I spend a lot of time worrying, often about the wrong things. Is this holding me back?

I often see something that I think is going to be a problem and I spend a lot of time worrying about it. Inevitably, it doesn’t turn out to be an issue. I think it’s holding me back. Is worrying bad?

-CEO

Dear CEO,

It’s important to be thoughtful and look at things from all angles—but you don’t want to do this for too long. Spend less time in ponder-mode and more time in do-mode.

While it’s important to know your weaknesses and have a plan to shore them up, you don’t want to waste too much mental energy worrying. That could become a dangerous distraction that may hold you back from seeing other opportunities and prevent you from getting to where you are intended to go.

I was reminded of this when my family recently went on a trip to Antarctica. In the weeks before, I spent time worrying about safely getting through the Drake Passage, where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans converge, known as the roughest seas in the world. I read about the 40-foot waves and the more than 800 ships wrecked in these waters and I started to psych myself out. Obviously, I lived to tell this tale, and in the end, it was really no big deal. I expended a lot of energy fearing these 48 hours. In hindsight, I regret the time wasted worrying, but I don’t regret the actions we took to prepare.

While I don’t believe in letting fear take over, at the same time I’ve found that we can never feel too safe. As I learned once we arrived in Antarctica, predators are everywhere, ready to take advantage of any weakness. In a continent where penguins, the national symbol of Antarctica, rule the roost, their predators are unforgiving. Aggressive skua birds are quick to swoop in and attack any unattended chick. Leopard seals and killer whales are ready to prey on any penguin in the water. Being hyper-vigilant is necessary for survival.

We all have vulnerabilities—soft underbellies—and we all must work to harden them before someone comes in and eviscerates us. Nature does that, as I saw in Antarctica. Closer to home, I’ve seen competitors at the ready to do that to companies. I’ve seen people do that to one another. Wherever in the world you are and whatever you are doing, if you do not fix your issues—if you do not work to reduce your weaknesses—you open yourself up for attack.

I’m not telling you this so that you worry more. I’m urging you to gain a realistic picture of any soft underbellies. Instead of wasting your energy on worrying, invest it in preparing. Maybe some of it will not be necessary to call on—like all that extra Dramamine I packed—but taking action to make you as safe and strong as possible is never a wasted effort. Risk reduction is an antidote to the noise in your head; it frees you from worry and that gives you more bandwidth to focus on the bigger picture.

Every week I respond to a new question. Ask me your question in the comments section.