DO NOT WORRY

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A friend of mine asked me how not to worry about the cat, which had some mild symptoms of illness, but nothing that looked severe enough to take the cat to the veterinarian. She also thought the symptoms were so subtle that they might not be easy to describe to the vet, but still she worried. I finally said to her, "You must do something."

"That's just the problem, there's nothing to do," she said.

"Take some kind of action," I said. "Call the vet and talk to him."

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"That doesn't make sense because the vet wouldn't know anything from what I told him, and he'd probably ask me to take her in to see him, and I know it's not that serious," she said.

"Yes, I understand," I said, "But you should take the action for you, not for the car or the vet. By not doing anything you're keeping yourself trapped in worrying."

"Okay," she said. "I see what you mean."

When she called the vet, to her surprise, the vet was able to make a good assessment of what was wrong. He recommended that she bring the cat in, and if it was what he thought it was, he could give her something to clear it up right away.

Anything that worries you should be acted on, not just thought about. Don't be scared about the action; you can make it very small and easy, as long as you take an action. Even small actions will chase away your fears. Fear has a hard time coexisting with action. When there's action, there's no fear. When there's fear, there's no action.