I was in my doctor's office, age 17, when he made this statement: "Young man, I can give you the best medication on the planet for your hypertension (high blood pressure) but if you do not find a way to deal with worry, you will just be spending money for nothing."

That put me on a quest on how to stop worrying so I could control my high blood pressure. The literature (and others) said you cannot heal high blood pressure, you just control or manage it...be careful who you listen to. I wish I knew the alternative much earlier because 22 years down the line, I learned a way to totally get out of it.

Probably the best literature I came across on this subject was "How To Stop Worrying and Start Living" Dale Carnegie...but I digress.

A Bit of A Rant...

As of this writing, this is my third year without taking high blood pressure medicine. I am fine...really.

End of Rant

Worrying does not help anyone positively...except the pharmaceutical industry and it's cousins. You find for me someone who has given themselves over to worry and has profited out of it. We tend to worry ourselves sick (literary) and pay heavily for it.

Then there are the smart few who, instead of worrying, they think of a solution to what is causing them to worry.

So let me share how you can stop worrying, something that works for me.

Step One: Live With This

Things that cause us to worry are a dime a dozen and they will always be with us. Bills, broken relationships or relationships that are about to break, war, rumours of war, apocalypse, hunger, epidemic breakouts, terrorist attacks ad infinitum.

These things are here to stay. Live with that fact.

It is a risky business to worry.

Step Two: Find The Root Cause

We are going for the root here. What is causing me to have high blood pressure at age 17? Once you get to it, deal with it.

I realized that my parents' issue was theirs. I have my life to live. My own destiny to fulfil. It is not worth it to have health issues because of what they went throught. So I adjust and move on towards my life purpose. (Please understand that I love my parents dearly).

But worrying myself sick (again, litelary) was not helping. It is a risk business.

Step 3: Transfer the Risk

I take my health risk out on something/someone else. In my case I prayed. "God, I am giving this situation over to you. I do not want to be sick anymore" Worked for me...yes, I am what you would call, a spiritual person (but then who isn't). Hey this rocks my boat. Once the risk is transferred then

Step 4 (and the final one): Focus On The Solution(s)

You really need to find the solution to your problem. In my case, I tried all sorts of solutions from conventional medicine to the not so conventional. What worked is a combination of good nutrition, good working habits and lots of risk transference to God.

My God.

You are the one in trouble, you need to find the solution...because nobody else feels the pinch as you do. Quit blaming and just work out a solution.

I wish I could say that I did that once and that was the end of it but no, it is a way of thinking that I had to get into...after all, worrying is wrong thinking or shall I say, thinking put to wrong use.

Years after 17 later with a wife and three kids, I get plenty to worry about but I continue to employ these steps and they work for me.

If you are interested, you can read my book on How To Stop Worrying and Start Thinking Right but this post pretty much covers the principles I outline in the book.

So stop worrying. It sucks, literary, the life out of you. It's just not worth it. You need to live life to the full.

It's worth the shot.

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