Practice Evolution Program

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Being a Worry Wart, By Dr. Ogi Ressel

June 11 2010, 12:00 am

Warm hellos to everyone!
I've said this before but I wanted to wanted to re-chat with you about an issue that
many doctors have fallen prey to - especially in these economic times: Worry.
Your obsession with worry has been slowly transforming you into a bit of a worry-wart.
You're all stressed out!
The problem is that this process is insidious - it slowly takes over your life.
Take a look:
You worry about the fact that you "ain't got no new patients."
You worry because your patient visits are going nowhere.
Your percentage of children is very low.
You new CA is just not there for you.
The bills are increasing and there is not enough money in the account.
Your spouse married you on a promise of a better life than the one you are living.
And your thoughts are turning to simply bailing out.
You notice that you fret over everything - that funny sensation in your chest, that strange
rumble in your tummy, that unexplained stiffness, that worrisome feeling in your body, etc.
And it spills over into other areas of your life - vacations are marred with worry over the
weather, flights, congestion of the roads, accommodations, safety issues, etc. And even
your daily life is in trouble - what if the car quits, what if my spouse wants to leave, what
if the insurance check is late, what if I can‘t meet the payment on the house, different roads
you could have been taken in your life, missed opportunities, what if, what if....
The result is unrelenting anxiety. You are spinning. Over everything.
STOP!
This is undermining your happiness and your appreciation for life. You are focused on all
the "bad" things that might happen at the expense of appreciating all the good that is
occurring in your life at the present moment. As a matter of fact, you are not even seeing
all the good that surrounds you. You are too focused on all the "bad."
Many of us do this and it is unrelenting - it slowly creeps into your life and you don't even
recognize it.
It usually takes an outside source to make you see what you are becoming.

I mentioned the work of Eckhart Tolle (Vancouver based writer and spiritual leader) and
his new book; "The Power of Now" to you last year, and the fact that most people are living in
either their past or their future - and these are the biggest reasons for worry.
Tolle says that nothing ever occurs "except in the now - the present." The past is simply a
trace memory of a former now. The future, when is finally arrives, is now. And all we ever
have in our life is this very moment.
But, at the same time, this doesn't mean we shouldn't plan for the future or remember the
past. It just means that our thoughts need to be focused on our present moment.
Think about it: When you worry, you are thinking over events and/or situations that have not
yet occurred - the "what if" syndrome. You are living in the future. Anxiety, dread - all forms
of fear - are rooted in the preoccupation with the future and they contaminate our awareness
and appreciation of the present moment.
Tolle states; "You are projecting yourself into an imaginary future situation and creating fear,
but there is no way you can cope with such a situation because it doesn't exist."
It has not yet happened.
And the wonderful thing is that when a crisis does arise that we were concerned about, most
of us find that we will find the inner strength to successfully cope with it.

Listen.....What defines us is not what we do. What defines us is how we rise after falling!
Liberating thought isn't it?
And of course, worrying about the past - a NOW that has already happened - is futile
because you cannot do anything about it. Let it go. You screwed up and that is the end of it.
Forgive yourself and move on.
Feelings such as depression, guilt, remorse, bitterness, resentment, grievances and grudges
- and all forms of non-forgiveness - arise from too many thoughts focused on the past and
not enough on the present moment.
Often running mental movies in your mind of some anticipated event - a party, some new
patient event, a patient presentation, etc., can set us up for dissatisfaction because it makes
our future seem better than our present. But there is nothing wrong with being excited about
some event you are planning - but don't live in it. It has not yet occurred.

It is my sincere my hope and wish for you that you start creating your dream life - a life
rooted in your wonderful past but lived in the present - always.
And if you find that that the previews you run in your mind of your perfect life have no concrete
foundation, please call me. I'll will show you how to have the practice you've always dreamed
about and be the doctor you've always wanted to be.
Warmest wishes,
Dr. Ogi Ressel

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