I’m always being told that I’m a worrier. I spend an inordinate amount of time fretting about this and that. Rehashing old conversations, angsting over upcoming commitments. But then I heard about this fact and it put things into perspective. Hopefully, you’ll find this as useful as I did.
A study from Cornell University found that a whopping 85% of our worries never actually materialise. And of those that do come to pass, 79% of the time, people report that they handled the experience better than expected, or that it was not nearly as bad as they had feared.
In other words, only 3% of our worries ever materialise in the way that we fear.
That really hit home with me. How many pointless hours have I squandered, worrying about something that never happens? In fact, studies have shown that the average amount of time we spend worrying each week is about 13 hours.
Whilst it’s easy to suggest simply switching off the internal commentary of our worries, doing it is another matter. But just knowing that only 3% of our worries will actually transpire can be a powerful talisman to carry with you into your day.
It reminds me of when my daughters were little and I used to fret about the various ways they could hurt themselves. One day I decided to arm myself with the facts, and researched the actuarial data insurance companies use to assess risk. I found that the occurrence of various accidents, per 1000 infants was vanishingly small in many instances, and this drove home the point to me that I was guilty of blowing my worries out of all proportion.
So next time you find yourself fretting about the next disaster that will inevitably befall you, try reminding yourself that 97% of the time, things are going to turn out just fine.
And hopefully, we can all spend a little less time fretting, and a little more time enjoying the moment.
Let me know in the comments: What things do you worry about most? And how often do your worries comes true?
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