Outsourced Worrying

As a person who has (and still sometimes does) “over-worry,” I found this article really fascinating. The whole idea – as aforementioned in the title – is that you can outsource many areas of life.

I found this part particularly funny/fascinating:

This was okay, but it didn’t seem quite enough. I decided I needed to outsource my worry. For the last few weeks I’ve been tearing my hair out because a business deal is taking far too long to close. I asked Honey if she would be interested in tearing her hair out in my stead. Just for a few minutes a day. She thought it was a wonderful idea. “I will worry about this every day,” she wrote. “Do not worry.”

The outsourcing of my neuroses was one of the most successful experiments of the month. Every time I started to ruminate, I’d remind myself that Honey was already on the case, and I’d relax. No joke—this alone was worth it.

I think I do a very similar thing with writing. I write, often times, to not worry about different problems in my life. I use a journal (generally on my phone or computer) and list out every thing I am thinking / worrying about.

Once I do that, I feel a lot calmer / more in control of my responsibilities.

It is almost as if I am outsourcing my fears onto this piece of paper – to which I know I will get under control when the time is right.

Importantly, I prevent my worries from leaking out into other areas of my life. I make this a big priority – I do not let my anxiety interfere with things I really care about. If there is a topic I do not want to think about or task I do not want to worry about – I block it until the time I want to tackle it. Maybe this is unhealthy behavior? But what it allows me to do is completely focus on where I am and what I can control in the moment.