Recently, a friend shared with me his personal insights on retirement life, particularly discussing the impact of worries on life. I found his perspective quite unique, so I’d like to introduce it to you all, hoping it might bring some inspiration.
Worry is an emotion that exists in everyone's life, particularly affecting city dwellers more due to the pressures from work, finances, family, and the social environment. These endless problems bring about more worries. Since worry affects our emotional responses and is an inseparable part of life, can we turn the impact of worry into a driving force for solving problems? My friend shared some analysis he learned from the book "The Joy of Not Working" by Ernie J. Zelinski:
40% of worries are about things that are unlikely to happen.
30% of worries are about problems that have already occurred.
22% of worries are about trivial matters.
4% of worries are about things we cannot change.
4% of worries are about things directly related to us and within our ability to take action.
From this analysis, 96% of worries are related to things beyond our control. Focusing on these matters wastes a lot of energy and time, causing us to miss many opportunities to enjoy life. For those uncontrollable events that stir up our worries, we can prepare in advance. For example, although the chances of a fire or earthquake might be small, we still need to learn how to take precautionary measures, buy insurance, and prevent damage from natural disasters. This can reduce worry and allow us to live with peace of mind.
For problems that have already occurred, we should learn how to avoid them from happening again and how to handle them more effectively. Worrying alone does not help. As for trivial matters, such as receiving a bad grade, an unpleasant message, or losing an item, we should face them with a calm attitude. Since these things have little impact on us, why worry about them? For issues beyond our control, such as company layoffs or inflation, we should face them bravely and find feasible contingency plans. Time is a great healer; what cannot be resolved today might be easily managed tomorrow. Accept what comes and worry no more.
We should focus our energy on things within our control, such as our health, relationships with loved ones, personal interests, and learning to enjoy life. Everyone dreams of living a carefree life, but in reality, it’s impossible to be completely free of worries. What we pursue is living a life that truly belongs to us, spending time on meaningful activities, not dwelling on the past, not worrying about the future, living in the present, understanding our true needs, and focusing on what we can control.
Turn worry into motivation, reminding ourselves to make rational choices when solving problems. With this mindset, though life may not be entirely carefree, it will be quite close.