Some of us are bigger worriers than others. A sensible amount of worry is unavoidable and can even be productive, if it keeps you thinking and motivates you to act in order to avoid a negative outcome and to keep you alert and on your toes.

Most of us know how to prioritize our worries –today, after the weekend or sometime next week, while some of us don’t worry at all. We accept that life is what it is and it will all work out. Others look for things to worry about as if not having something to consume us means we are neglecting an important daily task and if we don’t worry about it – who will?

The best advice I ever got about lessening worry is this; if you are worried the best remedy is to think about what would actually happen if your worst fears were realized. What’s the worst thing that could happen, they said, if: you missed a deadline at work; your child got a D in English, your RRSP took a 30% nosedive, your car was stolen or you suddenly realized that you gained 10 pounds on vacation?

Some of these are more serious occurrences than others and it’s easy to see how they can bring about great stress. So how best to cope? The best resolution is to find a solution and focus on that. The moment a remedy is in sight the problems is minimized enough so that you can start to focus on a course of action that will make things manageable and empower you to see the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.”

So ask yourself this question then take out a pen and paper and immediately make the solution viable by making it visible. And don’t be reluctant to seek help from family and friends to better manage your time and discuss openly the issues that are bothering you. Saying things out loud often helps us hear the solution inside our own head or just knowing that someone else heard us and cares will help lessen our stress. Then set about to rebalance your RRSP, get your child a tutor or help them with homework yourself, check out new cars with the insurance money you’ll get and eat salads for one month to regain your figure.

But, most important, don’t let worry consume your life or it will also destroy your sleep and that will really create problems with stress, weight, focus, energy and health.

And remember that no amount of make-up will make you look good without a smile on your face if it isn’t emanating from your soul.

Tova Greenberg is President of The Sleep Genie. check out the website at:

http://www.TheSleepGenie.com