This is a guest post by David Damron, @daviddarmon.
When I was 21, I took a life changing excursion to the land down under, Australia. I took this voyage under the guide of the International Student Volunteer (ISV) organization with other American college students. We spent two weeks volunteering by doing conservation work with wildlife and vegetation in Tasmania, which is an Australian island and state off the Southeast tip of the mainland. We then traveled from Sydney north to Cairns for two and a half weeks stopping by many spots to experience the outdoor side of Aussie during the day and the libation side of Aussie at night. During this time in Australia, I became much more familiar with a catchphrase I had heard stateside, but never as widely and as practiced as down under. These two words changed my life forever. These two words were simple yet profound. These two words were, “No Worries.”
Every Australian seemed to have a care free attitude. Every Australian seemed to live the life they wanted to. Every Australian wanted less stress and to live free. Surprisingly, every Australian seemed to be living by this motto of “No Worries”. This motto is what led me back to Aussie in March of 2009. Both times I have been there, whether I was on a farm in the outback or the streets of Sydney, I felt a sense of weightless shoulders on those around me. Everyone in Aussie seemed to live without a worry of the worst.
I have heard many a guest speakers, many a professors, many a wise old men try and convince me through long stories and tales about the way to live life. They all were intelligent and influential, but never simple, never concise, never practical. It wasn’t until the Aussie friends I made pounded this phrase over and over into my head that such a simplistic coined term could accurately describe a perfect way to live one’s life.
Upon arriving back in California from my voyage, my friends and family thought I was just ‘trying’ to be different than before. I continuously re-quoted the Aussie’s with, “No worries,” to anything said to me. “Sir, we are out of those.” “No worries.” “You don’t mind me canceling on you?!” “No worries.” “You aren’t going to be able to take that day off, sorry.” “No worries.” My friends and family quickly realized I had no care in the world and I was just going to live life to the fullest. As long as I kept reminding myself that there was nothing worth worrying about, I continued to experience life at a highly positive level.
To this day, roughly 5 years later, I try to implement the No-Worries-Rule to most of my daily actions and decisions. By no means do I get stomped on by everyone nor do I live in a van down by the river and don’t pay my bills. I do make important decisions with thought of the outcome. However, I do not stress as much over minute decisions as I did prior to the implementation of the No-Worries-Rule.
Learning this wise lifestyle has been great for me, but would be even better if I can spread this attitude stateside and beyond. The following is a list of ways to implement the No-Worries-Rule into your life:
- Stay Debt Free : Many Australians have little if any debt outside their home mortgage. Even their home mortgages are some of the fastest paid off in the world. The less debt you have the less worries you will have. If you do have debt, don’t let that control every decision you make. As most of you know through Adam Baker’s teachings, the more focused and forward thinking you are towards your debt, the more you can say “No Worries” to obstacles that present themselves. To get down this path, I suggest checking Baker’s article 42 Ways to Radically Simplify Your Financial Life. It is still my favorite and most influential article by him.
- Respond with “No Worries” for One Entire Day : This can be tough in America as we are accustomed to worrying and giving false responses. Try relaxing and replying with the catchphrase. If you are able to say this consistently throughout the day, you should be able to feel less stress by day’s end. Small change equals major life enhancement.
- Don’t Overreact : I know, I know. Easier said than done. This can take a lot of will power and focus. It took me quite some time to not overreact when things didn’t go as planned. Try to focus on interactions with coworkers and family members. Think of the negatives and non-existent positives that come from overreacting. The easier going you are, the better communication with others you will have.
- Take Everything in Stride : If a meeting gets postponed or a child needs to be picked up from school early, take it in stride. Life happens. Let it happen and stop letting it’s jumble preventing you from living a great life. Relax and kick back. Let everyone else worry their day away.
- Love Your Life : There is no other reason than the opportunity to experience all that we can in the short amount of time we got here. Might as well not worry about the end and live for the now.
Implementing the No-Worries-Rule may take some time. I don’t expect you or anyone to completely implement this rule to every aspect of your life right away. If you do catch yourself letting stress build from actions that are out of your hands, step back and focus on letting life happen. Remember, a life with No Worries is a life worth living.
Have a good one…
Author Bio: David Damron is the author of LifeExcursion & The Minimalist Path
Hey there, I am an Australian and used to say this all the time, that is until someone very wise and wealthy pointed out the following.
The mind does not hear the “No” part, so in actuality all it hears is “worries”.
Think on this for a minute, then let it go and don’t say it anymore.
It is like when Buddha stated what Enlightenment was/is: End of suffering.
In this way the mind cannot find fault, argument or what it likes to do, work on mental problems we create with our minds. All suffering and all problems, worries are only created by you in your mind. The mind is very powerful and when its not kept in check, ends up running you and your life, instead of the other way round.
It reminds me of the relaxed attitude of people on the Lion King. Hakuna Matata for example. Great phrase. It’s like the phrase “This too shall pass”.
.-= Richard | RichardShelmerdine.com´s last blog ..Book Reading Simplified =-.
Hi David,
While I have never been to Australia, I look forward to going there even more after reading your post.
I think the “No worries” approach boils down to not majoring in minor things. It seems like sometimes our reactions to certain events are actually worse than the events themselves.
Many situations in life are simply out of our control. But we are in complete control of how we react to them. I like the “No worries” approach. Thanks for sharing!
.-= Greg Blencoe´s last blog ..Cardinals and always, always, always follow your heart =-.
Great advice in this post.
I particularly like the advice of harping on the response of “no worries.” However, I think that that can kind of get lost as a colloquial “no problem” response that is so common and overused that most don’t even recognize any significance or meaning behind it.
I’d suggest even going so far as to extent the “no worries” response as something a bit more “wordy” if only to sound more original and thus sincere. Maybe something like “No worries, life is good!” “No worries, enjoy this gorgeous day” “No worries, keep smiling!”
Glad to have found your blog.
Best,
Dave
.-= DaveUrsillo´s last blog ..To Endure is Truly Noble =-.
This is a great post. I live on the eastern Caribbean island of Barbados and our version of the Aussie saying is “No Problem” and life is very laid back here. Although I use the saying fairly often I have never thought about consciously using it for a whole week. I am going to try it out, starting tomorrow. Thanks for a great reminder.
.-= Carol King´s last blog ..Raising Your Vibration Level and Living the Law of Attraction =-.
I have a mentor who always says, “No worries, mate.” I love this Aussie reminder. I also like the advice from the Buddhist tradition with regard to worry – if you have a problem and can do something about it, than there’s no need to work, simply act. If you can’t do something about it, there’s no usefulness to worry either.
Thanks for writing about this easy to remember and use approach!
Wow, not only a great post but I am so impressed with the clean sleek presentation of the blog from my iPhone. Bravo!
I love the Auusies, they are the friendliest, kindest, funniest, and most hospitable people and yes the ‘ no worries mate!’ echoes in
my mind from my 2005 visit. Very creative post. Makes me wanna revisit down under very soon! Thanks!
Oyoyoy, this post is the next best thing to a Vegemite sandwich. 🙂
.-= Marko´s last blog ..Help End the Stupid Loudness War =-.
I love this. I do try to live the ‘no worries’ rule. Ironically, it’s easier to keep to the rule during the tiny periods in life when you have no worries. Keeping this phrase in mind when you’re stressed and feel pressured is much more difficult.
I keep trying. I have to. I’ll probably start worrying again by the end of the day, but no worries, right? Gotta play it cool.
.-= Anne Lyken-Garner´s last blog ..Top Pop Songs To Sing With Your Kids =-.
David,
A great post and it’s so true using a simple phrase such as, “no worries” can influence how you feel and cope with your everyday challenges. I’ve been adopting a more relaxed and flexible approach to my life recently and I’ve been looking for ways to help. Using this phase is one I’m going to try.
I remember many years ago a friend of mine used to respond to many situations with the phrase, “don’t worry” but I think that was more of a joke.
Thanks for the timely post
Regards
Paul
.-= Paul´s last blog ..Keeping up with your homework =-.
Great post cobber! I’ll lend you a hand for your next one mate. If you don’t write one, no worries!
Those two words always strike me as SO wise, whenever I hear someone say them. I have an affinity for the Aussies, and those words might just remind me of that. Good words of wisdom here, Dave 🙂
What a great post David,
I’m a Tasmanian and I think every second thing I say is no worries 🙂
.-= Casey´s last blog ..7 Ways You Can Be The Justin Bieber Of Your Market =-.