Worry, worry, worry:
it’s prosperity’s disease.
Those who fret and worry
are so difficult to please.
Some call it depression,
others say it’s stress.
Call it what you want to;
it’s worry nonetheless.
It seems, in their abundance,
some soon begin to fear
that all that makes life happy
may change or disappear.
Who gives you all your blessings?
From whence your gain or wealth?
What is your source of happiness?
Who grants you strength or health?
The opposite of worry
is faith in God above;
it’s confidence that He is there
and guides your life with love.
What cause have you to worry
if you are in His care?
Or do you doubt His wisdom
or His power to answer prayer?
Perhaps you think what’s best for you
is not within His plan.
The truth is He will guide you home;
just do the best you can.
Now, I don’t think that worry
will drag you down to hell;
but if you’re full of worry,
you’ll never do as well
as when your soul is full of faith,
your heart contrite and meek.
To minds bogged down in worry,
God’s Spirit cannot speak.
And if because of worry
His message can’t get through,
how can you know your purpose
or the good that you can do?
Worry, worry, worry;
it’s prosperity’s disease.
Those who fret and worry
are impossible to please.
Some call it depression,
others say it’s stress.
Call it what you want to,
it’s worry nonetheless.

I don't believe in stress. I'm not saying that stress does not exist; I'm simply saying that I don't believe in it, like I don't believe in free love or dating before age sixteen. Stress is not something that comes from outside of us and forces its will upon us like a cold or an infection. It comes from within, and it only has power over us if we let it. I'm no different from most people. When things don't go the way I'd like them to, I'm as disappointed as the next person. I flinch when I'm startled like everyone else. I get butterflies when I have to speak in public. I get nervous when I'm put on the spot. I have no power to stop my mouth from drying or my knees from shaking. These are chemical and/or physical responses that I wish I could control but can't. Worry (or stress), on the other hand, is something I can control. People worry because they choose to. Notice, I did not say that people worry because they want to, but because they choose to. I choose what thoughts and images occupy my mind. I may not want them there, but it is my choice that allows them to remain. They may be forced upon me against my will—I may see or hear something I don't want to see or hear—they may enter my thoughts without my permission, but if I don't want them there, I dismiss them and replace them with other things.