Today is the day to…
stop worrying
The source for this material is…
25 Days to Better Thinking and Better
Living: A Guide for Improving Every Aspect of Your
Life, by Dr. Linda Elder & Dr. Richard Paul,
Pearson, 2006; and the Center and
Foundation for Critical Thinking, CA.
Do you worry about problems
 “…rather than take action to solve
them?
 Do you obsess about problems that
you can do nothing about?
 While you are worrying, do you
present a calm, unruffled exterior?”
(Drs. Elder and Paul, Ibid)
WORRYWART
DO YOU KNOW ANY
WORRYWARTS?
You can probably name
several in your sphere
of living…
YOU PROBABLY
OMMITTED YOUR
NAME ON THAT
LIST OF
WORRYWARTS—
SHOULD IT BE
THERE?
Take Notice of Your Worrying
 “Notice the
negative
emotions you
experience when
you worry.”
 Notice when others…
 worry
 fail to act
 waste energy in
emoting about a
problem
(Ibid)
Our authors remind us…
“Worrying never adds to the quality of
your life, but it can certainly diminish
its quality.”
(Drs. Elder and Paul, Ibid)
“For every problem under the sun,
there is a solution or there in none.
If there be one, seek till you find it.
If there be none, then never mind it.”
Your mind is failing you…
“…to the extent
that you worry,
instead of
actively looking
for solutions.”
First seek a solution –
 open your mind to
alternative possibilities
 open your mind to
alternative possibilities
 open your mind…
(Ibid)
…and, let it go
 “…if there is nothing you can do in the
situation;
 …turn your mind to something productive.”
(Ibid)
Rational persons
…work to control excessive, unproductive worry
and
…work to avoid the emotional pain and
fruitlessness of obsessive worry
See pp. 51-52 for more discussion by our authors on this
topic.
“Worry is interest paid on
trouble before it becomes
due.”
-W.R. Inge
Five+ Strategies
 You will find five strategies, including
several questions in the first of the
five, that you can use for
“relinquishing the worrying habit,” as
our authors put it..
 See pp. 52-53 in their book, (Ibid).
Today is the day to…
STOP WORRYING
DAILY REFLECTION NOTES

Today I was successful in using the following ideas/strategies:

The key insights that emerged for me today were:

One problem in my thinking that I now realize is:

I plan to continue working on this problem using the following strategy: