How you can stop worrying


Hey everyone!

A short and simple message today - only worry about things within the sphere of your control

With commitments from my life piling up, it has been easy to feel stressed by the volume of tasks that I have to complete. When I find myself getting overwhelmed, I’ve been trying to pause and ask myself a series of questions:

  1. What is the problem? - Sometimes just trying to define the problem makes me realise that it might not exist.
  2. Is it something I can control/influence? - If not, then there’s nothing I can do about it.
  3. What should I do to try and fix the problem?
  4. Are these fixes actionable now? - If not, then there’s nothing I can do about it.

Going through this process I find eliminates a vast majority of my worries by the 1st or 2nd questions. Often I find myself worrying about problems that I haven’t defined, or that are completely out of my control. Some things are influenceable, but not in the moment that I’m worrying about them, so stressing about it achieves very little.

I find that taking this approach helps me focus on the present and the problems that are within my sphere of control. It isn’t the cure to all stress, but it certainly helps!

When you’re feeling stressed, try asking yourself the questions above and see how you go!

- Emil

My Progress:

YouTube subscribers: 9,559

Newsletter subscribers: 186

YouTube revenue last week: $227.31

Welcome to Emil's Emails!

Sign up for my weekly newsletter where I share exclusive productivity tips, useful life advice and insights from my life as a medical student in Australia.

Read more from Welcome to Emil's Emails!

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! I hope that this year has been kind to you, and that 2024 brings happiness and success to you all. For me, the end of the year has always been a time for introspection. I like to reflect on the progress I’ve made and plan ahead for the year to come. The holiday season usually has a nice mix of free time and sentimentality that allows for reflection to flow smoothly. That being said, it’s very easy for us to make well intentioned, actionable plans for the year to...

Hey everyone, I just finished my third year of medical school and I’ve realised that so many of my studying mistakes could have been prevented. Over the last three years I’ve discovered several strategies that would have saved me hours of time, effort and more importantly, my sanity. Today, I’ll try to share as many of these game-changers with you as possible. So, let’s discuss: The strategies that you can apply before class that will save you hours of time How you can consolidate learning...

Hi everyone! A couple of days ago I was sitting at my desk, starting at my calendar and seeing it completely full with commitments that had seemingly piled up out of nowhere. When I’m faced with situations like this, time spent studying is usually the first to disappear from my calendar. Inevitably, I want to compensate for this loss, and I find myself thinking that I need to “try a bit harder” to stay on track. I’m sure that every student has wondered what would happen if they spent more...