Tips for managing worry

• Learn to distinguish between positive stress and toxic worry. Positive stress can give you the energy you need to get the job done. Toxic worry only drags you down, making it hard to achieve even small tasks.
• Do a reality check. Find out if your worry has any basis in fact. Toxic worry can distort the real situation. Check to make sure that things are really as bad as they seem. Even when there is an actual problem, it may be easier to solve than you think.
• Talk with friends or colleagues you trust. They can help you see things differently. Connect with those you know will reassure you, not those who might exaggerate your concerns.
• Take positive action to correct the problem. Don't be a victim of worry and stress. Brooding about the problem gets you nowhere. Fix the problem if you can! If not, then make the problem more manageable by making small corrective changes.
• Get help from the right sources—people who have the information you need. Often you don't have the information or tools necessary to attack a problem. Instead of worrying, take control by getting the help you need. Find out who the authority is and where you should look for answers.
• Take care of your body. Exercise daily, eat healthy foods, and get enough sleep. Worry and stress put a heavy strain on your body. Taking good care of yourself physically not only reduces the level of tension your body is coping with, but it gives you more energy to deal with the problem itself!
• Relax whenever and wherever you can. Practice relaxation techniques whenever you start to feel the first signs of tension, worry, or stress. While quick exercises that you can do almost anywhere are helpful, find the time and space for longer, more meditative relaxation—these exercises are more beneficial in the long run.
• Let worries go. If there's nothing you can do about a problem (or nothing more, if you already worked on it)—if it's simply out of your control—then you have to let the worry go. Blow it away, and start a new project, read a different book, walk another path.