If the financial news has your blood pressure up, you may be suffering from financial anxiety. Anxiety is part of nature’s “fight or flight” mechanism for self-preservation, exhibited physically by increased pulse, faster breathing, increased adrenalin and sweating.
But prolonged states of anxiety can cause physical as well as emotional problems. In short, your mother was right – you can make yourself sick with worry.
Thankfully, there is a fallback plan for worry – just say no! I understand next to breathing, money is pretty important to have, as Zig Ziglar used to say, but we are not to allow money, or the lack thereof, consume us.
Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”
I understand the above advice is much easier said than done, especially with the scars from the market downturn of 2008 still evident; our financial worries may still seem quite abundant.
As you work at handing your worries over to your Heavenly Father, here are a few additional tips for reducing your financial anxiety:
Recognize what you can and cannot control. For the most part, world events like war, terrorism or changes in government or leadership are out of your hands. The same is true for issues like corporate malfeasance; you couldn’t have known, because those involved didn’t want you – or anyone else – to know. Hindsight is 20/20 but not particularly useful.
Know that not every decision you make will, in the end, be the best decision. We all make mistakes. If you use your best judgment at the time, that’s all you can do. The only other option is to do nothing – and you may regret that decision even more. Don’t chastise yourself for missing the latest “big thing.” By the time most people knew about it, the opportunity had passed. Remember, past performance is not a guarantee of future results!
Source: Crosswalk | Guy Hatcher, The Legacy Guy
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