For most of us, the worst-case-scenario is something to dread. We do our best to avoid it and say to ourselves, ‘I don’t want that!’, however what we don’t realize is that in doing so we are consistently thinking about it.
Anticipating and dreading the worst case scenario is a constant trigger for stress and a foundation for anxiety. Moreover when we anticipate the worst, we usually don’t think about it long-term and get that in the bigger picture life has a way of working out. We are blocked by the thought of something ‘bad’ happening and stop right there.
This month I’d like to propose that you do something very different; take a moment to actually go through the worst case scenario in your mind and project it to what life would be a year after it happened. As you imagine your journey, you will find that there will be a turning point where you have gone through the pain, things have fallen into place and you are fine.
If you go through the turning point, it will bring you back to an equilibrium and you realize that you cannot control things but you can have faith that things are in balance and it will always be okay. Once you’ve done that you don’t have to anticipate the worst-case anymore because you’ve gone through it and come out the other end realizing it wasn’t so bad.
So just as some of our top leaders like Sir Richard Branson have done, ask yourself ‘what’s the downside’ of a situation, find a way to deal with it and then focus on what you want. If you focus on the worst case just once consciously and go through it, then you don’t have to keep living in that anymore – you can finally focus on something else.