Sick... or NOT sick, that is the question..

    sick.. or not sick - 

     Don't you hate waking up with a bit of a scratchy throat.... and your first thought upon waking is.... am I gonna get sick?  Is this just a little early morning STUFF...or is it FOR REAL this time?

   So you go along your day..... feeling achey maybe (or do you?).. wondering when the really bad stuff is going to hit.   An extra cup of hot tea, some Vitamin C.... can you ward it off?

    It occurred to me that we spend WAY too much time worrying about what MIGHT happen and not enough time just taking care of today.   The world we live in is full of scary possibilities... where we need to sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.... eat right..... exercise.... how much is enough?  How much is too much?  And why do we need to hyper-focus on it?

I believe in positive thinking.  I tend to go along believing I won't get sick.  And for the most part, that is true.  But I am also a realist.  I have the usual things.... I AM over 50, mind you.  MOST days start out a little gingerly while the new day and I get acquainted.  I kind of see that as all my body parts saying good morning :-)

I do try to take care of myself and listen to what my body has to say.  Where is the line between listening to my body (and noticing the little cough) and worrying about what happens next?  I am not sure.. but I HAVE learned a few things along the way:

Worrying about things does not help me.  Ignoring my body is not usually a good idea.  A cough is a symptom.  Period.  That said, it is a symptom of many things, most as innocuous as clearing out a little overnight accumulation of mucus.  A cup of hot tea will help by adding liquid to my body to help it do its job.  (Coffee, by the way, will take liquid away... so while it FEELS good to have the hot liquid, you will keep drinking it to no avail in the long run).

Usually, for me, this is the end of the story, though.  Worrying about what comes next.. WITHOUT MORE SYMPTOMS... is not only useless, but damaging.

Worrying and preparing are NOT the same things.   Noticing and treating symptoms is NOT worrying. It's smart.  Worrying about and treating symptoms that have not happened?  That's a waste of time and energy.

Worry causes me unhappiness.  Unhappiness stops my progress toward being the best me I want to be.  When I worry, I neglect to do things that help me.  I am paralyzed with fear.  I choose NOT to let fear run my life.

Worrying about things makes them happen sooner.  I can't prove this scientifically but I believe that what you spend most of your time thinking about is exactly what will happen to you eventually.  This is one of the primary reasons that I dream of clean and clear spaces in my home.  This is one of the reasons that I am almost ALWAYS in a good mood... it's a decision I make every day.

As my positive self, I remind myself constantly... NO WORRIES!  Things will happen or they will not.  And I will deal with life accordingly.  AND I will succeed.

My realist side believes it is natural to worry.  More so as you get older, mostly because you have seen that many more bad things happen.  But the truth is that you have also seen that many more miracles.... are you noticing THOSE?  Looking at both sides keeps you in balance.

All that said, another cup of tea with honey in it can't hurt :-)