How To Worry Less And Smile More - 8 Tips To Be More Free

Got a tendency to worry all the time? This post will tell you how to worry less, smile more, and take life one sip at a time.

Nobody likes being a worried soul. Despite knowing that stress is bad for the mind, you might have no control over your troublesome thoughts.

My therapist once told me that worrying is an extended branch of overthinking and that by cutting your stream of thoughts, you can get rid of your worries.

As someone who was prone to major overthinking, I grabbed onto that piece of advice and made it a mission to minimize my worrying tendencies.

My stress-management journey has been two years in the making, and while I wouldn’t call myself the most carefree bird in the world, I’ve definitely come a long way.

I can now safely say that I spend less time worrying and more time living.

What helped? A bunch of things, actually, all of which I’ve neatly packed into this post in the hopes of helping my fellow humans with their worries.

Pin this post now for safekeeping!

We’ll be looking at 9 effective stress-busting tips that will help you worry less and be happier in your everyday life.

Let’s dive in.

How To Worry Less And Be Happier

1. Focus On Your Breaths

When you’re in a worried state of mind, your breaths might become shallow, adding more anxiety to your racing thoughts.

You need to cut off your cycle of thoughts ASAP, and the best way to do this is to tune into your breaths and get your breathing under control.

Breathing activates your body’s relaxation response, shifts your focus from your panic-inducing thoughts, and provides a grounding anchor to the present moment.

That’s why it’s the quickest way to alleviate stress and calm your mind.

You can also minimize your chances of spiraling into stress by practicing deep breathing at regular intervals throughout the day.

I love to take short breaks while working by closing my eyes and just breathing deeply. Five minutes of doing this work help me release all the thoughts that aren’t doing me any good and hold onto positivity instead.

2. Challenge Your Negative Thoughts

It takes practice to master this particular tip, but I’ve found it to be very effective in reframing my mind’s perspective.

Whenever you find yourself worrying, stop your train of thoughts and question their direction and purpose.

These are some of the self-reflection questions that might help:

What’s the worst-case scenario here?
What’s the best-case scenario?
Why am I focusing on the worst outcome when I can instead hope for the best?
Even if the situation doesn’t turn in my favor, will it be the end of the world?

Challenging your thoughts this way will help you realize that positive thinking is a choice too. And believe it or not, when you wish for good things, you most likely will get good things.

And even if things don’t turn in your favor later on, that’s a problem for your future self. No need to fret about things that haven’t happened yet (yet another powerful way to remind yourself to be stress-free.)

Bookmark now: 45 Journal Prompts For Personal Growth – Discover Your Best Self

3. Channel Your Stress Into A Workout

It feels amazing to release all your worries by sweating yourself out during a workout. Physical activity releases endorphins, improves mood, and provides you with a powerful outlet for stress.

These are some exercises that I personally find to be beneficial in managing worries:

Cycling
Yoga
Mindful walks in the nature
Strength training
Kickboxing
HIIT workout
Dancing

For all the indoor workouts, I usually just look up videos on Youtube and do try different workouts. Do the same and you’ll soon have a collection of youtube workouts that your body loves.

Plus, you always have the option to head outside for your workouts. Nature and body movement will add up perfectly to bust all your worries.

Don’t miss: 10 Insanely Simple Daily Habits To Improve Your Life

4. Use Affirmations To Ground Yourself

Affirmations are positive statements that work like magic against negative thoughts. By repeating affirmations regularly, you can reinforce some powerful truths to yourself to counteract your worries.

Here are some of my favorite ones:

I release my mind from fear.
I choose peace over chaos.
I trust in my ability to find solutions to any challenges that may come my way.
I have the option to adopt a positive outlook on life.
I am resilient and grounded in my being.
I have the power to create calmness.
I aim to worry less and be more present.
I choose to focus on the present and let go of worries about the future.
I am worthy of happiness.
I have the strength and courage to face life with confidence.
I release everything that is not in my control and focus on what I can influence.

Choose the affirmations that resonate with you and personalize them to your own benefit.

Repeat your chosen affirmations regularly in your mind or out loud and try to connect with the positive emotions they evoke. Writing down affirmations will be even more powerful.

Consistency is key, so consider incorporating affirmations into your daily routine, such as saying them in the morning, before bed, or in your free time.

A powerful post: 10 Self-Love Habits Every Woman Needs To Be Mentally Strong

5. Divert Your Energies

Your worries can form a cluster of negativity that feeds off of your mental energies. The more time you spend stuck in this cluster, the stronger it will get.

As soon as you recognize your signs of stress, tell yourself ‘I don’t have time for this’, and then look for activities that can help you step out of your stressful zone.

I wouldn’t recommend doing anything that makes you anxious. If you’re worried about your work, then it wouldn’t make sense to do something work-related. Your mind could instead benefit from stepping away from work and indulging in some heartfelt activities.

Here are some healthy ways to divert your mental energies:

Listen to music
Tune into a podcast
Journal your thoughts
Step outside for some fresh air
Indulge in a hobby
Step outside for some fresh air
Take a walk
Meditate

A post I recommend: 8 Things You Need To Do For A Mental Detox

6. Prioritize The Right Things

One should always set priorities to avoid chaos in life, but setting the right priorities is just as important.

You might think that your career needs to be your number one priority, but does it really? Your career goals won’t ever end. There will always be more to do, more to achieve, and more to learn.

But your mental health is the one aspect of your life that you can’t take for granted. What would be the point of winning awards if you’re not even happy in life?

Know when you can push yourself, but also know when to take a mental break. Your priorities will be different at different points in life; it’s important you recognize them in time and adjust yourself accordingly.

Once you master the art of setting the right priorities, you’ll naturally worry less since your focus will be on the right things that truly matter at the moment. The rest is just noise that your true priorities will help you tune out.

You might like: 10 Things To Let Go Of To Be Happy In Life

7. Seek Humor

In the face of worries, laughing might seem like a faraway option, but at a deeper glance, isn’t it exactly what you need to combat stress?

Laughter release endorphins, which are natural mood-boosting chemicals that promote a sense of well-being.

It is impossible to feel bogged down by worries when you are laughing, which is why it’s best to seek humor under stress.

Here’s something I’ve been doing lately – Whenever something unexpected happens that throws me off, I make light of the situation by comparing my life to that of a movie character.

It doesn’t do much to solve my problems, but it sure cracks me up enough to not take my life too seriously and just move on.

Joking with your friends about your unwarranted worries can help too! I mean, we’ve all had moments when we’re laughing and crying at the same time with a friend. It feels good to be able to laugh at our own worries.

Here are some other ways to get yourself laughing when you are worrying (too much):

Call a friend who always makes you laugh
Watch a sitcom or a comedy movie
Look for funny videos on Youtube
Read silly jokes online
Talk to yourself by making jokes about your situation.

P.S.: Telling yourself to worry less and smile more works too. 😉

8. Stop Aiming For Perfectionism

The amount of stress that perfectionism can bring with it is insane. You could already be doing your best, but the perfectionist in you would always demand more and never let you be satisfied.

As a result, you might find yourself quitting even before getting started, or chewing your nails while pondering over how to make an already finished project even better.

I’m not saying that it’s bad to aim high, but if you’re constantly under duress because of a goal, the outcome isn’t worth it, peeps, trust me.

In your quest for perfectionism, you might be missing out on the little moments that make life worth living. You don’t want to be someone who expects too much from themselves.

Your soul thrives under self-compassion and self-kindness. So give it just that by letting go of your perfectionist’s streak and allowing yourself to just be.

Allow Yourself To Be Free Of Worries

Before you try any of these tips to worry less, you first need to allow yourself to be free of your worries. We often don’t think that we’re deserving of happiness, or that not being stressed might mean unproductivity.

None of that is true. You deserve to exist in a healthy mind space, and your productivity has nothing to do with staying worried.

You can choose to be stress-free right this second, and then pick up some tips from this post to worry less and smile more. 🙂

Liked the post? Leave your thoughts behind in the comment box. I’m always up for some chitchat.

How To Worry Less And Smile More – 8 Tips To Be More Free