Let Go of Worry and Take Control of Now
The Wreckage of the Future
Right now, pause and ask yourself:
What are you worried about?
What problems do you have?
What people or circumstances do you believe are out to get you?
Now, take a deep breath. Let’s break worry down and analyze what it truly is. Worry is the fear of a future event. It’s anxiety over something that hasn’t happened yet, and may never happen. In essence, worry is the wreckage of the future.
The future isn’t something you can live in or operate in. Everything you do happens in the present. Planning ahead? You do that now. Solving problems? You do that in the present moment. The time is always now.
My Own Battle With Worry
When I started my advertising agency in December 2005, things were tough. By January 2006, we had no clients. If we didn’t sign one soon, we were finished before we even started. I decided to fast and make cold calls, hoping divine intervention would guide us to success.
By mid-morning, nothing had changed. No clients. No positive responses. I pulled over at a park, and my wife and I prayed and cried, feeling overwhelmed by failure. But what did that accomplish? Nothing.
Instead, we decided to enjoy lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant. We still didn’t have clients, but we had food, shelter, and a choice: focus on what wasn’t real (failure and fear) or stay present in what was (opportunity and persistence). The next week, we made our first sale. Then another. And then more. We had everything we needed at every step. Even our “failures” became stepping stones to growth.
This realization changed everything: Worrying doesn’t serve you. It distorts reality, making things seem worse than they are, and creates stress about situations that haven’t even occurred.
The Reality of Worry
Think about something you worried about two weeks ago. Does it still seem like a big deal? Most of the time, our worries either never materialize or are much easier to handle than we expected.
Even in tough situations, you always have what you need in the moment to deal with them. Take my wife’s experience with surgery. She dreaded the pain and discomfort of recovery before she even had the procedure. But when I asked, “Are you in pain right now?” she realized she wasn’t. She was living in a future that didn’t exist yet.
Worry traps us in a loop of anticipating worst-case scenarios, making it harder to enjoy life. The truth? The future isn’t something you’ll ever live in. You will only ever live in the now.
Training Yourself to Stay Present
Observe Your Worries – When you find yourself worrying, ask: What benefit is this giving me? Can worrying fix the problem? If not, why keep doing it?
Shift Your Focus – Next time you’re in a conversation filled with complaints, resist the urge to join the “club of misfortune.” Instead, redirect the discussion to something positive.
Act With Poise – Poise is the opposite of worry. It’s steadiness, composure, and confidence. Think about driving. At first, you were nervous, constantly thinking about every move. But through practice, you gained poise. Life works the same way—action builds confidence, not overthinking.
Make the Choice – Worry is a choice. Every moment, you decide where to focus. Will you let fear run your mind, or will you focus on solutions and opportunities in the now?
The Takeaway: Delete Worry, Gain Freedom
Nature doesn’t worry. Animals and plants exist in the present moment. Humans, on the other hand, have normalized worry, making it almost a social sport. But you don’t have to play that game.
You have always had everything you needed to deal with life as it happens. So why stress over a future that hasn’t arrived? The only time that exists is now. And in this moment, you are okay.
Let go of worry. Take control of now. That’s the mindset shift that leads to true success.
