Holding Steady: How To Navigate Worrying Times

How to navigate worrying times? It’s a question that applies to all of us at some point.

We all have times when the world feels heavy or when our experience of our own world feels particularly negative or worrying. Maybe it’s a personal storm you’re navigating. Maybe it’s the collective uncertainty we’re all breathing in and dealing with right now. Or maybe it’s just a quiet, aching sense that something, somewhere, isn’t quite right.

In these moments, it’s easy to spiral. Our worries love to grab the steering wheel of life when times feel uncertain. But here’s the truth: YOU are in control, and you don’t have to let it drive!
You can hold steady – not by pretending everything is fine or sticking your head in the proverbial sand, but by remembering that you are not powerless – YOU are a creator!

This post is a gentle guide for those times – maybe ‘these’ times. A reminder that even in the middle of worry, peace is still possible.

Worry is a messenger, not a master

Worry often shows up when we’re standing in front of something we can’t control. It’s our sympathetic nervous system trying to protect us and setting us up for our ‘flight, fight or freeze’ response. It is often helpful – like warning you not to step off the curb into the path of a speeding car – but left unchecked, it can become a loop that drains our energy and blocks our inner wisdom.

There was a time in my life when I was constantly worried about opening the post because I feared what the letters inside would say. I stored up months of post in a pile, but all that did was increase my anxiety. Eventually, when I did have the courage to face my fears, things were never as bad as my initial worries. Some things had fallen away by themselves, some were simply not important, and others, I found the faith and courage to deal with, albeit a few months late.

I’m not advising you to do the same – not by a long shot. I’m suggesting other strategies to deal with the worry.

When worry arises, instead of hiding, try asking:

What is this trying to tell me?
What part of me needs reassurance, not panic?

By seeing worry as a signal instead of a sentence, we can reclaim our power. We can begin to listen, soothe, and respond rather than react. And that is the point of mastering our emotions: being in a place where we have mastery over our actions and behaviours, and we are not just operating on autopilot or animal instincts.

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Focus on the present moment

Worry lives in the time of ‘what ifs.’ We worry when we allow ourselves to think of the worst that could happen in a given situation, or perhaps equate our current position to something similar in our past, neither of which are relevant or helpful.

Peace lives in the right now. And if we can refocus our thoughts to the present moment, we have our power back.

Even in the midst of a storm, we can take a breath. We can ground ourselves in this moment — the one we’re actually in. This might mean:

• Putting your hand on your heart and feeling it beat
• Naming five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear
• Taking several slow, conscious breaths — in through the nose, out through the mouth

The mind will try to time-travel and leap forward or back to its well-known place of worry. But YOU are in control, and YOU can gently bring it home.

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Focus on what you can influence

When life feels overwhelming, it helps to shrink the lens. Many of us worry about things that we have absolutely no control over – like foreign wars, what this person may say or do, or a politician in a remote part of the world. This is not helpful. Yes, you can acknowledge a ‘sphere of concern’ but understand that this is way wider than your actual ‘sphere of influence’.

The idea of the sphere of concern and the sphere of influence comes from the work of Stephen Covey, who spoke about how we can choose to focus on what we can control rather than what we can’t. Your sphere of concern includes all the things you care about — global events, others’ reactions, the unknown. Your sphere of influence is where your power lies — your choices, your responses, your energy today. When we bring our attention back to what’s within our influence, we begin to feel calmer, more grounded, and more able to move forward with grace.

Bring your focus back to something you CAN do to help your current situation.

What’s one small thing you can do today that will bring a little clarity, calm, or comfort? That might be:

• Tidying a corner of your room
• Journalling your thoughts
• Reaching out to someone who always reminds you who you are
• Stepping outside for fresh air and a reset

It doesn’t need to fix everything. It just needs to remind you that you are not stuck.

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Anchor into your inner wisdom

In times of worry, our intuition can feel quiet, and we can feel alone. But this is never the case. Your inner wisdom is always there, but the ‘worries’ we have can sometimes drown it out – like the thumping bass of my daughter’s music when I’m trying to work!!

Intuition never disappears. It’s just waiting for us to turn down the noise.

This is a powerful time to return to whatever connects you to something greater. For you, that might be:

• Meditation or breathwork
• Prayer or quiet reflection
• Journalling to let your deeper voice rise
• Reading something that brings you back to your truth
• Taking a walk in nature
• Calling a friend for support
• Writing a letter to your future self
• Exercising
• Stroking your pets

You don’t need to find all the answers. You only need to reconnect to the part of you that trusts that they’re coming.

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Protect your energy from overload

One of the most loving things you can do in worrying times is to become discerning with what you take in. It’s a bit like refocusing your lens which we’ve spoken about above. You don’t need to absorb every headline, every opinion, every fear floating out there in the online world and the media.

This isn’t denial. It’s energetic sovereignty. It’s YOU taking control of what YOU see, hear and feel.

You are allowed to switch off the news.
You are allowed to unfollow accounts that stir anxiety.
You are allowed to be informed and grounded.

YOU are in control!

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Rest, and the world will keep spinning

Rest isn’t weakness. It’s medicine, and we all need to stop sometimes, especially in times of stress. Whatever you were told about who you need to be and , you need to be was only someone else’s perspective,, and you do not need to adopt those principles as your own unless you want to.

When I was growing up, I had a hard work ethic instilled into my by my parents – they were loving parents, but illness was never given in to and time out of doing something ‘constructive’ was often frowned upon. Now, I think that this has got me far, but I also think that there were times when I was a workaholic and found it difficult to relax and let go. I let myself get into situations at work that no other human on the planet would accept, and it took its toll on my health and happiness. Thankfully, I was able to recognise the rot and stop it before it consumed me, and nowadays, I don’t rush. I don’t run for trains, I don’t stress in a traffic jam – I let the world and I flow at our own paces. Sometimes, they coincide – often they do not.

So remember, you don’t need to push, produce, or figure everything out immediately. Sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is pause, breathe, and let your nervous system settle.

Remember: you are still worthy, even when you are resting. Take a leaf out of your pet’s book… Occasionally, you’ve just got to stretch out and let the world go on without you.

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Things are always working out

This is a mantra that I live by. I got if from Esther Hicks whilst listening to her Abraham channelling sessions. But it is something I tell myself on a daily basis. I have affirmation tracks I listen to, and I know them so well that I can repeat them at will.

The truth is – even if you can’t see it right now, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now, everything is always working out for you.

Most of the things we once worried would break us became our greatest teachers.
In time, many of the messes we faced in the past turned into blessings, redirections, or soft landings. That’s certainly my experience and I’m sure it will be yours too. Even if you still can’t see it yet.

Worry whispers that you’re not safe. Trust whispers back that you always were.

Hold that thought. Let it wrap around you. Let it remind you that something greater is always unfolding – even in the confusion of our overwhelmed minds, our inner soul is perfect. Always has been and always will be.

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A gentle reflection

If you’re navigating something difficult right now, try this:

Place your hand on your chest.
Take one deep breath.
And say aloud or silently:

Even now, I am held.
Even now, I am growing.
Even now, things are working out in my favour.

Because they are.
Even if it’s quietly.
Even if it’s slowly.
Even if you can’t quite see it yet.

Have faith, my friend. You got this! And the universe has got you!

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