The other day on the radio I heard these lyrics from the song, “If You Only Knew,” by Shinedown, “It’s 4:03 and I can’t sleep… I toss and turn like the sea.” I thought, “Yeah, why is it always 4 a.m. that I wake up when I’m worried about something?” The singer of this top 10 pop rock song was troubled by a woman. What’s keeping you awake?

Most of us, at one time or another, have spent sleepless hours in bed worrying about something. Then, making it worse, we’re tired the whole next day.

For years, I’ve ruminated about all sorts of things: big issues I have little or no control over such as politics, the environment, terrorism, and the economy; personal issues that I need to affect such as my business, my family, and my relationships. I have even worried about my volunteer work, churning the same thoughts over and over again.

Some of us worry about the past and what could’ve been if only we had done something differently. Others worry about some future problem that hasn’t even occurred.

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