Find a comfortable seat, and let your hands rest open in your lap.
Today we are going to be kind to the part of you that worries.
Not fight it.
Begin with one slow breath in, and a longer breath out.
Now bring to mind the worry that has been following you around.
Just one.
Let it come close enough to be seen, and notice where it lives in your body.
A tightness in the chest, a knot in the stomach, a quickness in the shoulders.
Breathe into that place, gently, as though you were sitting beside someone who is frightened.
You might say, silently: I see you.
That is a heavy thing to carry.
You do not have to answer the worry, or argue with it.
It is only trying to keep you safe in an old way.
Ask it one simple question.
What is the next small step?
Not the whole plan.
Not the whole year.
The next small step.
Whatever answers, thank it.
You do not have to act right now.
Now breathe out slowly, and imagine setting the worry down on a shelf beside you.
Within reach, but no longer in your arms.
You can pick it up tomorrow if you still need it.
For now, let your shoulders drop.
