You've heard, "Don't worry about things you can't control." You probably give that advice, too. 

2 reasons that advice doesn't work -

1. People are naturally and understandably worried about the things they can't control
2. People have heard it before and tend to tune it out

Empathy is the foundation of a great pep-talk. When you say "don't worry", you discount their emotions. You want to play on their emotions. 

Sample worry pep-talk - 

• "I know you're worried. I get it." 
• "...but you can't control a lot of this - right?"
• "I'm not going to tell you not to worry just because it's outside your control."
• "I know you're going to worry...I want to to put that worry to good use!" 
• "I want you to act on your worry. I want you to do something about it." 
• "What precautions can you take? What can you be doing now in case this doesn't turn out as you'd like?" "