Plan Away the Fear
Hello world it's Kodi here and I wanted to share with the wide world of the internet my newest revelation/life lesson.
I'm someone who can very very easily get stuck in a negative spiral of panicked thoughts about the future. The second I see something on my calendar that I'm nervous about, or think about what may happen once I graduate, a little voice comes alive in the back of my head and starts seeping out all of the horrible ways that things may go wrong.
I read something recently on the inspirations page of dailyom.com about strategies of overcoming fears. The mind is such a powerful thing and fear is truly something that we can control if we work at it. Now it was either something that I read or inspiration that my brain took from the article but I have found a new way to completely quell horrible fears and panics about the future when I start to feel them bubble up.
The human brain is a powerful thing. And just by living on this earth we all become very good problem solvers. At this point in life I've gotten to know myself pretty well. I am a plan person. I'm always all about knowing what the plan is--it doesn't really matter if the plan changes later on--I just know that my brain is happy when I know the general outline for what is coming.
So, knowing that about myself, after having a particularly hard week which for some reason was full of conversations about things I felt anxious about; I sat myself down with lots of lovely pens and a notebook. And I made a list. (I'm a list person too--lists and plans and I'm happy). So I made a list of all of the things in the coming months that made me feel even remotely panicked. Not going to lie that part wasn't very fun. But then I went down the line and destroyed every ounce of fear I had about each of them.
I started a new page for each fear-inducing item on the list and I wrote out every single situation and outcome that it may bring-good and bad. The good ones actually gave me a bit of a boost, and lifted a weight from that little voice--turns out some things that terrify you can turn out to be really amazing. Then I looked at all of the terrifyingly negative ways they could turn out. And I planned. I made a detailed plan of what I would do in each situation leaving nothing out.
Once I made it to the very end of the list, I laughed. Actually laughed out loud. None of the things that were seeping panic into my daily life and taking up a large chunk of my brain space were very scary at all. And now, even if the absolutely worst case scenario arises from it--I have a detailed plan to follow and won't be blindsided. My mind can rest easy.
I've only really had a day or two having finished the plans--but all of a sudden living in the present isn't so hard anymore. When someone talks about graduation plans or bills or some other scary real adult thing--I think about it during the conversation, and then can walk away. It doesn't follow me anymore. The human brain is capable of magic--if only you allow it.
So in case there are any other list and plan loving people who get anxiety thinking about the future out there--give it a try. Worst comes to worst now you've got some plans for the future.
Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything.
I'm someone who can very very easily get stuck in a negative spiral of panicked thoughts about the future. The second I see something on my calendar that I'm nervous about, or think about what may happen once I graduate, a little voice comes alive in the back of my head and starts seeping out all of the horrible ways that things may go wrong.
I read something recently on the inspirations page of dailyom.com about strategies of overcoming fears. The mind is such a powerful thing and fear is truly something that we can control if we work at it. Now it was either something that I read or inspiration that my brain took from the article but I have found a new way to completely quell horrible fears and panics about the future when I start to feel them bubble up.
The human brain is a powerful thing. And just by living on this earth we all become very good problem solvers. At this point in life I've gotten to know myself pretty well. I am a plan person. I'm always all about knowing what the plan is--it doesn't really matter if the plan changes later on--I just know that my brain is happy when I know the general outline for what is coming.
So, knowing that about myself, after having a particularly hard week which for some reason was full of conversations about things I felt anxious about; I sat myself down with lots of lovely pens and a notebook. And I made a list. (I'm a list person too--lists and plans and I'm happy). So I made a list of all of the things in the coming months that made me feel even remotely panicked. Not going to lie that part wasn't very fun. But then I went down the line and destroyed every ounce of fear I had about each of them.
I started a new page for each fear-inducing item on the list and I wrote out every single situation and outcome that it may bring-good and bad. The good ones actually gave me a bit of a boost, and lifted a weight from that little voice--turns out some things that terrify you can turn out to be really amazing. Then I looked at all of the terrifyingly negative ways they could turn out. And I planned. I made a detailed plan of what I would do in each situation leaving nothing out.
Once I made it to the very end of the list, I laughed. Actually laughed out loud. None of the things that were seeping panic into my daily life and taking up a large chunk of my brain space were very scary at all. And now, even if the absolutely worst case scenario arises from it--I have a detailed plan to follow and won't be blindsided. My mind can rest easy.
I've only really had a day or two having finished the plans--but all of a sudden living in the present isn't so hard anymore. When someone talks about graduation plans or bills or some other scary real adult thing--I think about it during the conversation, and then can walk away. It doesn't follow me anymore. The human brain is capable of magic--if only you allow it.
So in case there are any other list and plan loving people who get anxiety thinking about the future out there--give it a try. Worst comes to worst now you've got some plans for the future.
Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything.
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