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I was up in the night. Here's why.

Catherine Greer

Hi friends!

Ahhhh, worry!

You get in that rocking chair and keep on rocking…because the motion makes it feel like you’re doing something to move yourself forward.

But you aren’t.

My classic response is to wake up around, oh, two or three a.m., then ramble around the house for two hours until it’s light enough to start the day. Usually I put on a load of laundry and tidy up the kitchen, then sit with my laptop and catch up on emails.

I’m so curious about what you do!

(Sometimes I feel like I should have a ‘middle of the night text a friend’ agreement: I’ll text you if I’m up, and you do the same, and if we’re both worrying at the same time, then let’s TALK!)

But this week I learned a really great tip. When I start to worry about something, I tell myself this:

This is the part where…my kid goes off the rails before he figures out his next step in life.

This is the part where…I’m not sure if my new job is going to work out.

This is the part where…I’m worried about my health.

Somehow, saying “This is the part where…” makes me feel like I’m sitting above my own life, seeing the worry as only one part of a larger plan.

It doesn’t make the worry go away or guarantee that we won’t feel bad anymore, but it helps us find a future perspective — as if we’re looking at life from a place where our story has already moved on.

Because every story does move on.

So if things aren’t great at the moment and you’re worrying or feeling bad, it’s just a part of your story. One day, you’ll be able to look back on this as “the part where….” — because your story isn’t over yet.

Right? Right. ❤️

Love, Catherine x

PS. The fun stuff!