I'm a novice here and have given a lot of thought to the "theme" I'd like to develop on this blog.  In the past 24 hours, I've also received a wealth of wonderful advice from savvy Active Rain devotees.  It's all been very helpful and I thank one and all.  But in the final analysis, I have no idea what direction I'll head.  Though I'd like to follow the good advice that I stay focused on core real estate issues, today I'm taking a day off and writing about something I imagine many of us in the real estate business grapple with to some extent daily - worry.  I am a big believer in the power of a positive attitude but there are times in this market when the facts before me suggest that worry is appropriate.

A friend recently told me that he has discovered a means of eliminating worry, completely.  My friend schedules personal worry sessions.  From 5:00 to 5:05 pm, everyday, he stops whatever he is doing and focuses on all his worries with as much mental energy as he can muster.  Should a worry pop into his mind during any other part of his day, he simply puts the thought out of his mind and saves it for his worry session.  He tells me that it works, in part because he finds it so ludicrous to be worrying so intently by choice that he is typically laughing at himself three minutes into his single daily session. 

Whether or not my friend succeeds, I give him credit for trying.  Folks not plagued by worry don't appear to have any particular skills that I don't have nor are they more or less intelligent than most of us.  But they do understand one thing that I sometimes forget.  Worry is an inside job.  There is not a person, place or upcoming event that can make me worry, unless I let it.  It is only what I think about these things, how I choose to react, that produces worry.  That's just semantics you will say.  If I know I will be fired tomorrow, there is no way I won't think about it, so whether it's my impending termination or my thoughts about it, the result is the same, I'm worried sick.  But a fortunate few, no matter the severity of a situation, seem to avoid worry by controlling their thoughts.

In the early 1940's, Dr. Victor Frankel became a concentration camp prisoner in Nazi Germany.  He suffered unimaginable physical and emotional torture, at one point witnessing the murder of his own family.  And yet through all of this Dr. Frankel noticed that there were always a few prisoners, who despite their personal agony, would regularly walk amongst the others, sharing their last bits of food and their care and concern.  While those good souls certainly had reason to worry, they apparently didn't, and Dr. Frankel came away from his experience with a valuable lesson.  While it is indeed possible to strip almost every single freedom from a human being, there is one freedom that can never be taken from us - the ability to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances.  That freedom is always available, if we choose to exercise it. 

And why not exercise it?  Successful non-worriers choose to live their lives positively and joyfully while waiting on "worrisome" events, to unfold.  Joel Osteen in his best seller, Your Best Life Now, puts it this way.  It will take time for any prayer to be answered.  The real key is "how are we going to wait" in the interim.  "If you know you have to wait anyway, why not make a decision to enjoy your life while waiting?"  As I think about, maybe my friend's idea isn't so silly after all. 

I recently pulled a dusty copy of The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale, off my shelf.  I highly recommend it.  Written in 1956, the book remains a classic to this day and is one of the most helpful books I have ever read.  I have never understood why books like this are rarely, if ever, taught in school.  Well, I'm not going to worry about that, at least not now.  I'll wait until 5:00 pm and tomorrow it's back to business.