Being at work can be very stressful for many employees, especially lately with the global economy being a huge factor in the growth or shrinking of businesses around the world.  With the media only displaying the negative economy news, and will layoffs happening daily, the normal day to day stress of work is intensified with fears of not having a job.

Having worked in multiple internet companies, which come and go like the wind, I’ve experienced my fair share of seeing layoffs in action.  Fortunately, I’ve never been affected by it without a big advance notice, like 3 months, but I can still relate to the worry about having a job from day to day.

So what can we do, those of us who still depend on a paycheck to survive, which is most of us these days, an not be worried about making ends meet or about having a job each day?  Well the first step is to recognize that there are many things outside of our control and subsequent circle of concern.  Many times we feel that to have peace of mind, we have to put our mind to work to solve all potential outcomes that could happen to us each day.

The problem with this strategy is that our minds are very good at worrying and creating problems that will never exist, but for some reason we feel afraid of so many things outside of our control.

Have you ever thought about the following?

What if I get sick when I’m on vacation?  Who says you’re going to get sick?  Just your mind which is making you remember historical experiences in which you got sick and subsequently programmed your mind to be on the lookout so that you never get sick again.

Or how about the fear of not meeting your employers expectations at work?  Most of us struggle with this, but what’s funny is we actually tell ourselves that we are not good enough in almost all areas of life.  We’re too fat, too broke, too unhappy, too lazy…  We say these things to ourselves and naturally end up living that way.  So how about the next time you think you’re not meeting your employer’s expectations, say to yourself, wait a second, this isn’t true, I’m actually doing a great job and am expecting a pay raise soon.  Saying this will make you feel good!

What I’m trying to say is that we need to focus our attention on those areas of life that we really can control, and the first step is to control what is happening in your mind.  If you can do that then you’ll soon see change, beneficial change taking place in your life.