Man fasts a lot. He goes without food for the sake of his health or out of fear of God. Man thinks a lot about the food he feeds himself... whether he should eat something or not… the impact of what he is eating... whether he will enjoy it or not... Obviously it is important to think so, because certain foods have a negative impact on the body. But such thinking is secondary. What then is primary?
What is primary is what you are feeding your mind with. Have you ever reflected on what thoughts you feed your mind in twenty-four hours? Are you feeding positive thoughts or negative thoughts? These are thoughts that affect your whole life. You have always used only two ways to combat worry – fight or flight. A better way is to face it.
Face the worry by acknowledging it and by just being with it without worrying over worry. Face the worry by deciding a fixed amount of time where you will not worry at all, come what may. This is what is called as WORRY FAST. To start with, decide an hour of the day where you will be on a worry fast. During that hour you will not entertain any thoughts of worry at all. You are welcome to worry later as much as you want. During that one hour, whatever incident happens, however terrible it may seem, carry through your resolve of not getting worried. During that hour, someone might inform you that belongings have been stolen. Retort back saying that you will not worry since it is none of your business. That person will emphasize that it is YOUR belongings that have been stolen. Retort back saying that then he need not worry since it is none of his business. This example emphasizes that during your hour of worry fast, no incident should affect you however adverse it is.
Choose an hour out of your schedule as per your convenience. There already might be a time of the day where you are most stressed. Some are stressed in the morning since they hurry a lot. That is the perfect time then to go on a worry fast. Some may be most anxious at work. Then accordingly choose an hour at work. There are many who are disturbed when they are back home from work. They try to calm their disturbed mind by diverting the mind elsewhere, by watching television, consuming alcohol, gambling, gossiping, etc. The result is that they invite more worry unnecessarily. Instead of a ‘flight’ from worry, face it. Face it by going on a worry fast. One hour of worry fast strengthens your ability to face worry. This hour is a great investment.
The procedure of worry fast is very simple. Staunchly determine to abstain from worry during that hour. Tell yourself that you will remain cool, calm and composed for the next one hour. Then during that hour, when an event that triggers worry occurs, remind yourself that you are on a worry fast. Begin practising with one hour. Once you have tasted being worry free, even for an hour, then the process of being liberated from worry is set in motion.
Things to do every dayWorry fast is something that you should attempt every day. Being on a worry fast requires willpower. You can take up more tasks every day consciously similar to a worry fast to increase your willpower:
1. Consciously do one or two things against your will every day – things that you don’t like to do or things that you usually postpone.
2. Every night before you go to sleep, ask yourself, “Is there any other task that I can complete right now?” Then go ahead and complete that task.
3. Cultivate the habit of learning something new every day. The learning habit pulls you out of mental inertia and physical laziness.
4. Cultivate the habit of writing a diary or journal. Write your things to do, write about your willpower exercises, your worry fast, results of techniques for worry and fear cure that you have learnt from this book, etc. Write about all the self-development work you are doing. Writing a diary is a powerful self-growth tool. If required, involve a friend who will review your diary and remind, motivate or guide you from time to time.