My daughter loves the Tom Percival books. Last night we read Ruby’s Worry about a girl who has a worry. Her worry grows and grows dominating her life until she talks about it, which makes it shrink. It reminds me of the things I worry about – some are legitimate worries but some are less so. They are things I worry about even though I know the worry never comes to reality. (e.g. I’m going to miss a deadline, but I don’t.)

We all do this. We all have worries, which zap our energy. And this is a constant in change. Change requires all the energy we can muster so understanding where we lose energy can be helpful. Sometimes we worry about things we either can’t change (e.g. the supply chain we rely on) or things that don’t happen.

Sometimes in change it is good to ask a few questions:

1. What is zapping our energy (collectively and individually)?
2. What are we worrying about? And is the worry worth the energy we are giving it?
3. What is holding us back? And what would happen if it wasn’t?

Worry is a part of change. And yes, sometimes it can be helpful. However, often we worry about things that are not worth the energy we give them. Perhaps it’s time to direct the energy elsewhere.

The choice is up to us.

Photo by Hello I’m Nik