26 Oct Worry Less, Live More: Life Lessons From Baz Luhrmann
When I was a teenager, Baz Luhrmann released a famous song called Sunscreen. It’s a quirky mix of advice, reminders and truths about growing up. Lots of these lines have come back to me over the years in different situations.
One line in particular stood out to me at the time and has stuck with me since:
“Don’t worry. Worry is as useful as trying to solve an algebraic equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are the things that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday”.
Over the years I have found this to be endlessly true. The things we worry about rarely happen and the real worries are things in life we don’t expect. I’ve also found the Tuesday afternoon thing to be oddly accurate, whether that’s confirmation bias or maybe Baz really was on to something!
Rationally, most of us know this. So why do we worry?
Worry can feel like preparation. Our brains think they’re helping us by running through every possible problem, scenario and outcome. If we imagine what might happen, maybe we’ll be ready for it, or might even prevent it.
Our brains are wired to protect us, to notice threats and potential problems, a survival mechanism that kept our ancestors safe. This is why we often focus more on what could go wrong than what’s actually happening or what could go right.
The truth is worry doesn’t protect us. It doesn’t prevent surprises or solve problems. Most of the time, it just pulls us away from the present moment and drains the joy out of what’s right in front of us.
The good news is that once we start to see worry for what it is – a habit and not a solution – it begins to lose its power. We don’t need to be ready for everything or to have all the answers. What we can do is focus on what matters today and trust ourselves to handle tomorrow when it comes.
Life will surprise us, sometimes in wonderful ways and sometimes in ways that feel difficult. Our strength, resilience and ability to adapt can surprise us too. When we worry we often overestimate the risk and underestimate our ability to cope. The challenges we think will break us often end up showing us just how capable we are.
We can’t stop challenges from coming, but we can enjoy today and build up our energy, so that when they do, we meet them with strength and energy, rather than with stress and exhaustion.
So next time you find yourself worrying, take a deep breath, focus on what you can do today, and trust that you have what it takes to handle tomorrow.
(And if you need a little perspective, listen to Baz Luhrmann’s Sunscreen for inspiration!)