“Signs You’re Mentally Exhausted”

 

WHAT IS MENTAL EXHAUSTION? It’s kind of like physical tiredness, except it’s your mind instead of your muscles. It tends to show up when you focus on a mentally tough task for a while. You might also feel this kind of brain drain if you’re always on alert or stressed out. Your job, caring for children or aging parents, and other things can lead to mental exhaustion.

YOU’RE ANGRY OR IMPATIENT: Mental fatigue can put you in a bad mood. You may be short-tempered or irritated, snapping at people more often. It’s harder to control your emotions when you’re mentally tapped out.

YOU CAN’T GET WORK DONE: Everyone’s productivity goes up and down. But mental exhaustion can make it really hard to concentrate. It also saps your motivation. You might get distracted easily or start to miss deadlines. Even small tasks may seem overwhelming.

YOU ZONE OUT: This can look like mind wandering or drowsiness. It makes it hard to pay close attention to what you’re doing, and you may not react to things very fast. That can be dangerous in certain situations, such as driving. Mental fatigue is linked to car wrecks.

YOU DON’T SLEEP WELL: You might think it’d be easier to snooze when your brain is tired. But that’s not always the case. Research shows people who have jobs with a high “cognitive workload” report more symptoms of insomnia than those who don’t have mentally exhausting work. A lack of shut-eye can make mental fatigue worse. Tell your doctor if you can’t sleep or get really tired during the day. Treatment can help.

YOU DO UNHEALTHY THINGS: You may start to drink or use drugs more than normal. Mental fatigue can take an even harder toll on those who already have a substance use disorder. Experts think that’s because drug addiction changes parts of the brain that help you manage stress and control impulsive behavior.

YOU’RE DEPRESSED: You may not have any energy or feel like you’re moving in slow motion. Some people say they feel numb. That can make it hard to finish things at work or do daily activities. Tell your doctor if you have really low feelings or a sense of hopelessness for longer than 2 weeks. That can be a sign your depression is more serious.

YOU WORRY A LOT: Mental fatigue triggers your sympathetic nervous system. That’s your “fight or flight” mode. Anxiety is an alarm that tells you something is wrong. If you’re always mentally exhausted, you might start to feel panicked or worried all the time. That often happens alongside symptoms of depression.

EXERCISE FEELS HARDER: Experts aren’t sure why mental fatigue affects physical activity. Some think your tolerance for exercise might go down. So, it may seem like you’re putting in more effort than you really are.

YOUR EATING HABITS CHANGE: Mental fatigue can affect your appetite in different ways. You may snack more than normal and not pay attention to what you eat. Stress can also make you crave sugary, salty, or fatty foods. Or you may not be hungry at all.

YOU MAKE MORE MISTAKES: It’s impossible for your work to be perfect all the time. But mental fatigue lessens your ability to catch and fix your mistakes quickly or at all. That can cause serious problems in certain jobs, such as ones where you use machines, drive a vehicle, or fly a plane.

YOU FEEL MORE PAIN: Everyone is different, which makes it hard to say how mental fatigue will affect your body. But you might get headaches, sore muscles, back pain, or stomach problems. If you have an ongoing illness, such as fibromyalgia, you may hurt a little bit more than usual.

TAKE BREAKS: You might feel less drained if you take short breaks during long stretches of mental work. There isn’t an exact amount of rest time that works best for everyone. But you may want to recharge for a few minutes every 1-2 hours.

Some people like to use something called the Pomodoro Technique. Here’s how it works:

1. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
2. Focus on one task the whole time.
3. Take a 5-minute break when the timer goes off.
4. After the fourth 25-minute block, take a break for 15-30 minutes.

Repeat until your task is done (or your workday is over).

GET ACTIVE: There’s evidence that you may feel even more energized if you exercise during your breaks. Try some jumping jacks and stretches for a few minutes each. Or go for a 10-15 minute brisk walk.

FIND WAYS TO RELAX: It’s hard to avoid mental exhaustion completely. But you can learn to switch on your body’s natural relaxation response. You can get a massage. Or you can try meditating, yoga, or something as simple as watching a funny movie.  Reach out to friends, family, or a mental health professional if you need more support.

REVIEWED BY: Hansa D. Bhargava, MD, WebMD on February 25, 2021

SOURCES:

Human Factors: “The Role of Motivation as a Factor in Mental Fatigue.”

BMC Neuroscience: “The impact of mental fatigue on brain activity: a comparative study both in resting state and task state using EEG.”

Frontiers in Neurology: “How Physical Activities Affect Mental Fatigue Based on EEG Energy, Connectivity, and Complexity.”

Frontiers in Psychology: “The Relationship Between Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” “Informal Caregiver Burnout? Development of a Theoretical Framework to Understand the Impact of Caregiving.”

Mayo Clinic Health Systems: “Emotional exhaustion during times of unrest.”

Mayo Clinic: “Job burnout: How to spot it and take action.”

Emotion: “Mental fatigue impairs emotion regulations.”

BMC Psychology: “Evaluation of the effect of fatigue on the coping behavior of international truck drivers.”

Behavioral Sleep Medicine: “Work-Related Mental Fatigue, Physical Activity and Risk of Insomnia Symptoms: Longitudinal Data from the Norwegian HUNT Study.”

Translational Psychiatry: “Dopaminergic involvement during mental fatigue in health and cocaine addiction.”

PLOS One: “A qualitative exploration of physical, mental and ocular fatigue in patients with primary Sjogren’s Syndrome,” “Fatigue symptoms in relation to neuroticism, anxiety-depression, and musculoskeletal pain. A longitudinal twin study,” “Sustained Attention is Associated with Error Processing Impairment: Evidence from Mental Fatigue Study in Four-Choice Reaction Time Task.” 

Cleveland Clinic: “How Stress Can Make You Eat More — Or Not At All,” “Are You Experiencing Coronavirus Fatigue?” 

Arthritis Care & Research: “The impact of mental fatigue on brain activity: a comparative study both in resting state and task state using EEG,” “Cognitive and Physical Fatigue Tasks Enhance Pain, Cognitive Fatigue and Physical Fatigue in People with Fibromyalgia.”

Behavioral and Brain Functions: “Mental fatigue caused by prolonged cognitive load associated with sympathetic hyperactivity.”

Recruiting & Retaining Adult Learners: “Stay focused and reduce stress while working from home, meeting virtually.”

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH): “The Pomodoro Technique: An Effective Time Management Tool.”

Stress and Health: “Comparison of rest-break interventions during a mentally demanding task.”

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: “Relaxation Techniques for Health.”

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine, #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2LiveWell #FeelFree2SignUpAndFollow

The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.
 
"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

The contents of the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites ("Content") are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites!

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Sites. Reliance on any information provided by WebMD, WebMD employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of WebMD, and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine or other visitors to the Sites is solely at your own risk.  

“Anxiety About Money and How to Find Relief”

 

Do you worry about money? Countless people do—surveys consistently find that finances are one of the most common sources of anxiety. Maybe you worry about having enough money for retirement. Or perhaps you’re living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to pay your rent or mortgage on time. Mounting credit card debt only adds to the unease.

I first encountered financial anxiety as a kid, sensing my dad’s stress as he tried to make ends meet with five boys and one income. I remember my mom paying for groceries with food stamps and getting our clothes from a local free bin. And while my situation as an adult is different from what my parents experienced, I’ve felt the stress and uncertainty of being self-employed. It’s easy to imagine how fragile our family’s position is, and how a serious illness or injury could severely disrupt the life we share. I also know from both personal and professional experience that anxiety about money isn’t entirely dependent on your financial situation. There was a time when I earned more than I do now yet felt more worried about our finances. On the opposite end, as I was growing up, I saw my parents remain calm even when their finances seemed hopelessly tight, leaning on their faith (my dad was a minister) and heeding Bible verses that encouraged them to trust God for all things. And in my clinical work, I’ve seen patients show tremendous resilience in the face of major financial pressure, like being fired from one’s job in midlife, or being unable to work because of depression or other disability.

So, while our actual financial situation is one variable that can trigger anxiety about money, there are ways to manage these concerns. See what happens when you apply some of the following suggestions.

REMEMBER THAT EVEN FINANCIAL RUIN WOULD NOT BE THE END OF THE WORLD: We often imagine that our feared financial catastrophe—going bankrupt, losing our job, facing foreclosure on our home—would mean the end of life, like a cliff at the edge of the world. I feel this way myself. When I worry about the fallout if I were no longer able to work, my imagination usually stops at “… and then we would lose our house,” which feels like Game Over. And yet, if that were to actually happen it would simply be a challenge that we would need to face together as a family, as so many families have. The ending we imagine exists only in our minds. In reality, life will go on, and no matter what may happen there will be something that comes next. Rather than anticipating a terrible conclusion, you can remember that life is big enough to contain your feared financial outcomes and won’t end even if they come true.

PRACTICE GRATITUDE TOWARD MONEY: “Zen Millionaire” Ken Honda describes practicing arigato with money, which means saying “thank you” each time it’s given or received. Through this practice you can develop what he calls “Happy Money,” in which positive emotions are attached to your money instead of fear, guilt, resentment, and so forth. When we get paid, we can say thank you. When we pass the money along to someone else in exchange for something we need, we can say thank you. When we have unexpected medical bills that drain our savings, we can say thank you that we can afford the care for ourselves or our family members, and that medical expertise is available (I’ve had to use this one myself on multiple occasions). Gratitude is death to anxiety about money.

MAKE A BUDGET: Sometimes anxiety about money comes from not knowing where it’s going or how much we actually have. We might even avoid making a budget and tracking our expenses because of anxiety, like putting off a doctor’s visit because we fear the diagnosis. You can stop this kind of avoidance by leaning directly into it. Don’t worry if you’re not sure where to start—there are many resources available to help. You’ll probably feel more anxiety as you get started, which is normal. As you stick with it and get more familiar with the specifics of your finances, your anxiety will decrease.

LOOK DEEPER THAN MONEY: Anxiety about money typically points to something deeper. You can discover the underlying fears that drive your financial anxiety by asking, what would be the worst thing if _____ happened? Fill in the blank with whatever you’re afraid of—losing your job, not being able to pay the rent, etc. Continue asking yourself what the worst thing would be about what you’re afraid of until you find your deepest fear—is it ending up homeless? Being inadequate? Losing the respect of your friends and family? If you never question your surface-level anxieties, the actual root of your concerns will remain hidden and unaddressed. Once you identify the deeper fear, you can address it directly (perhaps with the assistance of a therapist). For example, you might discover deep-seated beliefs about not deserving to be happy, or about being fundamentally not enough. Your money worries can lessen as you make real changes in these core beliefs. 

BUILD YOUR RELATIONSHIPS: Most of our fretting about money comes from our desire to reach something called “financial security,” in which we no longer are worried about our finances. Unfortunately, this type of security is an illusion. In fact, as our savings and portfolios grow, so do our worries: What if the stock market crashes? What if the financial system goes belly up? As long as we place our faith in our financial situation, we’ll continue to have reason to worry. The best insurance against financial calamity, advises Ken Honda, is to invest in our relationships. Whereas money’s true value comes only from exchanging it for something else like food or clothing, relationships are inherently rewarding. And no matter what happens with our money, the people that truly care about us will be there for us when we need them. On a very practical level, they might offer food or a place to live in a time of crisis. Relationship investments are low risk with a very high rate of return.

OPEN TO UNCERTAINTY: Anxiety about money comes from uncertainty about the future and our lack of control over how things will unfold. We don’t know if our company will downsize, or if the economy will tank, or whether climate change will trigger an economic catastrophe. We often expend tons of energy trying to figure out the future and make it align with our wishes. These efforts to eliminate uncertainty and the anxiety that comes with it actually backfires as they strengthen our implicit belief that we should be able to control the uncontrollable. Why not let go of the struggle? Uncertainty is what makes life an adventure. In fact, the outcomes we fear often turn out better than what we were hoping for, like when a devastating job loss ends up leading to a much more rewarding career. Instead of trying to erase uncertainty about the future, we can embrace it.

SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Popular culture is saturated with images of happiness, wealth, and success. Your social media feeds probably are, too. Thus, it’s easy to start to think that “everyone” is doing fine financially, and that your concerns are unique and personal. This imagined contrast between your situation and everyone else’s can trigger not only anxiety but envy and resentment. It can help to consider those who are worse off than you, and who would give their right arm to have your money worries. I know for myself that the “worst-case scenario” of my financial concerns are a far cry from the kind of abject poverty in which countless people live and die—where children starve, the “middle class” lives in tin shanties, and the homeless die from exposure to the elements.

FINALLY, KEEP IN MIND THAT JOY IS ALWAYS AN OPTION, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES: Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl called “choosing one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances” the “last of human freedoms”—a principle he learned through his experience in a Nazi concentration camp. This maxim applies perfectly to our financial concerns. As we release our anxieties about money, we can more fully enjoy what is ours. Determine today to notice all that you have, including the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the home that shelters you. No matter what your bank balance says, enjoying your life will feel like truly being rich.

BY: Seth J. Gillihan, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, WebMD, August 13, 2019

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine, #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2LiveWell #FeelFree2SignUpAndFollow

The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.
 
"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

The contents of the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites ("Content") are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites!

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Sites. Reliance on any information provided by WebMD, WebMD employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of WebMD, and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine or other visitors to the Sites is solely at your own risk.  

“How Worry Affects Your Body?”

How Much Is Too Much? We all worry from time to time, but if you can’t shake it after a few weeks or it starts to get in the way of your normal work or home life, talk to your doctor. It can take a toll on your health and might be linked to an anxiety disorder. Therapy, drugs, and other strategies can help.

Nervous System: This messaging network is made up of your brain, spinal cord, nerves, and special cells called neurons. Worrying too much can trigger it to release "stress hormones" that speed up your heart rate and breathing, raise your blood sugar, and send more blood to your arms and legs. Over time, this can affect your heart, blood vessels, muscles, and other systems.

Muscles: When you’re troubled about something, the muscles in your shoulder and neck can tense up, and that can lead to migraines or tension headaches. Massage or relaxation techniques, like deep breathing and yoga, may help.

Breathing: If you’re worried a lot, you might breathe more deeply or more often without realizing it. While this usually isn’t a big deal, it can be serious if you already have breathing problems linked to asthma, lung disease, or other conditions. 

Heart: If it sticks around long enough, something as small as a nagging concern in the back of your mind can affect your heart. It can make you more likely to have high blood pressure, a heart attack, or a stroke. Higher levels of anxiety can trigger those stress hormones that make your heart beat faster and harder. If that happens over and over, your blood vessels may get inflamed, which can lead to hardened artery walls, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and other problems. 

Blood Sugar: When you’re worried about something, stress hormones also give you a burst of fuel (in the form of blood sugar). This can be a good thing if you need to run from danger, but what happens if you don’t use that fuel? Your body normally stores it to use later. But sometimes, if you’re overweight or have diabetes, for example, your blood sugar can stay too high for too long. This can lead to heart disease, strokes, or kidney disease.

Immune System: If your body is affected by the physical effects of worry, it may not fight germs as well. Just thinking about things that made you angry or depressed in the past can take a toll. It can make it harder for you to fend off the flu, herpes, shingles, and other viruses. 

Stomach: You may feel “butterflies” in your stomach when you’re nervous -- in more serious times, you may feel nauseous or even vomit. If this happens often, it can lead to stomach pain and sores in your stomach lining (ulcers). And if you eat a lot of foods high in fat and sugar, your stomach has to work harder to digest them, and that makes more acid. This can cause acid reflux -- when acid flows up into your throat.

Intestines: Constant fretting can affect your bowel habits -- you could have diarrhea or find it hard to go to the bathroom. Diet, exercise, and over-the-counter medicines can often help, but you might be able to keep these problems from happening if you find ways to calm your anxiety.

Sexual Health: Worry can tire you out and distract you so you’re less interested in sex. Over the long term, it can lower a man’s levels of the sex hormone testosterone. That can affect sperm development and slow or stop his body’s normal response when he wants to have sex. For women who have gone through menopause, it can make hot flashes and sleep issues worse.

Reviewed by Smitha Bhandari, MD on July 17, 2017

American Psychological Association: “Stress Weakens the Immune System,” “How Stress Affects The Body.”
Anxiety And Depression Association Of America: “Managing Anxiety.”
Clujul Medical: “Anxiety and IBS revisited: ten years later.”
Gastroenterology and Hepatology From Bed to Bench: “Psychological disorders in patients with chronic constipation.”
Harvard Health Publications: “Why stress causes people to overeat,” “The gut-brain connection.”
Medscape: “Severe Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Symptoms in Relation to Anxiety, Depression and Coping in a Population-Based Study.”
NIH Health and Human Services Manuscript: “Anxiety and Depression: Linkages with Viral Diseases.”
Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity: “High anxiety:
Recognizing stress as the stressor.”

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2Live

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

The contents of the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites ("Content") are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites!

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Sites. Reliance on any information provided by WebMD, WebMD employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of WebMD, and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine or other visitors to the Sites is solely at your own risk. 

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength. Carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” (Corrie Ten Boom)

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” (Mark Twain)

“Worrying won’t stop the bad stuff from happening, it just stops you from enjoying the good things.”

“Worrying is stupid. It’s like walking around with an umbrella everyday waiting for it to rain.”

“Worry is a total waste of time. It doesn’t change anything. All it does is steal your joy and keeps you very busy doing nothing.”

“A Day of worry is more exhausting than a Week of work.”

“Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.” (Dale Carnegie)

“Interrupt worry with gratitude.”

“You can destroy your Now by worrying about Tomorrow.” (Janis Joplin)

“Worry can do a lot of things TO you, however Prayer can do a lot of things FOR you.”

“Worry is a misuse of your imagination.”

“Worries and tensions are like birds, we cannot stop them from flying near us; but we can certainly stop them from making a nest in our mind.”

“When you feel like you’re ‘drowning’ in life’s situations, don’t worry, your lifeguard walks on water.”

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” (Leo Buscaglia)

“What worries you masters you.” (Haddon W. Robinson)

“Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.” (Glen Turner)

“There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

“Worry will Never change the outcome.”

“If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.” (Dalai Lama)

“Worry is like taking a walk on the beach in July, wearing a down coat, fearing the expectation of snow. It’s stupid.”

“Don’t worry, God is never blind to your tears, never deaf to your prayers, and never silent to your pain. He sees, He hears, and He will deliver.”

“Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.” (Swedish Proverb)

“There is a great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem.” (Harold Stephens)

“Don’t worry about dying; worry about not living.”

“Worry is the interest paid in advance on a debt you may never owe.”

“Worry pretends to be useful but serves no useful purpose.” (Eckhart Tolle)

“I used to worry about the labels others placed on me. Until I realized my limitations weren’t coming from their labels, but from my own.” (Dr. Steve Maraboli)

“God has already worked out what you’re worried about.” (Pastor Steven Furtick)

“Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” (Arthur Somers Roche)

“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety, or the handle of faith.” (Henry Ward Beecher)

“To understand the unimportance of worrying, try to remember what you were worried about on this day last year.” (Gail Lynne Goodwin)

“When I’m worried it’s usually because I’m trying to do everything myself. When I’m at peace, it’s usually because I remember that God is in control.” (Dave Willis)

Philippians 4:6-9, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (MSG)

Matthew 6:30-34, “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (MSG)

Matthew 11:28-30, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (MSG)

Romans 8:26-28, “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (MSG)

YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR TODAY: “DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY!”