What if?

When dealing with daily stressors and nerve-wracking situations, our minds tend to jump to the worst conclusions. We wonder what will happen if everything goes wrong, and often we consider the worst possible outcomes before we even begin to think about the possibility that things will work out okay.

While it's natural to worry in this way, it can also be extremely detrimental, as it contributes to our overall levels of anxiety and emotional stress- both of which I think we all already have enough of.

Over the past few months, I have started training myself to break this cycle of negative thoughts. Each time I begin a downward spiral of negative "What if" scenarios in my head, I interrupt my own thoughts by thinking "What if it goes right?". It is shocking how much of a difference this simple thing can actually make.

Of course, it can be beneficial to be prepared just in case things don't go as planned, but fixating on the negative possibilities that each situation might entail is exceedingly harmful to a person's mental health. When you find yourself falling down the rabbit-hole of nerves and stressors, ask yourself instead "What it all works out right?".

n many cases, people are surrounded by competition, and we are competitive beings by nature. There will always be people around who are more "successful" than you, regardless of how you define the term, and it is easy to let this get to you when something starts to hinder your own personal progress, but it's vital to remember that someone else's path does not directly reflect our own, and you do not have to be doing all of the exact same things as another person in order to achieve the same level of contentment. Focus on yourself and your own journey, and make decisions based off of what you want and need rather than the wants and needs that society convinces you of.

When you harness your energy into yourself rather than allotting it to external forces that do you more harm than good, you will be amazed at the freedom that results.

Sure, things might go wrong.

But what if they go right?