Why Waste a Good Worry?

Jun 7

Have you ever noticed that most of the things we worry about never seem to happen? Many of us have hundreds of worries traveling through our minds daily. When Elder Russell M. Ballard came home from Church as a 13-year-old young man on December 7, 1941, he learned the sad news that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. At his age, he assumed that the end of the world had finally arrived. Today, Elder M. Russell Ballard is 91 years old. Obviously, the world did not end in 1941, even though many supposed it probably would have.

With all the turmoil and chaos swirling around us, like Elder Ballard as a 13-year-old, many of us may supposed that the world is collapsing before our very eyes—at least it sure feels like it. As rioting and looting spread across our country last weekend, and with a worldwide virus hanging over our heads, my 84-year-old-mother asked me last Saturday evening, “Mark, do you think this is it?” Frankly, I do not believe “this is it.” However, I certainly believe we are watching the Second Coming of the Savior unfold before our eyes—gradually—one step at a time. Others have asked, “Do you think the Second Coming will happen soon?” To that I say, “No, nothing too soon. If you are waiting for the Second Coming to begin, you are about 200 years late to the party. The Second Coming began in 1820 with the appearance of the Father and Son to Joseph Smith in a Grove of Trees. We have actually been watching the Second Coming unfold now for two centuries.”

Researchers out of Penn State University recently published some interesting findings. They had their participants write down their specific worries for ten days. Each of the participants had been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Moreover, each subject was prompted by four text messages a day to record their worries from the past two hours. Once their worries were recorded, participants were asked to review their list of worries for 30 days to determine if any of them came true. The result—91 percent of the worries were false alarms—they didn’t happen at all. “And, of the remaining worries that did come true, the outcome was better than expected about a third of the time. For about one in four participants, exactly zero of their worries materialized.”[1]

This reminds me of something Sister Patricia Holland said many years ago: “I have, in the course of my [life], managed to worry about almost everything. That’s the bad news. The good news is that almost none of the things I have worried about or been afraid of have ever happened. I suppose that is why Elder Packer said recently, ‘You can’t tell me worrying doesn’t help because the things I worry about never happen.”[2]

Benjamin Franklin said, “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” Mark Twain added, “I’ve seen many troubles in my time, only half of which ever came true.” Former United States President Calvin Coolege taught, “If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.”

As a certified, licensed, and bonded worrier, I have learned in my life that most of the things I have worried about never materialize. What a waste of time and energy! One wise father said to his adult son, “I’ve learned that most of my fears are never realized. Most of my worries never come to pass. I have learned to ‘never waste a good worry.’”

Perhaps we could all do better if we focused on the good and the positive in life—if we looked up instead of down; if we seek the sunlight instead of the storms—our lives, and the lives around us will be better and happier. President Gordon B. Hinckley once said, “I have little doubt that many of us are troubled with fears concerning ourselves. We are in a period of stress across the world. There are occasionally hard days for each of us. Do not despair. Do not give up. Look for the sunlight through the clouds. Opportunities will eventually open to you. Do not let the prophets of gloom endanger your possibilities.”[3]

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