TIP DAY: TAKE A WORRY BREAK

From years of cruising Barnes and Nobles’ self-help aisles, I’ve picked up a pointer or two.  Here’s today’s worrywart tip.

Plan a worry break. A worry break is like a coffee break, except instead of drinking coffee, you worry. The idea is that rather than allowing, say, the woe that your dog is likely to predecease you to hang like permanent draperies in your mind, draw those curtains aside and schedule a time to despair. Mark it on your calendar. This way you can be sure you’ll get to dwell on Fluffy’s end-of-life prospects as well as on all the other disturbing thoughts you save up for this respite from carefreeness. And, the miracle could happen that when your scheduled worry break rolls around, you may not feel like worrying at all.