How to Defeat Worry | Robin Sharma

Hi, it's Robin Sharma. Well, this is the second video in this series and it's called how to Defeat Worry. So you can make this new year your absolute best year yet. And I really want this to be the year that you change the game, the year that you express your creative potential, the year you break through your fears. The year that perhaps you move from stuck to living full out. So I really want to focus in this session on how do you beat worry? My dad, my parents are extraordinary people. I have a great family that I'm very, very grateful to and my parents have had a huge influence on me. My dad shared one thing in particular that I want to offer to you. He once said to me, robin, the Sanskrit character for worry is strikingly similar to the Sanskrit character for funeral pyre. You know that. That sort of bed of wood that people who have passed away are sometimes cremated on. And I said, really? And my dad said, absolutely. He said, because worry burns the living while.

The funeral pyre burns the dead. That might be a little graphic for you, but I think it's really powerful to remember that worry destroys human, human lives. And we are going through a period of intense disruption. We've got the Eurozone crisis, we've got the environmental crisis, we've got energy issues. The global economy is in a mess. There is massive disruption occurring in the world and it will continue. And what I want to do to help you is to help you bulletproof your mind and bulletproof your life and bulletproof your business and help you prepare. So this new year is your absolute best year yet. But it does start with developing the mindset of a superstar. I have to say it again, it's your mindset that is going to allow you to spot opportunities where everyone else is frightened. I'll put it to you another way. Victims are frightened by change. Leaders are inspired by change. So if you're in business, your competition is frightened right now. If you're walking in the world right now, no matter where you are, across the world, there are a lot of people who are really scared and uncertain. But I want you to have the kind of mindset where you go, this is a great time to be in business and this is a great time to be alive. Because there have never been so many opportunities. Opportunities to grow your life, opportunities to learn, opportunities to lead by example, opportunities to build a business that changes the world, opportunity to do work that matters. Opportunities to live your best life and to do your best work. And that's really the truth. But if your mind is full of worry. You're going to miss the opportunities because. Because you're focusing on what's not working versus what is working. Joseph Campbell said, we see the world through our stained glass window. Well, most people are seeing through the eyes of fear versus through the eyes of opportunity. So let me get right into it. I've got about five or six tactics for you that are really, really granular and tactical that you can use today to help you defeat the worry habit. Number one model, Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee used to write out a worry list on a piece of paper. He'd actually dump all of the worries that were SW through his mind onto a piece of paper. Why? Because if it's in your mind, if you're worried about all these problems, they will consume your creativity and they'll consume your physical energy. And your two best assets are, number one, your physical focus and your mental focus, and number two, your physical energy. I'll repeat that. Your two primary assets are your mental focus and your physical energy. As a business person and as a human being, protect those as we go through the intense disruption that will continue. So the first tactic is you write all the worries down on a piece of paper. And then what Bruce Lee used to do is he'd rip up the piece of paper into many pieces and he'd hold a lighter to it or a match and he'd see them burning up. You don't have to do that, but it's just simply powerful to start keeping a worry list. So you sort of dump all the worries that are consuming your focus out onto a piece of paper. And then, guess what? Your mind has space for its creativity to express itself. Second tactic, worry beads. This is not philosophical. Don't worry about the, you know, this is a really practical tactic. Get a bunch of beads or beans or, you know, whatever it is, and every time you're at your desk working and your mind goes to a worry, dump one of those beads or beans, you know, a dried bean. I'm sure you can get them. Don't make any excuses. Don't say, well, I don't live in a city where I can get worry beads. You can find some kind of a bean or a bead. Isn't it interesting how worries prevent us from taking action, excuses prevent us from taking action? And so on. The second point, you just. Every time your mind drifts to a worry, you drop the worry bead into a cup or into a glass. What does that do? It starts to give you an intense awareness about how much time you spend worrying and more Particularly how many worries you have. And with more awareness, you can make more better choices. And with better choices, you'll see better results. Okay, third tactic. Affirmations. Staggering power in the words you use. If all day long, the words you use when you talk to other people, you know, let's say you're complaining, right? Complain. Complaining about this, complaining about that. Well, complaining is worrying made verbal. And so watch your words and actually change your words because the words you use influence your subconscious mind and the words you use rewire your beliefs. So as you start saying, you know what I'm looking for, the opportunities as you stop complaining, as you start using the language of possibility, which is I can versus I can't, your mindset will start to change, your worries will start to evaporate, you will have more energy, and actually you'll see the world through a fresh and more positive set of lenses. A few final tips. Gratitude. The field of positive psychology is confirming scientifically that when you record gratitude on a daily basis, you begin to pay attention about the simple blessings in your life versus focusing on what is missing in your life. In other words, you will shift from scarcity to abundance through gratitude. I'll put it to you another way. If you are focusing on what is not working in your life, you are missing out on all the good that is in your life, right? I mean, no matter where you are in the world, I guarantee you there are good things in your life. So all you do is every morning, I'll make it again really tactical. In your journal. You should be keeping a journal every single day. Write down five things that you're grateful for and do it for about 40 days. You're going to rewire your brain so you don't defeat worry and you start to notice the simple things like, wow, I'm drinking clean water. Wow, I have family who loves me. Wow, I have work that fulfills me. Let's say, wow, I have a roof over my head. Or like the Persian proverb says, I cursed the fact I had no shoes until I saw the man who had no feet. Two final tips to beat the worry habit. If you're facing problems and the only people who don't have problems are dead people, you want to see someone with no problems? Go to the cemetery. Being alive means you will have problems. Why? Because problems come to serve us. They help us grow. They help us express more of our gifts and our talents. I mean, problems breed innovation. So problems are actually good things. Because but for problems we wouldn't grow, we'd stay stuck I know it's difficult going through problems, but there's tons of rich growth in those problems. Those problems will help you progress in your business and in your life. But one of the ways to defeat worry is to make sure you do a list of your problems, and then you start taking some action on every problem. I know it sounds obvious, but most people think about their problems, but they're not proactive. They play victim. They make excuses. They think that their problems cannot be overcome. I want to challenge you and push you and encourage you. Whatever your problems are, start taking action on the problem. Because half of the battle of overcoming a problem and defeating worry is moving through the problem through action. Okay, and then the final thing I'm going to leave you with is look for the lessons in any problem. And one of my favorite questions is, what's the opportunity here? Make that a brain tattoo. What's the opportunity here? So do a list of your problems so you can actually see those problems right in front of you. And then ask yourself, maybe do it as a written exercise in your journal or do it with a friend or do it with yourself on a long walk in nature. And ask yourself, for every one of the big problems that is consuming my energy and my mental focus, what is the opportunity? Because I promise you, inside of every single problem that might be causing you to worry and creating stress for you is a gorgeous opportunity to build an even better business or build an even better life or install a better belief or change who you are and grow, move through a fear into confidence and more of your power. So those are some tactics that I know will work for you to help you defeat worry. So you make the new year this year, the next 12 months, the absolute best 12 months of your life yet. And that is my greatest wish for you. Again, Happy New Year from my family to yours, and make the next 12 months absolutely astoundingly great.