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Are you working or worrying?
Worry can be a constant companion to business leaders. It can be an energy vampire and paralytic virus that prohibits creative problem-solving and productive action. Further, taken to the extreme, worry is stressful — and tiring. A day of worrying is more exhausting than a day of work!
Unproductive worry is a vicious cycle of repetitive, fearful thoughts. When you worry, you think about something over and over again but do not resolve the situation or arrive at a solution to the problem (picture a dog chasing his tail).
One writer observed: "Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable."
Unproductive worry is a foe to leadership. The vicious cycle goes nowhere while it is physically, mentally, and emotionally debilitating.
Worry, however, can be a friend. It can be productive. The positive thinker Dale Carnegie said, "If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep."
Some believe that worry by itself is work. They don't realize worry is like a rocking chair. They have something to do, but they are going nowhere.
Thomas Edison gave us the steps through the maze of unproductive busyness. "Being busy," he said, "does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing." And — we add — worrying is not working.
Worry is beneficial, then, when it helps us recognize problems and opportunities and encourages us to take action for change or for growth. Worry is helpful when it leads to work — physical or mental activity that achieves a purpose or result.
When you find yourself worrying — about personnel, cash flow, production, suppliers, whatever — STOP. You know you will need time — and maybe others thinking with you — to address the issue and make a plan of action.
"I don't have time," you are saying. If you are worrying, you have time. You can use your time and energy to worry or to work. Why not choose forward movement not tail-chasing?
You can't wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time. Let's roll up our sleeves.
Arnelle Adcock is a partner and president of Brentwood-based Clover Management Group — a team of seasoned professionals who help business owners. You can reach her at 615-900-0777, aadcock@clovermg.com, or www.clovermg.com.
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