to do nothing is quite different from failing or refusing to decide
at all. If you examine the situation and decide there’s nothing you
can do, you’ll remove the ambiguity and thus relieve a great deal
of anxiety. If you evade the decision, you’ll go right on worrying.
Perhaps you’re worrying about a decision you can’t make yet. If
you’re losing sleep over tomorrow’s decision, tell yourself, “I don’t
have to decide that now.” Repeat as often as you need to.
Now tell yourself, “Whatever I decide will be fine.” Tell your-
self often enough and you’ll begin to believe it, not because you’ve
brainwashed yourself but your intuition will recognize the truth
of the statement. Whatever you decide really will be fine, because
you’ll act on it and, having acted, move on to whatever comes
next.
6. Follow through
If you’ve decided on immediate action, do it!
If you’ve decided to do something later, write down what
you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it. Be specific:
date, time, and place. Then be sure to keep that appointment. Oth-
erwise, you’ll soon learn to disregard anything you write down to
do later.
If you’ve decided to do nothing, let it go.
7. abide by Your Decision
Make each decision once. If you decide to eat the cheeseburger,
enjoy the cheeseburger. If you decide on the salad, dive in. If you
decide not to eat at all, savor the virtuousness of your hunger. What-
ever you do, do it wholeheartedly. Resist second-guessing yourself.
Just because you’ve decided on future action or on no action
doesn’t mean the worry will go away. If it resurfaces in your
D O N’ T L E T W O R R Y R O B Y O U O F T I M E A N D E N E R G Y