As I have gotten older, I have developed new "anxieties" that would have never occurred when I was, for example, 12. Now that I am almost 20, I worry about my future career, finding someone I want to tie the knot with and call my husband, and just adulting in general. Of course, I also worry about my grades and maintaining a good GPA and getting internships and all those shenanigans.

Many people reading this might be saying, "Why do you worry? You're still young." However, here's the thing, I am "young," but in a couple years college will hopefully be done with, and that means having to survive in the real world. And the thing is, I don't know if I'm ready for the real world. We live in a very beautiful, but complex society.

Just trying to get a minimum wage job means you have to submit a resume that beats everyone else's, pass an interview, and do some training. The job market, is highly competitive, even in low-wage jobs. My mother tells me stories of her youth and how back in the day, she just showed up at a job and usually got hired on the spot, however it's no longer like that. Now, if you want a job, unless, you have connections, you have to work your butt off to get noticed and hired.

As humans, we like to complicate things just because. Now, I don't hate our complex society, there are good aspects that come out of it, such as amazing technologies and getting paid more to do those complicated things, but sometimes, it can be overwhelming and produce anxiety. Having a lot of worry or anxiety in one's life, is not good, and it can be highly detrimental. For example, when I worry too much, I tend to get stressed and procrastinate. Having too much worry is maladaptive, and learning to overcome it is the key to surviving this fast-paced complex society we live in.

My secret to reducing my worries will sound strange and also slightly sinister, but I promise, it has really helped me reduce my worries.

One way I reduce my worries is by saying the phrase, "At least." This phrase can be used in the following sense, "At least you got this done," or, "At least you didn't fail the class," or, "At least you got a better score than (someone's name)." Saying "at least" has really made me feel slightly better and less anxious about not being as successful as I wanted to be.

When I am feeling extra worried, I will tell myself, "Nobody is perfect, and one day we will all die, so just make the most of it." This quote can be quite dark, but it is true.

Why should we spend life worrying when we can be living?

The last thing I tend to do is go outside, take a walk, take deep breaths and think about nothing. I do this to clear my mind. I know it's almost impossible to think of nothing, but I try to focus on the trees or my breath and doing this usually pushes down my worrisome thoughts.

These techniques have really helped me lessen my worrisome thoughts, and I hope they can lessen yours too. Everyone is different of course, and what works for me might not work for you, but that's OK because in the end, we are all in this together. We are living, and why not live our best lives?