The Compounding Effects of Worry

I’m reading a book right now called, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.  In summary, it’s about how small habits compound over time resulting in drastic effects.  The effects of these small habits are difficult to detect early on but over time can be quite astounding.

In one example, he described men, similar in age and health.  One cut 120 calories a day out of his diet, one kept his diet the same, and one added 120 calories a day.  At first, there was really no perceptible difference.  But, over a period of 27 months, the differences were massive.  Just that one habit caused the first man to not only lose weight but his increase in energy and self-esteem led to a better relationship with his wife and a promotion at work.  The one who added the calories, over time became lethargic, gained, felt more stressed, his relationship was strained and he started to hate his job.  See, it’s not just about the one effect, the one thing, they changed.  It’s about the compounding effects of our habits.

I started to think about how this might apply to the world of anxiety.  Suppose you felt anxious about an upcoming event.  You worried about it for a couple of days, increasing your cortisol (stress hormone).  When the event arrived, everything went just fine.  Our subconscious mind makes an interpretation of what happened.  It might begin to believe that your worrying is what kept you safe, helped you avoid disaster, and caused everything to go well.  

Your brain makes note and kicks into worry mode for the next event.  Again, you find yourself “saved” from disaster.  Once or twice, you can do this and it doesn’t make a giant impact on the function of your brain and life.

If you develop a habit of worrying, over time the effects will compound.  The compounding effects of this worry habit can be quite dramatic.  Over time, the constant dump of cortisol leads to harmful effects on your body. The long-term effects of cortisol in your body include anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, muscle tension and pain, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke, sleep problems, weight gain and memory/concentration impairment. 

Eventually, this “worry” state can become your comfort zone.  I’ve known women who had spent so many years worrying, that even when they could look around and tell you that logically, there was “nothing to worry about”, they would still feel compelled to worry.  

Here are some signs that worry has become a habit with compounding effects on your life.  

• You constantly overthink future events and past conversations.
• When everything is going smoothly in your life, you start to go through the “rolodex” in your mind of “what ifs”...hijacking the calm feelings and getting back to worry-mode.
• You have a hard time believing that good things are naturally going to happen.  You believe deep-down that you are responsible.  If you don’t prepare enough, disaster is likely, if not, certain.
• You’ve noticed some physical symptoms creep into your life but you don’t know why: extra weight that won’t go away with exercise, trouble sleeping even when you’re exhausted, headaches, digestive problems… Maybe you’ve had these symptoms but couldn’t identify the cause.

We might think that small habits are just quirks.  But if we truly want to feel empowered and see positive effects in our lives, it’s important for us to evaluate our habits.  It doesn’t matter if they are physical habits or mental habits.  They add up and in fact, compound over time.  

It doesn’t matter how long the habit has gone unnoticed, taking consistent and intentional action now will compound your success in the future.  

So…have you made worry a habit?  What small action could you begin to take today to begin to shift your future in the direction that you truly desire?

You deserve the joy and peace that you desire!  I’m cheering you on!

Much Love,

Stacey