HERE’S TO WORKING THROUGH WORRY IN GRACE

If you start worrying too much about what others think of you, you may find it difficult to "get over it" right away. This is especially true if you are concerned about people whose opinions you once valued. Even if you have decided not to be bothered by this person's opinion, you may still find yourself unable to shake their lingering words.

In this space, I hope you can keep in mind that being unable to simply "get over" something is not a sign of weakness. For perhaps, being unable to "get over" something is a sign that it is something that needs to be worked through instead.

There is no such thing as simply "getting over" a mountain when you're on the ground. The mountain must be climbed one step at a time. You must go through the process of reaching the top as well as the other side.

The same is true of the mountains of worry we face. If someone else's opinion bothers us, it's likely rooted in something more. Something that we have to be gentle with ourselves as we work through.

And as you work through them, may you know this also: even before the worry completely goes away, you are allowed to begin seeking what's on the other side of that worry.

You are worth the time it takes to seek out a support system right now. You are worthy of seeking out spaces where you aren't concerned with what others think, even if it's just for a few minutes a day

Perhaps, for some reason, when you're in the car listening to music, you're not concerned with what others think.

Perhaps it's during a month-long social media hiatus that you find yourself thinking about how you'll measure up in certain groups.

Maybe, when you're with a small group of people who make you feel loved and supported, you're less likely to worry about what others might think or say.

Wherever those spaces are - no matter how small they are or how little time you get to spend in them, I hope you know you are worthy of seeking them out.

So here's to working through worry in grace...grace that allows you to explore new spaces. Because for everything that has caused you to be worried about what others think of you, there is also room to explore a life beyond that worry.

Here's to worrying less as a practice. A regular practice in which you repeat this to yourself:

"I am worthy of the time it will take to work through this.

I will make an effort to put myself in settings where I am not concerned with what others think.

I am worthy of love and support right now.

I will accept that being worried about what others think or say does not make me weak.

I will accept working through my worry is something I can practice."

Word of the Day: Through (adv) "expressing movement into one side and out of the other side of an opening, channel, or location" (Oxford Languages)
Affirmation: "I am allowed to take the time I need to work through this."
Journal: What are some spaces where you feel least likely to worry about what others think? Make a list of 3-5 things.

More in this week's series called "Words for the Healing Journey", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.

Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols