A while back I noticed something about the way I talk to myself.

I kept saying, “I’ll worry about that later.”

The office thing? I’ll worry about that later. The car thing? I’ll worry about that later. The email thing? I’ll worry about that later. The vacation thing? I’ll worry about that later.

At first, it seemed completely normal. It’s a phrase I’ve probably said thousands of times and heard others say equally as much.

Then one day I stopped and thought, what a strange thing to say.

Why am I planning to worry? Why am I intentionally scheduling it?

Thinking about something later makes sense. Making a decision later makes sense. Addressing something later makes sense. But worrying about it later? That felt different.

I decided to run an experiment. Every time I caught myself saying, “I’ll worry about that later,” I replaced it with, “I’ll think about that later.”

It seemed like a tiny shift, but it changed everything.

When I say, “I’ll worry about that later,” there’s a hidden assumption underneath it. Something bad might happen. I might not be prepared. I need to stay vigilant. The phrase itself creates tension.

But when I say, “I’ll think about that later,” the energy changes completely. I’m not ignoring the issue. I’m not pretending it doesn’t exist. I’m simply trusting that when the time comes, I’ll sit down, think about it and create my plan of action.

As I started paying attention, I realized how often this shows up in our careers.

What? Me Worry?

We worry about the interview. We worry about asking for the promotion. We worry about what our boss thinks. We worry about the networking event. We worry about whether we’re qualified enough. We worry about whether a career pivot is the right decision.

Yet none of those situations require worrying.

They require thinking.

They require preparation.

They might even require courage.

But they don’t require worry.

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned to confuse worry with responsibility. As if worrying proves we care. As if worrying makes us more prepared. As if worrying protects us from disappointment.

But I’ve never seen worry create a promotion. I’ve never seen worry land a job. I’ve never seen worry improve a difficult conversation.

What creates results is thoughtful action.

The future will always contain uncertainty. That’s true whether you’re interviewing, leading a team, making a career change, or asking for something you want.

The question is whether you’re going to spend today’s energy worrying about tomorrow’s POSSIBLE problems.

These days, I do things differently. I’m know that when tomorrow arrives, I’ll meet it with the same resources, creativity, resilience, and problem-solving ability that have gotten me through every challenge I have had.

And when I catch myself saying, “I’ll worry about that later,” I smile and make the correction.

Nope. I am a different person now.

I am the person that will think about that later and then do what is required in that moment.

Not one moment sooner than that.