It has taken me three-quarters of a lifetime to learn the secret of how to stop worrying. 

It is so simple I’m embarrassed to share this information.The absolute easiest and quickest cure for worry is to have a project you can engage in to the exclusion of all else going on in your life or the world. It must be something that consumes you, something that makes your heart sing..

Without a project, your mind automatically descends into worry. Your project will replace your worrying unless the project is so massive it becomes the catalyst for a whole new set of worries. So keep your projects small and manageable like planting a herb garden, or painting your car.

No kidding, I painted my car this this week along with my stove top.  I grew up in West
Point, and recall an elderly gentleman who painted his vehicle almost every week by dumping a can of paint on the roof and letting it run down the sides sort of like a glaze on a pound cake.  It was bizarre seeing that car all over town with several coats of paint in non-coordinated colors crusted over.  It was a work of art.

I took a less dramatic approach.  I ordered a small bottle of paint (the size of a bottle of nail polish – I fact I’m wondering if a cheap bottle of nail polish might have worked as well). Amazon features this special paint for touching up unsightly nicks on appliances – anything metal and it worked so well I decided to touch up the nicks on my truck.  After 15 years of cooking messily and driving over curbs and into shrubs, the nicks numbered in the “hunnerts” as one of my friends pointed out.  (People who say hunnerts just crack me up. )

I noticed that when I was focused on the painting, I had nothing else on my mind but staying within the lines of the nicked and peeling spots – (kind of like a kid who had his tonque hanging out as he meticulously paints a zebra).  It took me about two hours of blissful concentration to complete the project.  Next week I’m going to wash the windows which I just discovered are dirty, not tinted as I previously thought. That should be good for some uninterrupted worry-free time.  Who can worry when they are dangling from a extension ladder with a squeegy and spray can of Windex?

Your mind has to spin somewhere, and if it can’t lock its teeth into a creative project we will resort to worry about other people and what they might do or say to us.  And never ever worry about money, or lack thereof.  I have a fabulously wealthy friend who never has a moment’s piece worrying about all her investments.  When all you have to worry about is the change In the bottom of your purse, you’re free as a bird and I’m pretty sure they never worry about what they will wear or have for dinner. 

So instead of worrying yourself sick, grab some worry remover. It comes in many sizes and shapes and it’s called a PROJECT. Just squirt it on your worries and presto! They’re gone, and if you’re lucky you will have something to be proud of.

A quote from Dale Carnegie – the man who built all those libraries and probably never had a moment of worry In his life. He said, “George Bernard Shaw was right. He summed it all up when he said: ‘The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not.’ So don’t bother to think about it! Spit on your hands and get busy. Your blood will start circulating; your mind will start ticking—and pretty soon this whole positive upsurge of life in your body will drive worry from your mind.

So, what’s your project?  If you can’t find one, I can use some help with the windows! On the other hand if I clean the windows, I will need to invest in some expensive draperies.  So I’ll keep my projects small. A coloring book might be the solution but I’m not sure they are still being produced since children today have computers and cell phones and one of them is probably working on a cure for cancer.  Let’s all hope.