At Random: In Defense of Worrying

By Paul Clark
(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

Revelations of talk

And what
they suggest

By William A. Johnson

[Editor’s Note: Originally published as “Tuesday Voice: Revelations of talk,” on August 4, 2015. Published again as encouragement for anyone looking to stop worrying so much, like the fictional character Goines at times lately.]

Long ago I realized that talking is more revealing than writing. We don’t edit our talk as much as we do our writing. We let things emerge that we could hide if we were writing. Psychotherapists of course gain insights into a person from these revealing disclosures. Someone says that “he would like to have done something,” and the use of the future perfect tense is a tip-off that he is highly unlikely to actually do it.

Tuesday Voice: Revelations of talk

And what they suggest

By William A. Johnson

Long ago I realized that talking is more revealing than writing. We don’t edit our talk as much as we do our writing. We let things emerge that we could hide if we were writing. Psychotherapists of course gain insights into a person from these revealing disclosures. Someone says that “he would like to have done something,” and the use of the future perfect tense is a tip-off that he is highly unlikely to actually do it.