading it very painful for me. The book tells the story of Adunni who became a 3rd wife in a small Nigerian village at the age of fourteen and is expected to fade into silence. It takes you through the journey of her struggles growing up, her determination not to settle for her fate and her ability to speak up for herself. The book is however written in first-person, capturing the way Adunni would speak, therefore, it features a lot of grammatical blunders which is very unfamiliar and could be painful to the eyes.

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What I am currently listening to: Everyday since the start of this year, I have listened to the song Jireh by Elevation Worship & Maverick Music . There’s just a way I connect to the lyrics of the song that I really cannot explain. 

As an avid podcast listener (I listen to at least one podcast everyday), I have enjoyed a few podcasts this week but the top for me would be this episode of Oprah’s Super Soul Conversation with Shaka Senghor: Letters to the Sons of Society, where Shaka talked about being incarcerated for almost two decades for second-degree murder and his journey towards vulnerability, healing and living an authentic life; it was a powerful conversation.

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Ending this week’s post with this scripture:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Wishing you a beautiful week ahead

Love,

‘Nifemi