Would It Help?

We all have a lot to worry about.  The future is uncertain.  None of us know if we’ll survive until dinner, let alone dance at our five-year-old daughter’s wedding.

Since we all worry, the only question worth asking ourselves is, “How much worry is too much?”

Sprite and I recently enjoyed the Spielberg movie “Bridge of Spies” while we were on a cruise (we highly recommended the Viking Star).  In this excellent film Tom Hanks portrays James Donovan, an attorney defending Rudolph Abel, who has been called “the most famous Soviet spy of all time.”

In one memorable scene Donovan says to Abel, “Do you understand that if you’re convicted you could be executed.”

“I understand.”

“You don’t seem alarmed.”

Abel pauses, then shrugs, “Would it help?”

Abel, portrayed by Mark Rylance, said it better than I ever could.  “Would it help?”

I have managed a business for more than fifty years, and I have run my life for seventy-six.  Something goes “wrong” every single day.  I am certain that something will go wrong tomorrow. I just don’t know what it is yet.

When I was young I realized one morning that I worried almost all of the time. In a flash of insight I suddenly realized that worrying was, at best, unpleasant and, at worst, draining away my life. In that moment I made a life-long decision to deal with my problems differently.

Now, when I start to worry I immediately ask myself if there is something I can do right now to change the outcome of whatever it is I’m worried about.  If my answer is “yes,” I start doing it.  If my answer is “no,” I stop worrying.

It’s simple, although it does takes practice – years of practice. But the practice is worth it.

Some of us seem to believe, as I did, that worry alone will somehow make life better or help me avoid misfortune. Maybe we think that, if we worry, the Gods will somehow solve our problems. But agony isn’t fun.  I’d rather forget about my problems and enjoy a football game or a salad.

So next time you feel yourself starting to worry, give it a try.  Either immediately start to do something about the problem, or stop stewing and move on to something more enjoyable.

Maybe I’ll worry, and do something about it, tomorrow.  Right now I’m headed to a lasagna dinner and watching a playoff football game.

Alan