(aka motomynd)
Worry is thought by some to be avoided, an unhealthy stress. But I consider worrying and plain old thinking to be basically interchangeable terms. In most cases, thinking instead of ignoring is the first step toward taking action, and worrying is second-level thinking, taking a further step toward action.
I find the more I worry about something instead of “just thinking” about it, the more likely I am to do whatever I can to help whatever cause.
For example, in the case of worrying about people in this country who are likely to attempt an autocratic takeover, DeSantis and Trump top my list. What I’m doing about this might be the subject of another column. Or not.
| Copyright © 2023 by Paul Clark |
I couldn't disagree more about DeSantis, and I had really hoped Trump was past his sell-by date; unfortunately this does not seem to be the case. That said, I would add constructive anxiety as a powerful motivator. It is also really refreshing to hear someone talk about the levels of thinking; most folks never get past the first one. Hear me out. The guy with no anxiety is either so rich he has nothing to worry about but maybe his health, or the loser sitting on his fat ass in his mommy's basement eating cheetos, playing Grand Theft Auto and getting orange stuff on his dirty wife-beater. Anxiety was my friend as an executive with a big company; one guy said "If you sleep OK, you're not worried enough." I might even class constructive anxiety as third-level thinking; worrying about what could happen even if it seems unlikely. We all know Murphy's Law, but let's add O'toole's Corollary: Murphy was an optimist. Things that CAN'T go wrong will STILL go wrong, and Finagle's Law, that adds "at the worst possible moment". Usually by the actions of one of those folks that never get past the first level of thinking. Used to call them "cowboys", that could screw up a two-car funeral.
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