Remember when we were scared to death to eat Romaine lettuce?
That was just a few months ago.
As it turns out, E. Coli was the good ole days.
January 15, 2020— Outbreak of E. coli infections linked to Romaine lettuce comes to an end.
“A total of 167 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 were reported from 27 states. A total of 85 hospitalizations were reported, including 15 people who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths were reported.”
I’m a worrier.
Worrying comes easy because I come from a family of professional worriers.
I often don’t know what to worry about first.
My wife, my children, my grandchildren, my siblings, finances, our community, the federal government, getting enough exercise, growing old, losing my hair, toilet paper, murder hornets. You name it—I worry about it.
But in all the thousands of hours I’ve spent worrying—it never dawned on me to worry about the Coronavirus.
Somehow, I missed that one.
I didn’t even know that was an option.
Come to think of it, most of the things I worry about never happen.
Kurt Vonnegut, a famous American author, once warned, “Don’t worry about the future. Worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never cross your worried mind –the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.”
Fear is always in the future and we have never been able to control the future before and we won’t be able to now.
I don’t mean to downplay the magnitude of COVID-19—either from a health or financial point of view.
But worrying isn’t going to make my future any brighter or make me any happier.
I keep saying to myself, “I will be happier when this Pandemic thing is over, but when it’s gone there will be something new to worry about.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that time spent worrying is a waste of time.
But I worry that I won’t be able to change my behavior. 🙂
As Bobby McFerrin once sang, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Maybe the best advice comes from Alfred E. Neuman from Mad Magazine, who said the immortal words, What, me worry?
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David Sher is Co-Founder of AmSher Compassionate Collections. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@amsher.com.
This is very good advice! It is difficult not to worry, but what is the outcome? What is going to happen anyway! I agree that it is a waste of time. I think we are more likely to get over it most effectively if we set good goals that will drive us forward. What will help us become determined to get past this one too?
A Huntsville friend who moved there from Birmingham a long time ago. keeps this thought in mind: paraphrasing, ‘ I would rather go up in a helium balloon of optimism than sink into the dark water of pessimism. ‘
I will offer an opposite point-of-view: People who worry are uncomfortable and anxious. Anxiety causes mental and emotional pain. Most sentient beings want to move away from pain and worry. People search for solutions to end their pain. Solutions produce change – and sometimes progress – which ends the pain and/or problem that caused the anxiety.
If you want the life-style of a mule in the meadow without a care, (“What? Me worry?”), cool. But I will follow the scholars, scientists, and physicians who worry, seek knowledge, and produce tests and solutions and save lives.