I Spent Half My Life Worrying About Things That Never Happened

One of my favorite quotes is from Mark Twain, he said, "I spent half my life worrying about things that never happened."  How many of us spend our time regretting the past or worrying about the future when the present moment just slips by with a kind of subtle indifference.

Why do so many of us live in fear and worry when there is a better way. We have been given the gift of life to make our mark, to share our talents, to be of service, to leave a legacy, to simply enjoy our days.  Many of us, especially in the United States, have been given the gift of freedom, of choice to be what we want to be, to do want we want to do, how wonderful is that simple gift.

Billions of people would risk their very lives to come to the United States. Our immigrant forefathers did exactly that, and we see countless examples everyday of people looking to cross our borders to enjoy the very freedoms and opportunities we take for granted.

The simple shift away from worry and fear to one of gratitude and service will help take the focus off ourselves and onto others. Zig Ziglar said that to get what you want all you need to do is help enough other people get what they want.  How true. When we help others, we stop feeling sorry for ourselves and realize that our troubles or problems may not be so significant.  The simple shift off ourselves and onto others unlocks the universal principle of "giving and receiving",  for when we give we free up space for even more wonderful things to flow into our lives.

Next time we catch ourselves worrying and fretting about ourselves and our futures, take a moment and list all of the things we have to be grateful for and look for ways to help someone else for in that moment we realize that our challenges are not so great and we can then understand and experience the joy and abundance of life.

With Love,

Tom Kaufmann
Coach K
tkaufmanncoaching.com