My mom often tells me
that she doesn’t worry about me
because she knows
I can take care of myself.
This doesn’t mean
she doesn’t think about me
or she doesn’t care about me.
It simply means
she trusts me
to make sound decisions.
Some people (usually women)
think that worrying
is a way of saying we care.
It isn’t.
It’s a way of saying
we question the competence
of the person
we’re ‘worrying’ about.
When you worry
about an employee or partner
taking on a new responsibility,
you’re often telling or,
worse, showing her
that you don’t have confidence
in her abilities.
She knows this.
The people around her
will also pick up on this
and question her competence.
This will make it
even more difficult for her
to succeed.
Think about the message you’re sending
when you worry.