RAM

When I begin to accumulate too many worries in my life I start to slow down. I find myself unable to be effective in any area since I’m concerned with all of them at once.

With a computer the operating memory is called RAM (Random Access Memory). If you run too many programs at once things will slow down. Since adding RAM to my brain isn’t possible I’m faced with utilizing what I have more efficiently.

Several times in my life I’ve bought outside storage for my brain. I call them worry books. The idea is to get these concerns/worries onto paper and out of my minute by minute thoughts. I dedicate a few pages of the worry book to each worry or problem like this:

• What is the worry/problem? (Details)
• How important is it? Will there be serious consequences if it isn’t fixed this week, this month?
• Is it really something I’m responsible for? Am I the one that will ultimately have to handle it?
• What can I do about it today? What can I do about it in the next 2 weeks? What can I do about it in the next few months?
• If I can’t solve the entire problem, what small steps can I make toward that goal?

I may put a problem in the worry book and determine that it is not my place to fix it. I may determine that the only thing I can do is support and pray for the person that will be dealing with it. I may decide that my plan of action is to put a prayer stone on the mantel and commit the person and the situation to the highest good. I may decide that I can do a few small things to be supportive and add them to my calendar or task list.

I may put a problem in the worry book that is more than I can handle at this time but is relatively important, a large house repair for example. I don’t have the resources now but it can’t be ignored indefinitely. In the worry book I come to terms with the actual urgency of the situation. Can the roof last 6 months? What can I do in 6 months to put me in a better position to address this major repair?

The important thing is that everything is in the book. Instead of being a nagging worry in my mind 24/7 it has been addressed. It has been prioritized. A plan of action has been put in place. It is dealt with.

Today I bought a new “worry book” and over the next few days I will be putting all my worries in it. Hopefully I’ll free up some RAM in this tired old brain and be functioning better before too long.