I'm not afraid of anything...

Everybody who reads my blog on a regular basis knows how much I love The Frisky - it's the best blend of news and commentary and blogging that I've encountered on the internet yet. This morning, my perusal led me to columnist Wendy's discussion of her 20 biggest worries.

I am a champion worrier (I get it from my grandma). If everything is going well I immediately start worrying about what can, could, may or may not happen. As part of my quest to clear the clutter out of my life, I decided to share some of my worries, however inconsequential or unlikely - shedding some light on them is the first step to getting rid of them entirely.

I worry that:

-I won't figure out what I want to do with my life.
-I'll get pregnant before we're ready to start a family.
-When the time comes, I won't be able to get pregnant.
-I'll be broke forever.
-I'll lose the people I love in varied and painful ways.
-The time I don't tell the people who matter that I love them will be the last time I talk to them.
-I'll ruin my kids' lives.
-Nothing I do will be remembered.
-I'll lose my memory.
-Life will be over long before I die.

Obviously, I don't consider all of these on a regular basis - but they're there. I worry about other things, like will my car ever run/what if my other car breaks down and what will happen if I suddenly lose my job, but these are the biggest ones.

The key to worrying is not to cut it out of your life - by trying to ignore worry, you condition yourself to ignore those gut feelings that sometimes come along with it and are often your best indicator that something just isn't right. Rather, facing your worries is an effective first step to overcoming them. Most of the things on my worry list are things over which I have control - so, instead of letting them eat away at me, it's my responsibility to do the things that will make the worry disappear. I tell the people around me that I love them. I refuse to let life just pass me by. I'm actively searching for the path that will most fulfill me. And, of course, I use protection. :)

And the things I can't control? As hard as it is, I have to let them go - beyond my fingertips, the world will continue for all of us.

So, what worries you? How do you overcome it?