Rabbit Holes

You ever hear the old phrase don’t put yourself down a rabbit hole? It usually is a place where you get stuck, a dead end, or you can’t get out. The biggest way to get yourself stuck in a rabbit hole is by worrying. We use the word worry loosely because a lot of people worry about things every day. It is a common action to worry about little things, big things, people, circumstances, or your own self. It is a common feeling. Have you ever thought about what worrying really is, though?

According to Oxford Languages the word “Worry” is a verb and a noun. As a verb, it means “give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles. Secondly, the word worry pertains to a dog “tear at, gnaw on, or drag around with teeth.” As a noun, it means “a state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems.”

In one sense, it leads you to anxiety and if you continue to worry it puts you in a state of anxiety. Many people suffer from anxiety. Often what puts you in a state of anxiety is worrying. Most of the time, we worry about things that are not even true or don’t exist. Assuming the worst in a situation for instance can put you in this state and the next step is to continue to worry. Then, you are dwelling on things that haven’t even happened. Basically, you are inventing ideas in your thought process that cause you anxiety, distress.

If you look at the Merriam-Webster definition it takes you farther down the worrying rabbit hole. “To harass by tearing, biting, or snapping especially at the throat.” “To shake or pull at with the teeth.” “To touch or disturb something repeatedly.” “To change the position of or adjust by repeated pushing or hauling.” “To assault with rough or aggressive attack or treatment: TORMENT.” Then continues with “STRANGLE, CHOKE. To move, proceed, or progress by unceasing or difficult effort: STRUGGLE.”

Then finally, “A mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated: ANXIETY.” “A cause of worry: TROUBLE, DIFFICULTY.” I see all these key words and I think to myself; is worrying worth the results it causes? Do I want to torment myself? Struggle? Strangle and choke sounds a little severe, but is it really? Anxiety can cause panic and then you could feel like you are choking. Isn’t it our own personal decision to worry about anything? Every single day you can have thoughts that make you feel like you should worry. Maybe it feels natural to go straight to worrying, because it is what you usually do.

Even if you are not worrying about anything, occasionally others will point out things to make you feel like you should start to worry. Just when you thought everything was fine the question pops up in your mind, is everything really ok? Maybe I should worry about this, you begin to ask yourself. You may list all of the positives and then there’s that one negative possibility that people dig for to bring it up to the surface. To make you question yourself because then you aren’t focused on positive results anymore. It can stop you in your tracks.

Making the decision to not worry is the only way to not put yourself in a state of anxiety.

It sounds simple but can require a lot of work on your own part to accomplish this every day. Do you want to struggle and torment yourself? I certainly do not! The thing is, bad things can happen in life. The worst case scenario is a possibility in anything you are doing. If you think about the hardest things in life you have survived and compare to the worst case scenario I think you will find it isn’t worth your efforts to worry about it. You will find that it would be a breeze to overcome in comparison.

But remember, we worry about things that are not even real or true most of the time. Sure, you may hear about scenarios that could cause you fear. Facts that prove bad things can happen. But most of the time, we cannot control the very bad things that present themselves to us. A fire, an accident, an illness, or a death. We do our best to handle these things and there is no time to worry when these things occur.

In getting ready to launch my website I cannot help but think about things that could worry me. Will people like it? Will they think differently about me? Is it good enough? Will it be successful? and so on and so on. Here is the thing!…Worrying gets you NO WHERE. Repeat. Repeat. Say it with me! If I worried about any of these things I could not have spent the last year and a half figuring out how to build this post I am doing right now.

Instead of worry, I choose to learn and grow in life. Taking on new things, whether I fail or succeed, is much better than worrying, tormenting myself, putting myself in a state of anxiety or struggling! I challenge you to stop the next time you find yourself worrying about anything and redirect your mind. Find something to focus on that brings you positive results or introduces new things to your life. Keep things on your To-Do List that you want to try, do different, or learn.

We have a ton of rabbits on our property and they are adorable. If they eat my veggies in my new ground garden I won’t be happy! I am not going to worry about it though. I will read, research, and do all I can to avoid this from happening. If they do, I will deal with it when it happens. When it’s real. What I won’t be is stuck in that rabbit hole.