Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. -Matthew 6:34

As someone who has suffered from generalized anxiety disorder for so many years, I find myself very susceptible to anxiety in my everyday life. It no longer paralyzes me like it used to, but I still tend to have these episodes of worry, especially when I make big decisions. While that is normal and many people go through it, it can be very detrimental, especially for an entrepreneur.

As entrepreneurs, we make decisions both big and small daily and it can be very scary to make the call. When you have too much worry, self-doubt can easily sneak up on you. Then you start to question every decision you make, every person you meet, every business connection you establish; you question your passion; you wonder if you’re really on the right path…It’s a domino effect and before you realize it, you’re spiraling down into an abyss. This is probably an all-too-familiar scenario for many of us, and I’ve gone through it countless times myself.

Worry and anxiety have been a big part of my life. It’s like my subconscious was pre-conditioned to worry. During my years of struggle with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, it was difficult for me to distinguish a “normal worry” vs the worry and the anxiety triggered by some chemical imbalance. I remember, for days or weeks at a time even, I couldn’t go out of my apartment. I was scared. I was in college then, and I couldn’t go to my classes. I felt paralyzed. I felt worried, paranoid of so many things. Now, I look back and see things from a different perspective. Now, I know the difference. Now, I know better. But it took me a while, years in fact, to get to where I am now. Slowly, but surely.

Today, it’s different. I am well. I feel strong. I have a new perspective. I am more aware. I have a stronger faith. However, I still catch myself many times in a frenzy of worry, fear and anxiety. I find myself questioning my own decisions out of concern that I may fail—the big “fear of failure”. Sometimes, it gets the best of me and I end up getting physically sick because of too much stress.

The last few months have been really tough for me. As I went through infertility issues and medical test after test, my heart was just heavy. On the other side of life, things slowed down in my business and sales went down, and I panicked. First thing I thought of was, “Did I fail? What did I do wrong this time? Am I not cut out to be an entrepreneur?” As you can imagine, it felt like nothing was working out right. Between my personal and health issues, and growing a year and a half old business, it felt like I was failing. I got scared and worried. I felt imbalanced in life. I felt unsettled and not sure of what to do next. I felt lost.

About a month later, I was reading this book I recently bought called My Name is Hope by John Mark Comer, and I came across this message:

“God built us to walk in peace, not anxiety, which means he calls us to trust, not worry.

Anxiety is temporary atheism.

Anxiety is when you stop trusting God, stop believing there is a God, who is real, aware, loving, involved, and able to do anything in your life. When you worry, you suspend faith – you stop believing in what is true.”

And it hit me like a train wreck. Oh no, I have become an atheist!! It makes perfect sense. I get the logic. I see it clearly. Here I am claiming to have a stronger faith in my life today, trusting and believing YET, letting anxiety and worry consume me at work and in my personal life… I felt inauthentic and I questioned myself and realized that if I have complete faith in God and trust him, then I get to surrender to him and not drag myself down with all these worries and all the “what ifs”. I realized then, I get to practice my faith in complete surrender.

So, for those of you self-proclaimed worrywarts out there—and you know who you are—I hope a part of my story will resonate with you. I know we all go through our everyday worries in life and I believe that’s normal and it’s part of being a human. However, when it starts to stress you out and affect your physical, mental and emotional well being, then it’s time. It’s time for you to look into yourself and more so in your faith. Trust, surrender and have complete faith in Him. Know that you are being guided in everything you do. So, trust completely and surrender fully… HE’S GOT THIS! 😉

Are there worries that you’re facing that have severely impacted your wellbeing? Take time today and recommit them to Jesus. Let him carry them. And be sure to follow up with your counselor or therapist to create a plan you can sustain. Share your thoughts on this topic below!